Phantom was the third Giles racing yacht to be built by West Custom; she was designed as a lightweight cruiser for Channel Handicap for Chris who had the previous year chartered Fighter, (design number 0971) the 33’ the second U.L.D.B that the practice had designed for Warwick Collins, winning her class outright with 5 out of 7 firsts (they didn’t bother to start the last two races!).

Chris’ brief was for a yacht that was capable of beating Barracuda of Tarrant, and in which Chris could take his family on holiday to Brittany. Phantom has raced successfully for several years and was voted R.O.R.C. boat of the year after her first season. On screen she had a cameo role in British television’s Howard’s Way where she was the yacht to beat, but this was true in real life, consistently fast over the water, fulfilling well her dual role as a cruiser racer averaging 9 knots in comfort without pushing the boat hard and without the need for a large crew.