Maurice Griffiths

Maurice Griffiths is a noted yachtsman, boat designer and writer on sailing subjects. In his writing of some 20 book he focuses on the creeks of the Thames Estuary and the English east coast. Books he has written include The Magic of the Swatchways, Swatchways and Little Ships, Sailing on a Small Income, and 60 Years a Yacht Designer. He was the editor of Yachting Monthly, the British sailing magazine, from 1927 until 1967. In the region of more than 2,000 yachts have been built and launched from his designs. Maurice was born in 1902 and died at West Mersea in 1997.

Biography

Early Years

Maurice's family had moved from South London to Ipswich in 1903 when his father became the East of England representative for a glove manufacturer^[1] . In London they had lived opposite a railwayline and Maurice's early love was trains. His first job was with an estate agent but in his spare time he wrote articles about trains for the East Anglian Times and it was train travel that soon led him to Ipswich docks where he discovered boating.

He started a small yacht brokerage and in the course of this work he learnt a lot about sailing and boat building. In 1925 he published a little book called Yachting on a Small Income which, ironically, sold well on railwaystation platforms.

His father died suddenly leaving the family in considerable debt and the familyhome had to be sold. His mother Lena, and older brother Leslie, moved to the Midlands to stay with relatives. Maurice's brokerage business folded so he decided to try his luck selling yachting articles freelance in London. It was a struggle and he virtually starved. His health was to never fully recover from this experience.

Editorship

He was rescued by George Bittles, the publisher of Yachting Monthly. Bittles had bought Griffiths' book at his local railway station and believed he would be the right person to edit a new magazine called Yacht Sales and Charters. This was basically a yacht brokerage with its own magazine. Griffiths made such a success of this that other brokers threatened to stop advertising in Yachting Monthly if the Yacht Sales magazine continued. The magazine was stopped but Griffiths had proved himself and was given the position of Editor of Yachting Monthly.

Around this time in 1927 he married Dulcie Kennard whom he had met while visiting the offices of yachting magazines trying to sell his articles. She also wrote for the yachting press under the name Peter Gerard. They were divorced in 1934.

War Years

As a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Maurice Griffiths was awarded the George Medal for bravery in recognition of his work trawling for mines in the North Sea as well as deactivating parachute mines dropped on the London Docks during the Blitz and also his command of a group of divers clearing mines from the Suez Canal. Later in the war he had responsibility for the design and fitting of the explosive charges that sank 77 condemned ships off the coast of Normandy, where they formed part of the Mulberry Harbour used during D-Day and after in 1944.

He met his second wife, Marjorie, known as "Coppie" from her maiden name of Copson in December 1944 while based with the RNVR at HMS Vernon. Coppie died about nine months before her husband and there were no children from either marriage.

Post-War

After the war Maurice returned to Yachting Monthly. The invention of marine plywood and fibreglass now enabled his boat designs to be mass-produced. The two most successful were the Eventide 24, soon followed by the 26, and the Waterwitch 30. These, along with his other designs, proved to be good sea-worthy craft but he was under no illusions about their aesthetic appeal, once saying: "If you ever see a barrel or box with rudder and sails, it'll be one of my designs." Nevertheless they earned a strong following of enthusiasts who would disagree with that description.

Griffiths single-handedly gave yachting to working people with his DIY designs and tips on sailing and converting former ship's lifeboats but his greatest contribution to giving the sport wide appeal was undoubtedly his book "The Magic of the Swatchways" with its accounts of simple cruises around the east coast and across the North Sea to the Netherlands and Belgium. It was first published in 1932, has been translated into Dutch and Polish and gone through many editions.

A biography of Griffiths, The Magician of the Swatchways was written by Dick Durham and published in 1992.

Bibliography

Titles	Years	Remarks
Yachting on a Small Income	1925	First book, (ironically)sold well on railwaystation platforms
Sailing on a Modest Income	1925–1927 and 1996	An interesting book, anthology of articles by Maurice Griffiths and his contemporaries that were first published in "Yacht Sales and Charters". It later was edited, compiled and is introduced by M.G. and was published as the book.
The Magic of the Swatchways	1932	His most successful book, which charms the reader with the romance of the creeks and estuaries of the East Coast of England. The book chronicles many of his early sailing adventures which must have fired the enthusiasm of many who have subsequently taken up sailing and cruising in such peacful areas. It is to be considered essential reading for any M.G. enthusiast.
Ten Small Yachts and Others	1933	An interesting and very readable account of ten yachts that Maurice owned over a thirteen year period. It is of necessity somewhat auto-biographical which is of considerable interest to those who wish to gather an insight into the man himself, as well as discussing quite objectionably the advantages and disadvantages of these various little ships.
Dream Ships	1949	The "Dream Ships" that are discussed and analyzed very much reflect the state of the art at that time and we would now consider them as "Classic" designs. The book is written in M.G.'s easy and engaging style and is well illustrated with several designs of his own, as well as other designers, all with a wealth of design detail.
The First of the Tide	about 1980?	Subtitled "Reminiscences of Coastal Cruising" was written nearly fifty years after "The Magic of the Swatchways". It returns in a similar vein to the shoals, sandbanks, withies, swatchways and creeks where peace and solitude may still be discovered, and reinforces the enduring success and inspiring ethos of the earlier book.
Sixty Years a Yacht Designer	1988	A book in which M.G. explains how he came to take up yacht design and how his experiences and research led him to conclude that shallow -draft sailing boats were just as sea worthy as their deeper draught sisters and so much more appropriate for sailors on the east coast.
Little Ships & Shoal Waters	1937 and 1985	A book in the classic exposition of M.G.'s views on designing, building and sailing shoal draft yachts. It includes detailed consideration of over twenty shoal draft cruisers and also includes a couple of M.G.'s yarns on the joys of sailing this type of boat.
Everyman's Yachting	?
The Arrow Book of Sailing	?

Boat designs

• EVENTIDE 24 1957
• EVENTIDE 26 1957
• WATERWITCH 30 MKI 1957
• WATERWITCH 30 MKII 1959
• MEDUSA 25 1960
• GOLDEN HIND 31 1968
• BARBICAN 33 1972
• ATLANTIC CLIPPER 36 1973
• FINESSE 27 1980

References

1. ^ Durham, Dick. The Magician of the Swatchways. 

External links

• Maurice Griffiths biography on Eventide Owners Association
• Sailboatdesigns of Maurice Griffiths on Sailboatdat.com