Five minutes to go before the start. The sun is shining, there’s an 18-knot westerly breeze, and the first class flag is being hoisted on the starting vessel for Group B. Just a few metres from the starting line, the ‘Eager’ – a Nicholson 55 – is already lying in wait, elegant and ready for battle. The tide is still running with the wind. For now.
Meanwhile, there is a sense of unease on the start vessel – not because of the imminent start. Nor is it because of the conditions. These are, in fact, ideal for the Solent. The unease stems from the lack of boats. Too few of the registered boats are at the starting line just before the start.
Then the ‘Papa’ flag goes up. Four minutes to go. Three minutes, two… And then – a sigh of relief. The ‘Overlord’, a 17-metre-long ocean-going cruiser, makes it to the line just in time after all. ‘What a relief,’ says someone on board the starting vessel, ‘now we’ve got a race.’
Then the starting signal is given. The ‘Eager’ sails across the line at full speed. But what about the ‘Overlord’? It seems to be having problems. The genoa is flapping, and the strong current pushing westwards through the Solent is driving the historic yacht further and further away from the starting line.
It takes a few moments, then the crew pulls themselves together. The genoa is hauled in. At first sluggishly, then with increasing vigour, the classic yacht sets off. Close to the wind, against the current, towards the windward mark. “There you go!” is one of the comments on the start boat. Everyone takes it in their stride. No wonder, as that is exactly in keeping with the spirit of the event.
A shared organisation between two top dogs
What is taking place here in the Middle Solent, between Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth, is the 18th edition of the Cowes Classics Regatta. It’s a fixture on the local classic yachting calendar. This is evident from the field of competitors: a total of 70 boats across three courses, with 250 sailors – many of whom are from the region. The atmosphere is friendly and informal.
Traditionally, the Royal London Yacht Club (RLYC) has organised the regatta; since last year, it has been doing so jointly with the Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC), which has a larger membership. The two clubs, both steeped in tradition, share the clubhouse in Cowes, the sailing capital of Britain, and have recently begun organising the regatta together.
“The Cowes Classics Regatta is organised by sailors for sailors. Classic yachts from the region come together here. Occasionally, crews from Scotland or other countries take part as well,” says Peter Taylor. He is one of the regatta’s founders. Until 2017, he was Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club and, for a time, also Chairman of Cowes Week.
The beginning, 100 years after the Olympic Games
Taylor explains that the regatta originally grew out of a revival event for the metre-class yachts. That was in 2008, exactly one hundred years after the Olympic Games in Great Britain. At its peak, up to 200 boats took part in the Cowes Classics Regatta. That was just before and after the Covid lockdown. After that, numbers plummeted. The field of participants has also changed, says Taylor. Meter-class yachts used to dominate; today, there are more daysailers.
Unlike the larger British Classic Yacht Club Regatta in July, which mainly attracts purists, the Cowes Classics have a more relaxed atmosphere. This is emphasised by Tim Hancock, Sailing Director of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and this year’s race director:
"We want people with older boats to come along, enjoy the regatta, learn something and make the most of the event."
The Cowes Classics Regatta embodies the “Corinthian Spirit”
The so-called ‘Corinthian Spirit’ is at the heart of the Cowes Classics Regatta – a term you hear constantly amongst sailors here. It can best be translated as ‘amateur sailing’: no paid professionals on board, a more liberal interpretation of the rules, and less stringent regulations.
There is a reason why this principle is explicitly emphasised in Cowes. In the sailing waters off the Isle of Wight – one of the world’s most historic sailing regions – one regularly encounters Admirals’ Cup veterans and professional skippers, both on land and at sea.
The deliberate decision to eschew professionalism at the Cowes Classics Regatta is therefore not a matter of nostalgia, but a philosophy. Of course, this does nothing to diminish the participants’ competitive spirit. As a result, they give it their all on all three courses. Only when in doubt do they tend to tack away and hold back rather than assert their right of way. “For the sake of the atmosphere, and to preserve the classic boats,” says Hancock.
