Guiding Star was built in Looe, Cornwall in 1907 as fishing lugger FY363 for for Thomas Soady and his three sons by shipwright James Angear. For thirty years, she fished for mackerel, pilchards and herring off the coast of Cornwall. She was converted into a yacht in the 1930s at Uphams yard in Brixham.
She’s a traditional wooden boat, very steady at sea. She has a gaff mainsail and a lug mizzen; there are no winches but the rig is easy to handle because none of the sails is very big. Below there’s a saloon with a paraffin lamp, a roomy galley, and five berths.
From 1960-1989 Guiding Star was owned by Brigadier John (“Jack”) Glennie, who sailed her all around Europe. She was then substantially rebuilt in the early 1990s by Barry Jobson and Jackie Gillespie, who sailed her to the Caribbean and back and took part in many classic regattas. Her current owners are Paul and Sue Eedle.
