Strapline Inside the

CastleSarah Norbury jumps at a rare chance to see inside the Royal Yacht Squadron, that unique and intriguing yacht club at the centre of , in its 200th anniversary year

Photos by YPS/Boat Exclusive and Paul Wyeth

24000 YACHTING WORLD APRIL 2015 yachting world MONTH 2004 YACHTING WORLD APRIL 2015 00025 26 F YACHTING WORLD APRIL 2015 in close range and would commence shelling unless he he unless shelling commence would and range close in goes, sent a message to the club that he was anchored with story the who, schooner 150-ton a of owner the like stink, er so scarcely had time to enjoy the Castle’s delights. YC. He was allowed in eventually, but died just two years lat bid for the ’s Cup was sponsored by the Royal 1898 Ulster why his is which trade’, ‘in being for blackballed was sailors’ most of chances of being invited.indication an is Debretts like reads list The be to fact that ballot. subject a secret the membership Kings, Lords, Hons and Sirs is to be invited by a member of club and this join to way only The mystique. in wreathed is repel the French, is a visual symbol of the club’s exclusivity. Ball, but for the rest, the Castle itself, built by to Henry VIII Squadron fabulous the or party a before cocktails for tle after racing, taking tea on the lawn, before entering the Cas Squadron to the repair will Members of clubs. aristocratic startline straight into the windows. ing at the flags and course-boards, getting a sight down the the Castle. Competitors mill around before their starts, star as they plan their beat up the rocky Island shore. Some accept a blackballing with grace, others kick up a kick others grace, with a blackballing accept Some Lipton Thomas Sir merchant tea wealthy that said It’s The most prestigious club in Britain, possibly the world, most this to get ever sailors most as near as is Looking No first-timer to can fail to be awestruck by yachts, their crews’ faces pinched with concentration the bangs waft across the water towards the fleets of of aftermath the in smoke of Puffs Week. Cowes at best known to most sailors as the centre of the action and plunge their fingers into their ears. wince shore the lining spectactors that power such intervals firewith ten-minute cannon mighty brass at and platform, starting look imposing the from down officers race ramparts, the from flutter lags The Royal Yacht Squadron’s Castle clubhouse is is clubhouse Castle Squadron’s Yacht Royal The - - - -

is eligible for nomination. that “any gentleman or lady actively interested in yachting” professes club The entry. of guarantee a are fortune a nor even gun lockers for shooting parties. and nights, Saturday on dress required is which tie, black night stays, a to room for members keep their kit’‘mess or over for bedrooms are There below. cellars wine and ens the kitch from course after course bring and waiters seas, The room is adorned with silvercommodores. trophiesand and scenes of the high admirals past illustrious of gaze painted the under Room, Dining Members’ magnificent twice the a year for in dinner. met Members Thatched House TavernSquadron. in St James’s,Yacht London, and in Cowes Royal the club al in the club’s title and in 1833 King William IV renamed the Five years later, member King George IV conferred the Roy June 1815 by a group of 42 gentleman yachting enthusiasts. Castle as a much-loved country home.” standards and the history.tremendous Members treat the the enjoy “People club,”responded. list. he “It’s fine a very ahas healthy waiting Squadron the new members, to find Sharples why, when a number of royal clubs are struggling meet and drink with the great and the good? granted in 1829. And who wouldn’t want to walk boldly in to so, do to warrant Navy Royal a with club yacht only the is want to fly the from their stern? The Squadron had blackballed him. who poet, famous the of gy from Percy Shelley, son received a apolo personal The Squadron was where yacht racing was born. In a title club’s the d’êtreis neither and raision sailing But Today there are 535 members and dinner is served in the 1 on founded was it Club, Yacht The named Originally Christopher Hon the commodore, current the asked I The appeal of being a member is obvious. Who wouldn’t -  signalled by cannon fire where Cowes Week starts are Above:

the Platform, from

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YPS/Boat Exclusive

YPS/Boat Exclusive

Photos: P Wyeth Royal yacht squad      Squadron seal. Royal Yacht on the Platform. Trafalgar in the Battle of member’s service this illustrious commemorates plaque Herringham’s use today. the Hall, still in visitors’ book in archive as an important sanctuary as well Library, a peaceful Below: Left: Far left: Left: Far left: antique Captain r the

cannon the

on

Royal yacht squadron

Left: a painting of members greeting the Kaiser, who came to race Meteor in 1893. Above: the present commodore, the Hon

