Tony Buttolph
Sad to share the news that my wonderful husband has passed away. Known as Tony, his full name was William Antony Fearnley Buttolph. He died in February, just after his 84th birthday.
A sailor all his life, the first boat he owned ,which he bought with his own money, was a small dingy which he sailed on Thorpeness Mere., Suffolk He started sailing aged 6 – in those wonderful days when children could go off freely all day with just a packed lunch and instructions to be home for tea. I have tried to count up all the boats he owned and have lost count – since we married in 2021 we have had five, a Scanmar sailing boat, as fast as the wind, and four motor cruisers. He especially loved Sisa B ,the last boat we bought, a Broom 29HT, which is in Brundall Bay Marina.
Tony raced sailing boats for most of his life, a member of Southwold Sailing Club, the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Club and Port Solent sailing club. From small squibs up to the great America’s Cup boats he did it all, his speciality was as a sail trimmer, able to find a breeze when others failed. He took part in dozens of races including the Fastnet. As a qualified yacht master, for recreation he used to be a boat delivery skipper, for an east coast yacht broker, moving boats all over the UK, and France, Holland and Belgium. The first Broom he owned was specially designed for him, as a keen water skier and one of the first to do paraskiing, Broom adapted a boat for him with a souped up engine and strengthened transom to support the ski poles. He supervised my boating and encouraged me to gain my day skipper qualification – his boating knowledge was exceptional and he happily shared this.
Caroline Buttolph