The Whitby 45
George Cuthbertson
WHITBY 45 DESIGNERAhoy there, mateys! Let me spin you a yarn about the salt-weathered sailor, George Cuthbertson one of the masterminds behind Cuthbertson & Cassian Ltd., which later set sail as C&C Yachts. Our tale starts with young George, born back in 1929 in Brantford, Ontario. Aye, tragedy struck at 13 when his old man fell to an untimely death, setting the course for his clan to weigh anchor and settle in Toronto.
At a tender age, just a year past the move, young George hopped aboard Toronto’s Royal Canadian Yacht Club as a junior member. There, he got his first taste of the sea breeze and the art of sailboats. By the time he was 17, he’d already been crowned the measure master of the RORC race rule for the RCYC. Held onto that title through his university days, he did.
Now, as he toiled away and earned his degree in mechanical engineering, he’d start doodling modifications for boats at the request of his fellow sea dogs. But designing boats for a living? Ahoy, he reckoned it was a pipe dream for a lad of 22 summers.
His first real job was far from the sea spray, working with those Swedes over at SKF making ball bearings. But as fate would have it, he met fellow sailor Peter Davidson, and they set to crafting small fiberglass boats together.
It was 1953 when the wind caught their sails and they conjured up about 80 of them Water Rat dinghies. Yet, there weren’t many opportunities for ship design in Canada in them days. So, they turned merchants of the sea, importing European yachts under the flag of Canadian Northern Co.
But then, a twist of the wind blew Norman Walsh their way. The man had a hankering to snatch back Canada’s Cup from the clutches of the Rochester Yacht Club. With Cuthbertson’s magic touch, they refashioned an existing vessel and snatched that Cup back in 1954. Walsh wasn’t done, though. He wanted a new bruiser of a boat, 50 to 55 feet long, for ocean racing.
“I hadn’t yet drawn anything bigger than a dinghy when I took the task,” said Cuthbertson. But oh, what a creation it became! The legendary Innisfree, a ship that ruled the waves in offshore and Great Lakes racing for many a moon. And Elsie D, the RCYC race honcho ship, made her debut in 1958, just before the Innisfree set sail.
In the year of 1967, during a time of shifting tides in racing sailboat design, George set to work on the Whitby 45 for Kurt Hansen of Whitby Boat Works. The winds were blowing away from the old Cruising Club of America rule and them purpose-built IOR racing vessels. George said the 45 bore the closest kinship to the earlier Redline 41, boasting them long overhangs, that signature Cuthbertson swept-back rudder, and a fin keel as sturdy as a ship’s mast.</p><p>And there you have it, the tale of George Cuthbertson (up to designing the Whitby 45), a sailor who carved his name in the annals of maritime history with his design prowess and a heart as wild as the open sea.
Whitby Boat Works LTD.
BOAT MANUFACTURER
Alberg 37 
Whitby 42
Ahoy there, me hearties! Cast yer gaze back to the days of yore when the sea breeze whispered tales of wooden sailing wonders. Aye, afore the birth of Whitby Boat Works, a pair by the names of Kurt and Doris Hansen were craftin’ sailing dinghies from the very heartwood of 1958. ‘Twas in the year 1960 that they hoisted the colors of Whitby Boat Works high. But fate be a fickle companion, as fire danced through the sails of their original Whitby shipyard in 1964. They sailed their ship, albeit temporarily, to the shores of Ajax, Ontario, CAN, while their dreams of a rebirth on their original shores lingered like a distant siren’s song.
Kurt Hansen, he be no stranger to the sea’s call. He not only fashioned the likes of the Continental Folkboat, Alberg 30, and 37s, but also raced the waves with a fire in his belly. The Southern Ocean Racing Conference had sung his praises, bestowing trophies upon him as he steered the 30 and 37 to victory. Yet, in his veins flowed the thirst for more.
In the year 1968, the molds of the Whitby 45 were hewn, and swiftly did 16 of these sleek racers emerge from the shipyard’s embrace. Among them, Hansen’s own jewel, Dushka, gleamed. Most sailed off to the U.S. East Coast, the wind carrying their legacy. Then, ’twas the 1972 SORC that saw a Whitby 45 seize the laurels in Class C, while Hansen’s own creation held the seventh spot in the rankings.
The shipyard’s hammer struck true, for over 600 Alberg 30s, some 250 Alberg 37s, a fair tally of Whitby 42s, 19 Whitby 45s, and a handful of the formidable 55’s were birthed from their hands. Ah, but as all tales do, this one too had its final chapter. From 1960 to 1988, the Whitby Boat Works sailed the tides of business, leaving their mark upon the sea of history.
Now, me hearties, let me spin a yarn of Alex Magnone, a sturdy hand from Calabria, Italy. In 1968, at the spry age of 26, he charted a course to the shores of Canada. Whitby Boat Works beckoned him to their crew, where he lent his craftsman’s touch to the very innards of boats. By 1973, he’d taken the helm as foreman, overseeing the assembly line with the knowing eye of an old sea captain. “Every vessel that ventured forth,” he’d boast, “I knew ’em like the North Star. Each bore its own tale, its own quirks. Me missus claims I knew those boats better than me own homestead.”
