Charles Ernest Nicholson (12 May 1868 – 26 February 1954) was a British yacht designer.

Biography

He was born in 1868, one of four sons and six daughters of Benjamin Nicholson (1828-1906), also a yacht designer, and the original Nicholson of

Camper and Nicholson Camper may refer to: * A person who engages in recreational camping * A trailer (vehicle) used for camping: ** Popup camper ** Travel trailer * Truck camper * Recreational vehicle * Campervan * Camping (gaming), a tactic in video gaming. People * ...

. His eldest brother, Benjamin Watson Nicholson (1857-1927), and younger brother, Arthur William Nicholson (1872-1957) also became directors of the firm. Nicholson's first design of note was the ''

Redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his ...

'' class. The

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by some residents that Bembridge ...

sailing club met in October 1896 to agree the need for a shallow draughted yacht - to allow for the shoal waters of Bembridge Harbour - which could be sailed single-handed, to replace the expensive half racers. Nicholson designed the yacht in ten days, and by 1898 the fleet consisted of 16 boats, all built by the

Camper & Nicholsons Camper may refer to: * A person who engages in recreational camping * A trailer (vehicle) used for camping: ** Popup camper ** Travel trailer * Truck camper * Recreational vehicle * Campervan * Camping (gaming), a tactic in video gaming. People * ...

shipyard. In the early 1900s Nicholson developed a new powered craft which would enable the owners to come from their "big-boats" before and after the competitions. Named the '' Gelyce'' class, the name derived from the combined first and last letter of the wives of the three brothers: Gertie (married to Ben Jr), Lucy (married to Charles), and Constance (married Arthur). In 1912, Nicholson introduced the 15mR design ''Istria'' with a

Marconi rig A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 1600s; the term ''Marconi' ...

, the first yacht in the world with a lightweight,

laminated wood Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, or veneers or boards of woo ...

construction. This led to further developments and growing expertise in the use of lightweight materials which saw its fruition in the use of

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

in deck construction. This ultimately led to arguably Nicholson's most beautiful sailing creation, the 1927 commissioned ''Vira'' (later ''Creole'') was built on behalf of

Alexander Smith Cochran Alexander Smith Cochran (February 28, 1874 – June 20, 1929 ) was a manufacturer, sportsman and philanthropist from Yonkers, New York. Biography He was born on February 28, 1874, to William Francis Cochran and Eva Smith. His grandfather was Alex ...

. He died on 26 February 1954.

Nicholson designs

*''Dacia'' (5-rater, 1891) *''Marigold'' (cutter, 1892) - still sails *''Avel'' (cutter, 1896) - still sails as tender to ''Creole'' (see below) *''Black Swan'' (originally ''Brynhyld'', yawl, 1899) - still sails *''Merrymaid'' (handicap cruising yacht, 1904) - still sails *''Norland'' (schooner, 1904) *''Nyria'' (first large Bermuda cutter, 1906) *''Brynhild II'' (23mR, 1907) *''Joyette'' (originally ''Almara'') (101 ft, 1907) - under refit *''Orion'' (racing schooner, 1910) - still sails *''

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

'' ( 15mR, 1912) *''The Brat of Dunkirk (38 Yawl, 1913)-Hout Bay Yacht Club - restoration project'' *''Marguerita'' (racing schooner, 1913) *''Pamela'' ( 15mR, 1913) *''Paula III'' ( 15mR, 1913) *''

Shamrock IV ''Shamrock IV'' was a yacht owned by Sir Thomas Lipton and designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson. She was the unsuccessful challenger in the 1920 America's Cup. - While the boat was launched in 1914, and soon towed across the Atlantic by Lipton's ...

'' ( Universal Rule 75-footer, 1914) for

Sir Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...

*''Patricia'' ( R-Class, 1921) *''Sylvia'' (Bermuda ketch, 1925) - still sails * ''Hurrica V'' (24 m ketch, 1924, Nicholson design 315), Built in Australia, restored at Norman Wrights in Brisbane, enroute to San Francisco *''Creole'' (originally ''Vira'', three-mast staysail schooner, 1927) - still sails *''Astra'' (23mR, 1928) - still sails *''Lady Van" (Universal Rule “R” Class, 1928) - still sails *''Candida'' (23mR, 1929) - still sails *''Driac'' (Bermudian cutter, 40', 1930) - still sails *'' Shamrock V'' (

J-class yacht A J-Class yacht (sometimes called a "J-boat") is a single-masted racing yacht built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J-Class are considered the peak racers of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibi ...

, 1930) for

- still sails *''Patience'' (Bermuda cutter, 1931) - still sails *''

Velsheda The J-class yacht ''Velsheda'' was designed by Charles Ernest Nicholson and built in 1933 by Camper and Nicholsons at Gosport, Hampshire. She was built for businessman William Lawrence Stephenson and between 1933 and 1936, she won many races and ...

'' (

, 1933) - still sails *'' Endeavour'' (

, 1934) - still sails *''Endeavour II'' (

, 1936) *''

Bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ''l ...

'' (

12mR The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

, 1936) - still sails *
Gadwall
' (30' Bermuda Sloop, 1939) - Xyris Class - still sails *'' Oiseau de Feu'' (originally ''Firebird X'', offshore racing ketch, 1937) - still sails *''Trivia'' (

, 1937) - still sails *''Folly'' (8mR first rule) 1909 was his boat (Mr Charles E Nicholson designed for himself and was built at Camper & Nicholson in Gosport). Still sails and race.

Biography

Nicholson designs

References

Further reading