Dr. Walford has owned 8 trimarans and catamarans, from 14 feet to 37 feet in length, from daysailer to liveaboard and offshore capable. He has built, re-built, raced and cruised these light, fast, stable and wonderfully responsive boats in the Salish Sea (formerly called the Straits of Georgia) in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently working on a new design to be built entirely to his own criteria.
Currently he has a 31 foot trailerable/folding trimaran named LOTUS, this Farrier RFXAT is built of balsa, honeycomb, fiberglass,carbon fiber, and epoxy resin.
He acquired LOTUS in 2010 as a distressed boat, and after an initial refit taking 1200 hours,he has progressively improved it for speed, safety, and cruising comfort.
The Farrier line of trimarans are noted for their bulletproof construction, efficient sailing, seaworthy manners, and the ability to fold quickly in the water or on dry land for trailerable transport. Thus they are economical to own, there being no need to pay moorage in the off-season. As well, they can be well-maintained in the backyard and modified as desired between seasons
The coast of British Columbia is dotted with over 10,000 islands, 700 estuaries, and hundreds of fjords, making it one of the finest cruising grounds in the world. With a top speed of 25 knots, a motor-sailing speed of 13 knots, and a superbly easily- driven 7 knot hull (before planing begins), LOTUS is an able vessel with extended range compared to an equivalent ballasted monohull boat , which could never exceed 7 knots.
In spring 2018 he raced LOTUS in the Swiftsure Classic , held in Juan de Fuca Strait out of Victoria. It is a Category 1 Offshore Race and thanks to an excellent crew mated to a well-prepared boat, garnered a 5th place out of a field of 8, but placing well ahead of 170 out of 200 boats in terms of speed, finishing an hour ahead of the most equivalent boat in her highly competitive Multihull Division.
As a believer in giving back to his community, Dr. Walford initiated and operated a community sailing school for 15 years on Hornby Island under the auspices of the Ratepayers Summer Recreation Program. Over 200 youth learned to sail in this program. It continues to this day.
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