In 1938, a year before Whooper, the designs for Wapipi were commissioned and she commenced building in Plymouth by Morgan Giles (no connection) for Commander W. B. Pirie. When delivered she sailed under the burgee of the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club. She was later owned by Sir Derrick Gunston.

Wapipi shared Whooper’s hull lines with minor changes to the keel, she has an iron keel and composite iron and teak swing keel whereas the earlier yacht was fitted with a lead ballast keel and 100% teak swing keel blade.

Wapipi was shipped to the United States in 1975, but earlier in 1948 a yard in New Zealand built a repeat for Hobart resident Mr H. R. Tate. This is the first record of a Laurent Giles design being built in Aotearoa, the land of the long clouds. Recorded as design number 0071 she was the first of more than forty custom built yachts constructed in New Zealand from Laurent Giles designs, remarkable as Jack never set foot there in all of his twenty years association with the wonderful island nation. Not surprisingly we have long ago lost track of this magnificent and significant yacht! Is there anyone out there who can help?