A stunning group of classic cruising yachts will sail to Brittany for a week of fun in the Classic Channel Regatta, says Peter Cumberlidge
In our frantic age of medals, awards and intense competition, it’s a treat to join a highly sociable yacht regatta founded in true amateur spirit. Cricket was once like this, the Olympics too, so the ‘gentlemen’s racing’ ethos of the Classic Channel Regatta is both pleasingly nostalgic and a breath of fresh air.
The 2017 races from Dartmouth to Guernsey and Paimpol run from Saturday 8 to Friday 14 July. Brittany enthusiasts will spot that the finale in Paimpol on Bastille Day promises lively celebrations in the best traditions of Entente Cordiale.
This regatta feels like a mini Voiles de St Tropez series but in more interesting waters. Its amiable 'Franglais' atmosphere is familiar hereabouts because many West Country owners look naturally to Brittany for summer cruising, while Breton yachts with hardy Gallic crews have tacked into Devon and Cornish harbours since the 1920s. Both regions have a sense of independence and a shared history of trading by sea, with or without excise duties. Each is renowned for their shipwright skills and enthusiasm for classic boats.
Classics new and old
While the regatta celebrates genuine old timers such as the sleek 1904 Alfred Mylne cutter Kelpie, or the beautiful 1948 Spark man and Stephens yawl Argyll, it also welcomes many GRP classics. You’ll see Nicholsons, Van de Stadts like the Pioneer 10 and Excalibur 36, plus a range of Holman or Holman and Pye favourites including Twisters and early Bowmans. Tough Peter Brett Rivals are popular in Class 3. There may be Breton yachts from the 1950s and 60s, elegant cruiser-racers with similar lines to Illingworth or Buchanan.
Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Yachting Monthly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Yachting Monthly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
How to rig preventers and boom brakes
Rigging a preventer or using a boom brake is just good seamanship when sailing downwind, but doing so badly is asking for trouble, says Rachael Sprot
Don't let Thames sewage kill off this lovely boat
Samuel Pepys mentions oysters in his diaries 68 times, but that was when they were as common as winkles along the banks of the Thames and when they were a source of cheap protein for the masses.
I finally found the magic of the sea
I won’t be in theatres with a notebook as much as usual this month – time for some wider, wetter horizons – but may be musing, as I often do, on how rare it is for theatre to express a convincing reality about the oceans and the trade or pursuit of seafaring.
TECHNICAL GOLDEN OLDIES
Ken Endean looks back on the boats he has owned over 50 years and explains why the hull lines of older yachts continue to offer first-class handling
HOW IT WORKS MARKING
Many cruising yacht skippers mark very little on board their boats.
TECHNICAL INSTALLING A NEW ENGINE
When a mysterious loss of coolant jeopardised his sailing, Andy Du Port knew the time had tome to replace his yacht’s:veteran Volvo Penta
NEW GEAR
Dennis O’Neill rounds up the latest marine innovations, including developments in women’s sailing jackets
MARIE TABARLY HONOURING HER FATHER
Marie Tabarly took line honours in the Ocean Globe Race, surpassing her father’s record while racing aboard his famous 73ft ketch Pen Duick VI
HEATHER THOMAS SMASHING RECORDS
In leading her all-female crew to victory in the OGR, Heather Thomas has broken records and taken women's sailing into the stratosphere
MAIDEN MAKES HISTORY AGAIN
Being the first all-female crew to win a round-the-world race is seismic in itself, but the diverse nationalities of the crew are just as significant for the future of sailing