About Jeremy Rogers
A quiet legend who loves the sea and boats, Jeremy Rogers MBE was the mastermind behind the sleek and capable Contessa range of sailing yachts. As a youngster he built and sailed several dinghies, leading to a boatbuilding apprenticeship.
His career in boat design and manufacturing began with GRP sailing dinghies, which he raced enthusiastically with his younger brother Jonathan. These were followed by Dysca, a Folkboat, which led on to the development of the Contessa 26 (drawn by David Sadler and named after his wife, Tessa). The Rogers brothers sailed an early model,
Contessa of Wight, to second fastest boat overall in the 1969 Round the Island Race – a success repeated the following year.
Then came the Contessa 32: there are at least 650 examples around the world and it’s still in production.
He set up his business, Jeremy Rogers Limited in 1961 and within ten years was at the helm of one of the most successful boat manufacturing companies in Britain.
Running the Lymington-based business during the 1970s and 80s was demanding; five purpose built factories with a workforce of some 200 skilled shipwrights, making boats to fund the company’s design, construction and racing programme.
Rogers’ innovative approach to manufacturing was responsible for, among other things, introducing vacuum resin injection moulding (VARI) for GRP hull production in conjunction with Lotus sports cars legend Colin Chapman.
When asked what lay behind the success of his designs his often quoted answer was simply: “It just feels right.”