Kim Holman

Christopher Rushmore Holman or Kim Holman (born 28 January 1925 Carbis Bay; died 8 April 2006 Witham, Essex)[1] was a British naval architect and co-founder of the Holman and Pye shipyard.

As a child, he sailed extensively with his brothers on the River Fal and the Helford River in Cornwall, where he was born.[2]

He served as an officer in the Royal Navy on a minesweeper during World War II.[2]

After the war, he studied naval architecture at the University of Bristol.[2]

His early sailing yachts, including Phialle (his first design in 1955), Stella,[3] Twister[4][5] Stirling, etc. were sailboats suitable for regattas on the east coast of England, but also for the open sea. Some 100 Stellas were built[3] and more than 200 boats were built based on the Twister design.

In 1961, he partnered with Don Pye to create the Holman and Pye shipyard[2]

In the following years, he designed the Sovereign,[6] then the Whiplash, Casino, Shaker, Centurion 32, etc.

He designed more than 70 boat plans, which were used in the construction of more than 700 sailboats; Holman and Pye went on to have over 4,000 boats built.[2]

Personal life

In 1968, Kim Holman was depressed to see boats becoming more efficient but less aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, which was very important to him.[2] He left Great Britain and sailed less. In 1970, he suffered a stroke. In 1980, he moved to the Caribbean and resumed sailing.[2]

He lived with Lionel Blue from 1962 to 1982, then with Jim Mignotte[7] from 1982 until his death in 2006;[2] Mignotte died in October of that year.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Kim Holman". The Telegraph. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2025. (archive)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Steffan Meyric-Hughes (28 November 2013). "The life and designs of Kim Holman". Classic Boat Magazine. Retrieved 22 August 2025. (archive)
  3. ^ a b Rye, Theo (21 February 2017). "Great yacht designs 10 - the Stella". Classic Boat Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Twister, a childhood dream", Classic Yachting, no. 104, p. 16-23, July 2025
  5. ^ "Twister Class Association - For Those That Sail the Modern Classic Yacht". Twister Class Association. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025. (archive)
  6. ^ "SUPER SOVEREIGN". sailboatdata. Retrieved 23 August 2025. (archive)
  7. ^ a b "Click here to view the tribute page for Isaiah Emmanuel Jim MIGNOTTE". funeral-notices.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
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