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Are these most beautiful boats in the world? This is what yachting is all about, we were bobbing around on our yacht absolutely gobbsmacked. In one 'picture' on Saturday we saw 2 J-Class beating to windward with New Zealand running under spinnaker in the other direction. It looked like a dinghy in comparison. They should do this more often! You've mentioned in your website that this regatta may present yachting as a rich man's game, at this level it is a rich corporation's game, but then more people watch formula one than formula ford.

From Jenny
What are your memories from this classic event? I was lucky enough to be invited to join the W-76 Wild Horses for the Jubilee Round the Island Race. Being strictly a passenger it gave me the opportunity to watch all going on and get the real buzz of being out on the water for such a historical race. It's difficult to pick particular memories from the race, but for me they were probably the start (which our class shared with the J-Class beauties) and the incredible number of spectator boats, and some racing rule "discussions" and luffing between ourselves and the 114' Cambria between the Needles and Hurst Castle. It has been one of my most interesting years in the RORC Rating Office as I have had so many fantastic boats to calculate IRC ratings for, so it was the icing on the cake to get out there and race amongst them.

From Adrian Morgan
Re America Christian Fevrier is almost certainly correct. Half the fleet may well have followed America the 'wrong way', missing the Nab Lights buoy. We will never know for certain. In a way it's irrelevant. The race was over before it was half way through (stranding, breakages, retirements, collisions, etc) The tide flow, by my reckoning, was moving very slowly to the west at the start, almost slack in other words. And was slack soon afterwards, before starting to flow eastwards as the fleet headed towards the Nab Lights buoy. It would have made perfect sense for the RYS to pick a start time that more or less coincided with slack water, before the new flood.

This would explain why America (lying tide bound, ie stern facing the West) when she hoisted her sails (downwind, but common practice on a schooner, especially with such a light wind from astern) overran her anchor and had to drop a foresail to clear the foredeck and perhaps slow her down. Certainly that is the tidal situation from the Solent tide tables. The race, I think we all agree, was just a face saver for the RYS. They were embarrassed that none would race the Yankee visitor.

They had no idea the Press would use the victory to chastise British yachting. America's speed was a myth. She won very few races, and was sailed as well as ever. Crucially, a number of British yachts were 'Americanized' but none proved especially fast and the America, Wave Form type was a dead end. However, America's owner proved just one thing: he was a consummate poker player. He came away with a tiny profit, but could well have lost his shirt.