When the sails of Whitby Boat Works were furled for the last time, the land and its buildings passed into the hands of Whitby’s town folk. But Magnone, he weren’t done yet. He held onto a piece of the shipyard’s spirit, aye, and from that spark, Whitby Boat & Specialty Wood Work Ltd. was brought to life. Repairs and refits danced from his skilled hands, mostly on the vessels he had once dressed for the sea’s embrace.
And then, one fateful day, destiny unfurled its sails. Hansen’s Whitby 45 lay wounded, fallen to its side like a wounded comrade. Hansen and de Munnik, they answered the sea’s call once more, unveiling a cruising incarnation of the Whitby 45. Ten inches less draft, a keel of cast lead longer and stronger, a rudder standing tall and proud. The deck reached for the heavens, adding headroom, the coachroof stretching fore and aft. No more would the cockpit be divided. The sails sang the same tune, but within, the ship’s soul had been reborn, a new chapter penned within its storied hull.
OUR BEST EFFORT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE BEAUTIFUL VESSELS
Known Whitby 45s
Hull 1: 45691
Bonaventure IV originally purchased by W. Bernard Herman (Bernie). Kurt Hansen purchased from Bernie and renamed the vessel Dushka IV. As stories go, Kurt kept one of the water tanks filled with whiskey. 🙂 One of the Whitby 45s owned by Kurt Hansen fell off its stands while at drydock. It is possible this is that vessel. It is also possible that this vessel sailed under sail number 4000 while Dushka IV. At some point, Harold Zigmund purchased this vessel and named her Maria II. As Maria II, she won the 1985 Trans Superior. Bob Bruce eventually purchased her and named her Zenith. While Bob Bruce owned Zenith, she hailed from Port Duluth, MN. Tim Colon purchased Zenith and moved the port of call to Vineyard Haven, Mass. (USCG 534166; WYZ5178)
Hull 2: 456902
SONNY owned by A. D. Phelps, Jr. of Stamford, Connecticut. Won the Knickerbocker Yacht Club’s Annual Day Race on the Long Island Sound in 1969 in Class C. (https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/20/archives/sonny-takes-overall-honors-in-knickerbocker-y-c-sail-pegasus-is.html) Earned 2nd place in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference series in 1972 in Class C. (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/04/16/91326442.html?pageNumber=340) Donated to AMIKids in 1976. (https://www.northropandjohnson.com/news/brokerage-new-build/9127-74m-sonny-iii-donated-to-amikids – last paragraph) USCG 644229; Call Sign WCZ4860; Purchased in Sarasota in 2012 transported to Port O’Connor; Ray Gall purchased in Port O’Connor and took to Galveston and named the vessel Dolce Vita. USCG 1233638
Hull 3: 456903
Stormy Monday owned by Winston Ford and hailing from St. Thomas. USCG 938276; CG316657; John Martin, a Coral Reef Yacht Club Member, purchased and named the vessel Scirocco. D938276 CG016525
NOTE: This vessel is for sale as of August 2024. Contact us if you are interested and we will connect you with the seller.
Hull 4: 456904
Unknown
Hull 5: 456905
Hull # 45695: Originally Wisp CG025133 (Canadian Flag); WZT3953; Alt VIN D528125. Purchased by H. G. Okhuysen and named Brandaris II; 814000 (Canada). Purchased by Mark Case and named Vagari.
Hull 6: 456906
Unknown
Hull 7: 456907
Unknown
Hull 8: 456908
Unknown
Hull 9: 456909
45729? Moonshell – UK
Hull 10: 456910
Unknown
Hull 11: 456911
Unknown
Hull 12: 456912
Dynamite; USCG 529070; Call Sign WZT8017; Jack Hirsch; Knickerbocker Yacht Club 10th Annual 25 Mile Day Race -win; Riverside Yacht Club 40th Annual Stratford Shoal Overnight Race – won
Hull 13: 456913
Hupomone, St. Simon’s Island, GA https://www.scanmarinternational.com/c-and-c-45; HIN 545307; Call Sign WSZ5524
Hull 14: 456914
Unknown
Hull 15: 456915
Unknown
Hull 16: 456916
Guycoki owner Dave McCaw on Lake Ontario (1982)
Hull 17: 456917
Stranger II, 1981(2), Nick and Lynne de Munnik (https://canadianboating.ca/boat-reviews/whitby-4510-boat-review-sail/)
Hull 18: ZWB45018A787
Sojourner then Allegretto; (https://www.yachtingjournal.com/directory/boat/allegretto-1064731) – now SEA ROSE MCMLXIII (current registry in Canada: 845919) owner EMMANUEL CHOURAKI of Montreal, Quebec
Hull 19: ZWB45019A787
1987, Kurt Hansen owner
Unknown Hull Numbers:
Fun; Tom Closs; Annapolis (Docked at the Annex) https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/threads/who-made-this-classic.46022/page-3
Aquavit: https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/92957; Waimanalo, HI; 525497; WDC2178; Michael Gilman (https://www.yachtingjournal.com/directory/boat/aquavit) in 2021 was in La Paz Mexico – 1969 version
Waka Tete in Panama
Loki in Texas
For Sale 3/2023 Georgetown, Exuma, Bahamas
Unknown vessel in Chicago to Mac 1970
Doug Stevenson (pass in 2014) – Whitby Boat Works Broker
“… Quote from !”
GEORGE CUTHBERTSON
Know More?
If you know more about any Whitby 45s, please let us know.