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62 CLASSIC BOAT OCTOBER 2016

COWES CLASSICS WEEK 2016

yachts in the world, in their scores, sometimes hundreds,

CCW is a thoughtful mix of the unimpeachables (Peggy

Bawn, Athena, etc), but also a number of later boats that

you might be on the fence about. A good example of this

was the new S&S Swan cruiser class, taking part for the

first time at this regatta. Many of these yachts are

beautiful in their own way – 1960s and 70s designs from

the greatest designer of the era – and built to a famously

high standard, even in their day, when glass hulls tended

to be heavily built compared to current standards.

Winner in that class was Jonathan Wallis’s yacht Sheevra.

The prize-giving ceremony at the Royal London was,

as you might guess from the complexity of the event, one

of the most protracted, enjoyable occasions, with a

seemingly endless list of sailors going to collect their cups

in various classes. One famous class that has taken

Cowes Classics Week under its wing is the Solent

Sunbeams, and having met and sailed with Roger

Wickens in the past, it was no surprise to see him walk

to the podium to collect the top prize – the Charles

Stanley Cowes Classics Week Trophy, for his week’s

performance on his Sunbeam Danny. The longest and

loudest clap of the evening went to the extraordinary

teenager Natasha Lambert who, though wheelchair-

bound by cerebral palsy, has sailed across the Channel

and to Wales. She was given a £750 cheque for her

charity, the Miss Isle School of Sip-Puff Sailing.

Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week 2017: 17 to 21 July.

Above: SCODs, Folkboats, Stellas, Contessa 26s and more in the cruiser class.

Below: Stardust looked well turned out. Bottom: the closely matched Darings

and provided a fine racing spectacle