Hobbit is a 20ft mahogany clinker Laurent Giles Barchetta design sloop based on the legendary Sopranino sailed by Patrick Ellam and Colin Mudie.
In the very early 1950s, Ellam and Mudie chased the big boys of the RORC Santander race fleet, and arrived in their little boat only a few hours after the cream of the fleet despite their much shorter waterline length. They then sailed on to La Coruna, across to Las Palmas, over to the Caribbean and then up to New York. Needless to say, these were no mean achievements for a small boat and Sopranino, Ellam and Mudie all became overnight celebrities.
Their feats inspired the development of the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) of small light-weight, cruiser-racers.
Hobbit is built in mahogany clinker and is for sale at Newson’s in Lowestoft:
http://www.newson.co.uk/boat/hobbit/
Thanks for the useful information. Hobbit is being worked on at the International Boat Building College in Lowestoft at the moment and I was keen to find out more about her history.