Aviation buffs and better read naval architects will already be up to speed about the Soviet Ekranoplan ground effect craft programme which ran from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Out of that programme emerged the famed Caspian Sea Monster which had military analysts around the world scratching their heads. Now the same ground effect flight concept is back in modern guise and with the benefit of today’s materials and design tools to a completely different new level of refinement, delivered through ambitious design allied with the best composite engineering and build craftsmanship. Carol Cronin paid a visit to a well-known maritime town and the famous boatbuilding family who still call it home