Classic Boat

The more I look, the less I know

Would Socrates have made a good sailor? He liked telling a yarn. One could easily imagine him saying the seas were not as big, nor the wind as strong, as being suggested, while quietly conveying the sense that they were actually far worse. As the...

QUEEN OF THE J’S Shamrock V

Do not adjust your sets

Normal service will resume in 2026, but who could refuse this wonderful motorboat moment its place on the cover? The Needles, the racing heritage, the winter sunshine. As Christmas Faireys go, this one is due its place at the top of our classic boat...

Not enough, too much.

Anyone who saw footage of Tuiga writhing in 60-knot gusts off Mahon would surely have shared the same feelings of horror and sickness. I shouted at the screen, imploring canvas to be dropped, as the 95ft LOS Fife appeared stuck in some awful, looped,...

Taking it on...

Owners of classics are made differently. It is not so much how big, fast or capable a boat is, rather, how it makes you feel on the inside. That would certainly explain my affection for small, slow and unreliable vessels. The same can be said of the...

What unites us...

The world is a complicated place, right up until the point you visit it, take a line and get welcomed on board. This hopeful thought has been on my mind after two quite different moments. Talking to historian Clare McComb about the origins of the Royal...

The wind drops, the mind wanders

The Ramsgate Doldrums may be unknown to many; a deathly still area of water south of the harbour that strikes like a damp blanket on the 18th of June. Tales have been told of sailors running out of limes (gin) and water (tonic), while hitherto...

And so it begins,

It may be my first issue, but I wanted to start this new chapter by talking about other people. Some I have met, others I hope to meet. Let us start with the mighty cross section of owners, builders, brokers, racers, apprentices and craftspeople that...

It's over... but not out

I nearly went all Robinson Crusoe with "By the time you read this, I shall have sailed away", having left the staff after 20 years, six as editor. But I'm not going anywhere. After two decades poking around old boats, I spent the last year studying to...

The anniversary trade

Funny things, anniversaries. If you accept that we appreciate milestones, arbitrary though they are, then we can agree that 100 is a big one. It’s how we mark the passing of history after all. The Rolex Fastnet is 100 years old this year. It’s probably...

The art of compromise

Half the boats in this issue are 'workboats' of a sort. Victorious obviously is – just a quick glance will tell you that she's a British boat built to fish. She now earns a living as part of a small, adventure charter fleet on the Norfolk coast. The...

Britain left to dream on

It’s all over: 7-2 to the NZ team, who become the first AC team to win three on the trot, excepting the USA of course. It still seems ridiculous that Britain has not won it, not just patriotically, but in the sense that the nation has such a gilded...

STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES, EDITOR The 173-year wait for victory

It seems impossible not to kick this issue off with an entirely irrelevant mention of the America's Cup, which is nearing the crux for the two teams battling it out for the right to challenge the defenders and reigning champions – New Zealand. Those...

STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES, EDITOR Time to rethink the Adela legacy?

Those with a long memory might be shocked to see Adela on our cover. The yacht was originally built as a gaff cutter in 1903, by Fay & Co, to a WC Storey design. She was bought by a couple in 1992, with a view to restoration at the Pendennis Shipyard,...