With a name that perfectly reflects its character, Sturdy was precisely the type of sailing yacht H.W. de Voogt liked to design in 1932: a small sailing ship very suitable for withstanding heavy weather. The design won him a prestigious competition organised at the time by the British magazine The Yachting World. Almost twenty years later, in 1950, De Voogt returned to this design and improved it. Shortly afterwards, six of these teak sailing yachts were built at the shipyard in Aalsmeer.