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Windrush 600 #1 ... The design process
The Windrush 600 was conceived by Richard Macfarlane as
a progression for those who had grown up with the surfcat scene, possibly
married with a young family, and who wanted to continue developing their
sailing experiences in a vessel with a similar 'feel' and performance.
In an early handout, he outlines his philosophy
So what happened to #1?. To generate some publicity, #1 was sent to Europe to
compete in multihull events. Although the boat in the previous reviews
was the original narrow version, the '#1' competing in Europe was the wide
version, here shown in the European
Micromultihull Championship in 1988, sailed by Brett and Hayden
Burville.
Here are components of the original Australian brochure ...
front page,
back page,
stories,
pictures,
description.
Unfortunately incomplete, this review
by Bob Lawrence in 'Catamaran Sailor' outlines the vessel's characteristics.
Following the success of his smaller cats, the builder saw the broader scope
available by making these boats available in Europe. He also responded
to a suggestion to produce a wider version ... this
specification sheet from the UK agency outlines the differences.
The sails were made by a Dutch sailmaker Arjen Kooij, and
show the 'racing number' 83, rather than W#1 After the
race the crew bought the boat, refurbished it, and sold it to a Dutch
importer. In 1989 the first Dutch owner set sail with the original 'W#1'
sails made by West Coast Sails in Freemantle.

The latter information came from the boat's present owner Sipke Diepbrink, who contacted me while trying to get information on the boats and was the inspiration for these pages.
Here is a recent photo of #1, flying a standard tri-radial spinnaker. Sipke is refurbishing the vessel once again, including a new set of sails from Arjen Kooij, who made the racing sails so many years ago.
Sipke believes that there were 12 boats imported to Europe and is trying to trace the location of any surviving vessels. If you are aware of any history of W600s in Europe, please email me