Marriage proposal - by spinnaker

Sigma 38 romance in last weekend's round the island race

Max Walker, owner of Sigma 38 Pavlova, is not a man to do things by halves. So with this year’s JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race coinciding with the 21st birthday celebrations of the Sigma 38 Association, he felt the mood was right for a rather unique marriage proposal to his girlfriend and crew, Rebecca - in large letters right across his spinnaker!.

Meanwhile, unaware of Max’s intentions, Rebecca was screwing up courage to give Max her own news! On the fetch down to the Needles, she paid a visit to the heads with her trusty pregnancy test kit and by the time they’d reached Alum Bay, Max had heard there was to be a new addition to the Pavlova crew.

Their Sigma 38 duly rounded the Needles, with Rebecca head down in the cockpit busily sorting out the guy and sheets. According to a crew member it was an agonising few minutes. The spinnaker duly went up with Max’s proposal of marriage emblazoned across it. The rest of the Sigma 38 crew were urging Rebecca to look up at the spinnaker, with crews from boats around them joining in, but the good lady was too busy giving the guy rope her undivided attention.

Max was now hopping from foot to foot at the wheel, barley able to contain himself. Just when the tension became too much, Rebecca glanced skywards and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Sigma 38 is an award-winning, one-design racing yacht, designed and built in Britain in the 1980’s. Sigma 38’s owners enjoy a particularly active Class Association, currently celebrating its 21st birthday. Thirty one Sigma 38s took part in this year’s Round-the-Island Race dominating their class and demonstrating the enduring appeal of a classic design offering build quality and value for money, second to none.

P.S Rebecca accepted and the après race Sigma birthday party in Cowes became a double celebration.