Where's Ian

Follow our sponsored crew on-board "Haven K-J Enigma"

About Ian Braham, owner and skipper of ‘Haven KJ Enigma’

Ian started sailing as a boy, first in Heron dinghies and later in Enterprises. He started yacht racing in his late teens, crewing in local races on the Sussex coast. Ian bought his first “yacht”, a UFO 27, at the age of 25, which he raced regularly, including numerous cross channel races and in inshore regattas such as Cowes Week. Probably the most adventurous exploit in “High Flyer” was to sail her two-handed to Cork in the 1994 Triangle Race, (which took 3 days and 4 hours!). A period of dinghy racing followed in his early 30’s, in Fireballs, while also chartering yachts for events such as Cowes Week. The highlight of this was winning the 40 boat Sunsail Sunfast 36 fleet in Cowes Week in 1999 and in doing so, winning holidays in the Caribbean for the crew!

About “Enigma”

Ian purchased Enigma, a 1992 MG 346 designed by Tony Castro, in 2004. Over the intervening years, Ian has raced Enigma in Cowes Week 10 times, with class wins in 5 of these, including winning the overall regatta trophy for yachts (Black Group) in 2008. Enigma has also competed in every Round the Island Race run since 2004 in Enigma, with several class wins recorded over the years.

In 2022, Haven KJ Enigma and crew achieved great results – always a celebration when you’re out on Enigma!

Dartmouth Regatta – 1st position overall

Taittinger Regatta – 1st in class

Round the Island Race – 4th in their IRC Division 3B and 50th overall

In addition to inshore racing, Ian and the team have competed offshore in Enigma, including the Fastnet Race in 2011 and 2015, finishing 5^th and 2^nd in Class 4B. #watchthisspace #AZAB

The Crew

The crew of ‘Haven KJ Enigma’ is made up of a combination of experience (aka old age) and youthful enthusiasm. The core crew is made up of the following:

Marine Surveyor (Ian)
Naval Architect (Pete)
Systems Engineer (Nick)
Yoga Instructor (Claire)
Marine Engineer (Mark)
Yachting journalist and photographer (David)
Graphics Systems Engineer (Neil)
University Student (Carrie)
School Student (Licity . . . when mum Carries lets her sail!)
Training Course Sales Executive (Ross)
Superyacht Crew (Harry – when he’s in the country)
Merchant Shipping Cadet (James – when he’s not away studying or at sea)

and

Insurance Bloke (Paul)

The normal inshore racing crew is 8, with 5 or 6 offshore. A typical average age of the crew would be about 45, with those in the upper 50’s being offset by some in their teens or early twenties. The whole crew is very experienced, with virtually all having started sailing in dinghies as kids. In fact, one member of the core crew (Mark) has sailed with Ian for over 30 years!

A typical year would include local weekly racing from Poole, a number of regattas (Taittenger, Poole, Dartmouth, Round the Island etc) and a couple of cross-channel races.

Below is a calendar for dates so far in 2023!

International Paint Poole Regatta – Poole – 25th – 27th May

Organised by the combined yacht clubs in Poole and sponsored by International Paint and Haven Knox-Johnston (amongst others), this is the opening regatta for our intrepid crew upon ‘Haven KJ Enigma’

The Taittenger Regatta – 14th – 16th July 2023

The Taittinger Regatta at Yarmouth is one of the crews favourite events, combining great racing with excellent social activities ashore. Check out there results by clicking on the link.

Poole Bay Autumn Series – 2nd October – 11th December

Sponsored by Salcombe Distilling Co., the Autumn series has been refined for 2023 with two races being held on each of the nine Sundays.

Results to follow

For enquiries, call us:

+44 (0)1732 223 650

For a boat insurance quote

GET A QUOTE

From the helm

News, true stories and expert insights from the HK-J crew

MORE NEWS

Why insure with HK-J?

Boat insurance, shipshaped around you

Useful Links

Our other brands

Haven Knox-Johnston is a trading name of Howden UK Brokers Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No. 307663. Registered in England and Wales under company registration number 02831010. Registered Office: One Creechurch Place, London, EC3A 5AF. Calls may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance purposes.