YPS/Boat Exclusive YPS/Boat Christopher Sharples

the early 1800s the aristocracy came to Cowes to socialise the envy of sailing friends. Some recalled their own, never- and cruise in their boats. The first races were duels between forgotten visits, one to deliver a harp for a musical soiree, the yachts of the day, then rules for fleet racing were drawn another invited by a member for a drink, surprised to dis- up. The first club regatta, later to become Cowes Week, was cover that there is no bar; instead stewards know when top- in 1826. For more than a century the reigning monarch ups are needed and appear bearing glasses on silver trays. would be there to present the King’s or Queen’s trophy. Like more and more sailors I had been on Squadron soil Some of history’s greatest yachtsmen are on the Squad- before, to the Pavilion annexe built in 2000. To help swell ron’s membership roll: Sir Thomas Sopwith, John Illing- the coffers, the grand marquee-style building can be hired worth, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Alec Rose, Sir Robin Knox- for championship dinners and class parties. With panoram- Johnston. Ties with the Navy are strong and some of British ic views of the Solent, as a Cowes Week après sail venue it’s maritime history’s most famous names have been Squad- hard to beat, and once there, in your smart shore gear, sip- ron members, not least Nelson’s vice-admiral Sir Thomas ping a glass of fizz and nibbling smoked salmon canapés it’s Masterman Hardy who commanded HMS Victory at the easy to get above yourself and imagine just slipping into Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Lord Cochrane who was the in- the Castle. If you try it, however, you’ll get short shrift. spriation for C.S. Forester’s Hornblower novels and Admiral You could say the club is very good at welcoming non- Above: the magnificent Dining Room Sir Jeremy Black, captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Invinci- members into its garden, or conversely that it’s adept at at- where members can host their own ble during the Falklands War. tracting them to the periphery then holding them at bay. dinner parties. Below: Lord Hoot, Perhaps the club is still best known around the world for There’s a painting of the entire membership outside the made in 1881, acts as the 14th guest at hosting the race around the Isle of Wight in 1851 won by the Castle, circa 1895. In the centre stand the club’s then com- dinner when necessary schooner America, which took home what became known modore the Prince of Wales with his nephew and great as the America’s Cup. The Squadron donated the Cup itself yachting rival, Kaiser Willhelm II, and the Dukes of York and in 1851 and mounted a number of challenges to win it back. Connaught, while on the upper left-hand side are ladies, in More than 160 years later the America’s Cup has still nev- their finery, standing on a lawn. er been won by a British challenger, but now the commo- That lawn was known as the Deer Park – I’m told the la- dore believes the Royal Yacht Squadron has “the best chance dies were known as the ‘does’ – and it’s the only part of the we have ever had” with its sponsorship of Ben Ainslie Rac- Squadron’s domain in which they were allowed to roam. ing as official British challenger for the 2017 Cup. Even didn’t make it into the inner sanctum – she was kept at bay in an annexe built for her on the front Bicentenary celebrations of the Castle, known as the Platform. More immediately, this year the club is celebrating its In 1964 wives, sisters and daughters of members were 200th anniversary in a summer-long extravaganza. The given their own annexe, built onto the end of the Castle in highlight will the Squadron Regatta in July, a week of racing matching stone. Here, the Lams (Ladies And Associate and what’s being billed as ‘spectacular social gatherings’, in- Members) could eat in their own dining room, take tea on