International classics and many British one-design classes
These include one-design classes such as the Dragon and the Daring. The latter are based on the design of the 5.5-metre class, but are a one-design class rather than a construction class. They are mainly sailed in the UK – as are the XODs.
On Course B, the classic yachts are competing; the ‘Eager’ and the ‘Overlord’, for example, are sailing ‘round the cans’, as they say here, around the regatta buoys laid out in the Solent. The fleet is divided into two groups: over and under 13 metres. In the significantly larger Group 2, classic yachts such as two Contessa 32s, a Swan 36, several H-boats and a British Folkboat line up together at the start.
Scoring is based on handicap. What counts as a ‘classic’ is defined in the ‘Notice of Race’. It states: classic keelboats and gaffers with a design at least 50 years old, plus all metre classes, classic daysailers and one-designs. It is the age of the design that is decisive, not that of the boats themselves.
A legendary fishing ground, legendary boats
It is not just the designs that are classics – some of the boats themselves also have eventful histories. The ‘Overlord’, for example, the yacht that made it to the starting line just in time, is closely linked to German sailing history. It is 17 metres long, with a wooden hull, deck and superstructure. Abeking & Rasmussen built her around 90 years ago in Bremen-Lemwerder. At that time, she was still known as the ‘Pelikan’.
Before the Second World War, she was moored in Kiel and was well known along the Baltic Sea coast. The Luftwaffe used her to train soldiers and officers. Hermann Göring is said to have enjoyed sailing on her. After the war, the ‘Pelikan’, along with an estimated 200 other yachts, passed into British ownership as war reparations. As there were initially no comparable officer training programmes in Britain, the boats took on this role – henceforth known as ‘Windfalls’, meaning strokes of luck.
A detailed profile of the boat Read about the ‘Overlord’ here.
Joining her on Berth B, and no less impressive, is the ‘Eager’, formerly the ‘Lutine’, a Nicholson 55. Rutherfords restored her in the USA for around one million pounds. Almost everything was replaced – and yet the unmistakable style of the classic offshore racer has been preserved. Only more modern.
The Solent: a sailing delight and a challenge all in one
Seeing classics like these sailing on the Solent is a spectacular sight. And this legendary sailing area shows itself from its most glorious, yet challenging, side. In the morning, with winds of 16 to 25 knots and the current flowing in the same direction, the boats glide smoothly through the waves. But at midday, the tide turns – suddenly the wind is against the current. Within minutes, the conditions change.
A steep, short “chop” is building up, with white crests everywhere. “A strong current, plenty of wind and this chop – that’s typical of the Solent,” says Phil Hagen, who is overseeing the race for the classic yachts on Course B. Meanwhile, dark clouds are gathering over the mainland, whilst the sun continues to shine over the Solent.
More from the Solent:
- World Mixed Doubles Championships: A hard-fought final in calm conditions – Rixgens/Reinke finish sixth in the World Championships
- Cup: A show of strength in the Solent – favourites neck and neck
- Admiral’s Cup: Greifswald family crew enjoys a power play with the Goliaths
- Transatlantic Race: A North Atlantic adventure from Newport to Cowes
But as time goes on, the conditions take their toll. More and more crews are reporting over the radio that they are giving up and returning to Cowes. A boat drifts over from the Dragon course, its headsail torn to shreds. Thick waterproofs are everywhere; the air is thick with sea spray. After three races, that’s it for the day. British afternoon tea awaits.
For the “Overlord”, however, things don’t go to plan in the end: it narrowly misses the 30-minute window that opens after the “Eager” crosses the finish line. After three races on the second day of sailing, the result is a ‘DNF’ (Did Not Finish). When the race committee informs the crew of this, the reply over the radio is brief but calm: ‘No problem. Thanks for waiting.’ Very ‘Corinthian’ indeed.
Further information on the 2026 Cowes Classics Regatta and all the results you can find here.
More classics in YACHT classic
Are you interested in the world of classic yachts, traditional boatbuilding and the history of sailing? If so, read more about it in our special edition, YACHT classic.
Fabian Boerger
Editor News & Panorama
