Varnish & Victories | Classic Stories from the British Classic Yacht Club Regatta, Cowes 2026

After years spent chasing carbon fibre, foils and cutting-edge yacht design, the regular lure of polished timber, gleaming varnish and the unmistakable elegance of classic yachts is proving impossible to ignore. The British Classic Yacht Club Regatta in Cowes is about much more than the racing. This year's regatta brought together an extraordinary fleet of 42 yachts, from the diminutive Stella class to the magnificent 12 Metre Miquette while the oldest yacht, Dorothy, built in 1894, shared the water with Bel Canto, launched in 2022, proving that classic yachting is as much about preserving history as it is embracing the classics of the future. But even then, the British Classic Yacht Club Regatta in Cowes is about far more than competition around the cans. Every race is matched by the equivalent social event ashore where owners and crews swap experiences, admire the remarkable fleet and share the stories behind these extraordinary yachts. Because every yacht here had a classic story to tell....and we were there to hear them.