Harwich's Dolphin Sails celebrates 60 years: 'The sea is in our veins'

Dolphin Sails was founded in 1964 by sailing buddies Brian Vincent and Pat Webb, and today has 22 employees split between Harwich and West Mersea. 

Matthew Vincent, 68, now runs the business with wife Kate Vincent.

They took over from Matthew’s dad Brian, now 95.

Over the past 60 years, one of the biggest changes to the sailing world has been technology, with laminated sails only appearing about 25 to 30 years ago, although Dolphin still makes some sails in the same way as when it started. 

 Speaker - Matthew Vincent at the 60th anniversary party at Harwich Sailing Club  (Image: Submitted)

Matthew, who studied physics and astrophysics at university, has travelled the world to see how different companies do things.

He said: “I've never seen anybody that does it quite the way we do it.”

Customers range from youngsters starting out in Optimist sailing dinghies to the second richest man in the world.

Matthew said: "Jeff Bezos is one of the three richest guys in the world, and we have done some work for him in the past couple of years.”

Base - Dolphin Sails' Harwich base on Main Road (Image: TazzyBro Photography)
Formula one manager and pundit Eddie Jordan and designer Adrian Newey are also clients.

Despite the big-name customers, Matthew said: “I still come across people even locally, who when I tell them we’ve been going on 60 years say ‘I'm sorry, I've never heard of you'."

Staff - A member of the team hard at work at Dolphin Sails (Image: TazzyBro Photography) Matthew says his father started the business in a shed at the bottom of the garden.

After working on the railways, Brian had started making yachting clothing before launching Dolphin Sails.

Matthew also has sail-making history on his mother's side of the family.

He added: “A lot of people who live in coastal places have got something about the sea inside them."

Dolphin Sails celebrated its 60th anniversary on Saturday November 2 at Harwich Town Sailing Club.