Name Nepenthe

The Yacht NEPENTHE was built in 1903 by Kidby & sons of Brightlingsea. She was built to order for her first owner, E A Hibbs, and first registered at Colchester. She was originally engineless and rigged as a gaff cutter, but has been re-rigged at some point as a Bermuda cutter. In 1904, she was purchased by F Smith, and in 1910 by H Stuart. By the mid-1920s, having been owned by G W Wait and W Allerton before then, she was purchased by H F Potter and based in the East Coast. In 1928, NEPENTHE was fitted with an auxiliary engine.

Since then, she has remained closely associated with the Essex and Suffolk coasts, particularly the waters around Brightlingsea and Manningtree. She was also sailed along the South Coast, and it is believed that she went to Iceland and back at some point. In 2003, she celebrated her 100th birthday off Southampton Water, in an event organised by her then-owner B Sexton, who had owned her since 1959

She was acquired by her current owner in Poole in 2025, where she had been for some time, and moved to Suffolk for conservation. She is currently fitted with a single 2016 Yanmar 43hp engine, which replaced her previous Beta Marine 43 engine.

NEPENTHE will be relaunched in Ipswich at some point in 2027.