Sólmara 

Junk Rigged

‘Sólmara’ is an early Newbridge Coromandel, a 21-foot fibreglass bilge-keeled cruiser built in 1982. (Sail number 17). She is one of the few production sailing yachts ever designed specifically for the junk rig.
The junk rig is a refinement of the ancient Chinese design, adapted for modern sailing by Herbert “Blondie” Hasler.

Designed for simplicity, safety, and ease of handling, it requires no winches, no complex sheeting systems, and no standing rigging. ‘Sólmara’s’ is a Hasler-McLeod design, and her hull, adapted from Robert Tucker’s classic Corribee, was purpose built to accommodate it.

The result is a boat that is genuinely easy to sail, particularly for solo sailors and those who value self-reliance over complexity.

Sólmara’s forty-odd years afloat have been eventful. In 2012, as ‘Missy Moto’, a south coast storm saw her breaking free from her moorings and becoming wedged beneath a bridge. She lost her mast, rudder, and skeg in that encounter.

What followed was a remarkable journey of restoration. A couple from Yorkshire spent three years painstakingly rebuilding her in Greece and as ‘Little Min’ she sailed in the Mediterranean. Back in the UK, a New Zealander bought her, renamed her ‘Minim’, and added a solar-electric motor to allow silent cruising on inland rivers. For several years she explored the Thames and East Coast before circumstances forced a change of ownership.

In October 2024, she was acquired by the current owner and transported from London down to her new home in Falmouth, Cornwall.

She was renamed ‘Sólmara’, a name reflecting the new owners’ Norse-Gael heritage and yearning for sun and sea.

Over the past year, she’s been restored to full seaworthiness.

More than a boat with history, ‘Sólmara’ represents a different approach to sailing, one where simplicity, self-reliance, and sound seamanship matter more than horsepower or size.