16' Wayfarer Dinghy (1964) - WIND SHADOW

Wind Shadow is #971 of the Wayfarer dinghies built to Ian Proctor’s design. A “Mark 1”, she was built of mahogany plywood in 1964 and partially rebuilt using pieces from two boats in the mid-80s. We redecked her in 2025/26. We use her for daysailing, beer can races, regattas, overnight cruises and the occasional rally. She was the first finisher in the 2025 Watertribe UltraMarathon and we plan to sail her in the 2026 Everglades Challenge.

Wayfarers, both the original wood boats and the updated modern fiberglass boats currently built, are one of the most versatile small sail boats ever designed. Called, “The Boat For All Reasons!” they are easily trailered, rigged and sailed. A great learning platform, yet sophisticated enough for racing, their owners daysail, cruise and race, with frequent class association cruising rallies and regattas in Canada, the US, UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. Known to be quite rugged, they are sailed by crews ranging from one to six, and they handle a wide range of weights and competencies.

Frank Dye’s voyages to Iceland and Norway from Scotland in W48 rank among the most epic adventures of small boat sailing.

Older wooden boats can even be competitive with new fiberglass boats, as seen by Wind Shadow winning the 2021 US Nationals and W397 finishing third in the 2022 World Championships!