SAILINGTHE Royal Yacht Squadron has joined forces with its partner clubs to host classic yacht racing in Cowes later this year.
In conjunction with the New York Yacht Club and Yacht Club de Monaco and in collaboration with Boat International Media, the Westward Cup regatta will take place off the coast of Cowes from July 5 to 11.
The organisers are also aiming to establish an event which will eventually lead to a revival of big class classic racing, as it was known in the early 20th century.
The Westward Cup has been initiated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the launch of the racing schooner Westward in 1910.
She was designed and built by one of the most successful yacht designers, Nathanael G. Herreshoff, and was one of the fastest and most famous of the Big Class racing yachts.
The owners of four great classic yachts have already signed up.
Taking to the starting line will be Eleonora, a replica of Westward; Britannia, a recently launched replica of King George V’s yacht Britannia; Mariquita, launched from the Fairlie yard on the River Clyde in 1911; and Mariette of 1915, a famous Herreshoff yacht built in 1915 and restored to her present condition in the mid-1990s.