Welcome to Trilogy Sailing the website of trimaran Trilogy and her skipper Martin Phillips.

I have created this website because I am a multihull enthusiast and I have followed their history and development in my own life time (68 years). Although I skipper a Derek Kelsall trimaran my own background lies in traditional sailing craft on the east Coast of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

I was born and brought up in Essex and the East coast encompassing the coastlines of three counties - Suffolk, Essex and Kent   are where I learned to sail and have sailed all of my life.

The River Backwater which forms a wide estuary from the historic port of Maldon leads out to the Thames estuary and as a youngster I became involved in the World of Thames Sailing Barges. Once a vast cargo carrying fleet the survivors were gradually adapted for passenger charter work or often floating homes. These huge craft were historically sailed by a "man and a boy" crew of a skipper and mate (and often an extremely clever dog!!). I stared sailing a small yacht on the Blackwater as a teenager and moved onto sailing on barges being a regular mate for many many years. I was privileged to work with and learn from some of the fantastic skippers that had sailed barges under sail alone as cargo vessels in the final days of UK sail transport.

In 2003 I was one of the founding trustees of the Thames Sailing Barge Trust* taking over two barges sailed by the Thames barge Sailing Club (which I had joined in 1968 aged 12). I qualified with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as a Sailing Barge Master. For brief period I tried to operate a sailing barge as a charter business and earn my living as a professional barge skipper. I eventually owned that vessel Wyvenhoe for 15 years. I also skippered Pudge and Centaur a lot as well and have some expert knowledge of the waters in which they sail from Great Yarmouth down to Ramsgate (currently the limits of the area in which the MCA permits barges to carry up to 12 passengers)

My interest in multihulls started with being inspired by following James Wharram so because of that I have written a short history of James and his designs on this website.

After starting sailing the trimaran that is now called Trilogy III I researched Derek Kelsall and his career. I had followed his designs and their racing successes in the 70's and 80's and since had often thought of building one of his catamarans and obtained study plans and so forth from him as I had also done from James Wharram and Richard Woods. I never had a period where circumstances in my life allowed me to fulfil that dream either and when I and my friend Ray started refurbishing Trilogy ourselves my admiration for anyone that builds their own boat sky rocketed. After working on sailing barge restorations for over 40 years I should have known how much work it needs and because I run a business as well my own time was never going to be able to fit in refurbishment let alone building. 

So this website showcases the work I had done professionally on Trilogy III but also sets out to collect stories and information about the history of multihulls and present it. There are many books and publications and some online forums and websites that contain much of the history but for me being able to represent some of it  to enthusiasts seemed a worthy project. 

This website is up to date as at 30th June 2024.

The gallery below sets out some images of the East Coast and Thames Sailing Barges I have sailed by way of an introduction to my past sailing history and the wonderful traditional sailing community on the east coast. 

* see www.https://bargetrust.org/