7070 CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2016PANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC WEEK PROGRAMME
Welcome to the programme for the 15th Panerai British Classic
Week, which this year has been kindly compiled by our friends at
Classic Boat in association with Spirit Yachts. This year’s regatta,
the British Classic Yacht Club’s flagship event, will take place in
Cowes from 16 to 23 July.
As Regatta Chairman, and as a keen competitor myself, it is a
great pleasure to introduce you to what has become the highlight of
the British classic sailing calendar.
The following pages detail an eclectic selection of this year’s
entrants, reflecting the extraordinary variety of magnificent
craft attending. The raison d’être of the British Classic Yacht
Club is its fleet of beautiful yachts and this year’s entries certainly
make for a compelling read.
For those of you in far-off climes, and who have perhaps never
raced in the Solent, it is worth noting that the waters around the
Isle of Wight present some of the most challenging racing
conditions anywhere in the world. With complex, fast-flowing
tides, sandbanks and rocks, as well as commercial shipping
channels (not to mention the Cowes ferries ..!) this is truly one of
the greatest sailing venues for the classic yacht enthusiast.
Race management will once again be in the very capable hands
of the Royal Yacht Squadron, which for the last two years has
given us excellent weeks of varied and exciting racing. To add to
the action on the water, this year we will have a tracking system on
board each yacht with real-time position information screened
online and in the Panerai lounge ashore.
After much discussion, the Around the Island race will come
back into the points structure and, in acknowledgement of the
challenge involved in undertaking this race, there will again be a
full 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize structure in each class as well as the
existing line honours and 1st overall trophies. The direction for thisrace is decided on the morning in question, to ensure the best
sailing dependent on the Great British weather!
There will be a full programme of events each day for the
Cruising Class, taking them to some of the best venues in the
Solent before returning each evening to join the Racing Fleet for
a rich social mix ashore. This year we are particularly pleased
to invite a small selection of notable classic motor yachts to
join the Cruising Class. We are sure this innovation will enrich
the cruising division and create an even more enthralling
spectacle in the Yacht Haven.
Panerai is once again our principal sponsor and we are
grateful for their continuing support and high level of
enthusiasm for classic yachting, not just at Cowes, but at all
other Panerai regattas in the Mediterranean and the USA. The
level of support from Panerai and their extraordinary degree of
professionalism are much appreciated and enjoyed by the classic
yacht scene worldwide. We are also grateful to EFG, which has
enhanced its support this year and will again be sponsoring
the Around the Island race.
Mary Scott-Jackson will thankfully be running the regatta office
with her usual good humour and unflappable efficiency and, whilst
we can’t guarantee the weather, we can promise an exhilarating
and enjoyable week of sailing! I look forward to seeing many of
you in July, and for those not attending I do hope you will consider
joining us next year.Sean McMillan
Rear Commodore (Sailing)
and Regatta Chairman,
British Classic Yacht ClubBritish Classic Yacht ClubPANERAI BRITISH CLASSIC WEEK WELCOME