cluding a grand ball for members of 25 invited clubs from the balcony and watch the racing. They were not allowed to Wyeth P Photos: around the world. Yachts from the USA and the Caribbean cross the carpet-rod border into the inner Castle, however. Left: the Ladies’ Drawing Room. will arrive after crossing the Atlantic for the Regatta and Since then the rules have relaxed and ladies are free to Below: the Squadron boasts an then stay on for Cowes Week and the Rolex Fastnet Race. enter the Castle as Lams and guests, but it was only in June excellent wine cellar The Squadron is gearing up for the events with a com- 2014 that finally the new rulebook was approved that al- plete refurbishment of the ground floor of the Castle, as lowed women to be proposed for full membership. well as taking on extra staff, compiling special menus and The next voting session is due soon and it’s likely that the considerably increasing the usual wine orders. first female member will be HRH Princess Anne.

When I was invited inside the Castle for this article I was The interior of the Castle is a cross between a grand Exclusive YPS/Boat

28 YACHTING WORLD APRIL 2015 Royal yacht squadron

The Bicentenary International Regatta The Royal Yacht Squadron will be 200 years old on 1 June this year and in celebration the club has invited members of 25 clubs around the world for a week of racing from 25-31 July, in boats of all sizes from J/70 sportsboats to at least three of the mighty J Class classics. A number of the bigger boats will arrive from Newport, USA, at the end of the Transatlantic Race 2015, organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron in conjunction with the New York YC, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club as part of the celebrations. The three J Class yachts confirmed to date are Lionheart, Ranger and Velsheda. Velsheda was built by Camper & Nicholsons in the 1930s and a couple of decades ago was a regular sight on the Solent as a day charter boat. Ranger was an aristocrat of a boat,

