John Steven Dews b. 1949

Both Shamrock and Valsheda were designed and  built by Charles Nicholson, the former belonged to the tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton the latter by W.L. Stephenson.
The name Valsheda came from a combination of Stephenson's daughters, Velma, Daphne and Sheila.  In her second season she won more than forty races around the coast of Great Britain under Captain Mountfield. 
Shamrock V was the fifth and final yacht owned by Lipton.  Having competed and lost the America's Cup five times, he sold her to Thomas Sopwith in 1932.  His final defeat came in the year of the present work where he lost in four straight races to Enterprise which carried a revolutionary Aluminium mast.
Britannia was converted to a J-class yacht in 1930, a move prompted by the 'Universal' rule; this defined the yacht by its waterline length and was ordered alphabetically;  the 'J' category referring to yachts between seventy-five and eighty-seven feet.
Britannia was tragically scuttled in 1935 in accordance with the Kings will but both Valsheda and Shamrock have been restored in recent years and race all over the world.