Photos this page: YPS/Boat Exclusive YPS/Boat page: this Photos owned by Harold Vanderbilt and winner of 32 of the 34 races she ever sailed, successfully defending the America’s Cup country house and a maritime museum. I wish I could have Above left: the Their ethos is to be “attentive, but sailing on a SCOD with my father, and then on an Excalibur in 1937. She was eventually scrapped and stayed for days to study the paintings of Fleet Reviews commodore’s rooms. not intrusive,” one steward told me. 36,” he told me. “We did plenty of RORC racing and Cowes the new is a faithful replica. throughout history, pore over the leather-bound tomes in Right: an outsider’s One benefit of membership is Week every year.” Aged 24, he took a sabbatical and set sail as Ranger is a new J built to a similar the library and sit with a gin and tonic taking in the glorious view of the RYS the ability to book a room for a din- skipper with three friends and his brother for Cape Town in Lionheart views across the Solent. ner, a party or wedding, entertain- a Gallant 53 in order to do the 1973 Cape to Rio Race. Since set of plans to Ranger from the archives of Instead I caught glimpses of treasures and trophies tak- ing your guests to superb food and drink. You can even then he’s competed in more than 40 Cowes Weeks, Fastnets, designers Starling Burgess and Olin en down from the walls for the refurbishment and got a feel book the entire Castle, effectively having your own country Newport-Bermudas and Swan Worlds. Stephens. She made her mark in J racing for the magnificent proportions of the ancient rooms, the home for a day or two. If more than one member wants a He said it was “a great privilege” to be commodore in the winning the Kings 100 Guineas Cup in splendour of the Platform, with its battery of brass cannon, room on the same date the complex hierarchy of member- Squadron’s bicentenary year: “We have been planning for Cowes in 2012. The appearance of the imagining the Scottish reels danced there a few days before ship comes into play and it goes to the senior member. nearly two years so we are hopeful our events will be well-run J Class at the Royal Yacht Squadron – this vast room hosts parties and dinners for up to 120. In the cavernous, old-fashioned basement kitchen, re- and a great success, and everybody will have a good time.” Bicentenary International Regatta will be In pride of place is the enormous wheel from the yacht minding me of a scene from Upstairs Downstairs, scores of a rare treat for Solent spectators. Victoria and Albert II, and over an arched doorway I spied jars of freshly made marmalade were cooling. Behind the America’s Cup The week of racing promises to be a the tiller from the royal racing yacht Bloodhound whose “All the food is made here fresh, from scratch, by the Sharples will still be commodore in 2017, America’s Cup lively set of events, including fleet racing mast was once the Castle’s flagstaff – it was taken down for chefs,” the steward told me, “from bread, to jams and chut- year, and says it’s “serendipity” for him that the competi- under IRC and level rating plus team checking in 2014 and found to be past economic repair. neys. We serve locally sourced meat and a lot of game in sea- tion will be in Bermuda. He has long-standing associations racing for younger sailors. Members of Members and their guests staying in the Castle in one of son.” They still do silver service if members request it, but with the island, even keeping a J/80 there for racing, and the 25 invited clubs who can’t get their the 13 bedrooms, charmingly decorated in traditional style most dishes are now in the new style, plated up artistically. visits as often as he can. own boats to Cowes will still be able to compete thanks to the entire fleet of with chintz curtains and antique furniture, are treated to Obviously enthusiastic about the Squadron’s America’s Above: one of the cannon on the Sunsail Farr 40s being made available for service every bit as good as in a five-star hotel. The commo- Wine cellar Cup chances, he told me: “Our challenge, through our affili- Platform.Below: members-only charter, offering closely matched racing. dore’s room is on the top floor. Both he and the vice-com- Crouching slightly, we made our way into the wine cellars. ated club – Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd – with Ben Ain- landing stage off the Squadron modore have their own accommodation with ensuites. In the first room for ‘high volume wines’, I noticed cases and slie Racing as our team, is a tremendous opportunity for us The highlight of the week is likely to be The staff of stewards, waiters and waitresses is being aug- cases of Sauternes ordered in for the bicentenary. The wines to play our part in bringing the Cup back to Britain . . . We the Race Around the Island. Ashore, the mented for the summer of 2015. They expect to be fully are chosen by the Squadron’s Wine Committee, some ready believe our member Sir Ben Ainslie has the best chance for a social programme features parties and stretched serving drinks receptions and members’ dinners. to drink, others bought en primeur to be kept until ready long time of winning the Cup. Our role, and mine as com- gatherings at the Castle and other special “And we’ll still provide normal serv- for drinking. The all-important port cellar is further down, modore, is to give Sir Ben all the support that we can.” venues, culminating in a Grand Party at ice for members who like to come in to in the deepest, coldest part of the building. Back up in the So the Squadron remains an enigma: a private members’ Osborne House on 30 July. sit in the Morning Room or on the bal- pantry, staff were polishing silver cutlery, which will no club still functioning with centuries-old traditions, yet a cony in need of a whisky or a Martini doubt be a Sisyphean task during the summer. public-facing, dynamic organisation in the forefront of and lemonade,” house manager Katie Is the club concerned that its traditional image may not world racing. It has a reputation for being a bastion of high Waite told me. The Morning Room is appeal to potential younger members? I asked the commo- society, yet the members I know are not titled – one a sur- Waite’s favourite part of the Castle. “It’s dore. He replied that the Squadron runs a racing pro- geon, another in the arts. the most beautiful of them all,” she said. gramme every April for youngsters aged between 16 and 20 July 2015 looks set to be a great celebration of this and all Stewards, dressed in three-piece in J/109s and there’s a busy J/70 team-racing schedule for that’s unique about this 200-year-old club, which is chang- suits, offer a butler service and are at around 80 Squadron Sailing Associates up to the age of 35. ing with the times while not compromising its stand-

P Wyeth P members’ beck and call 24 hours a day. Commodore Sharples is himself a keen sailor. “I started ards and its history. YW

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