ROYAL YACHTS
THE ROYAL YACHT MARY
The Mary was originally built for the Dutch East India Company and then bought by the City of Amsterdam for presentation to King Charles II at the restoration in 1660. Measuring 66ft (20.1m) in length by 18ft (5.5m) beam, she was 100 tons burden and carried an armament of six three-pounder guns. The hull is of a typical Dutch form with a flat and shallow draught, using adjustable lee boards to act as a keel when under sail. In the yachts subsequently built in England, the lee boards were abandoned and the hulls made deeper and finer. The Mary was the first official royal yacht and was used by the King for pleasure and visits to the fleet. She was wrecked in the Irish Sea in 1675. This full hull model, scale 1:40, built in ‘bread and butter’ fashion by
Francis Naish of Blackheath in 1949, was constructed using two known drawings of the Mary and contemporary plans of a similar vessel. It measures 705 x 745 x 175mm. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. Although the existence of 16th-century drawings depicting ketch- rigged hoys disproves the King’s claim to have invented the ketch rig, it is fair to say that he popularised it. Fubbs’ performance was matched by the luxurious standard of her finish, which included a four-poster bed resplendent with gold brocades and silks in the aft cabin. Following the death of Charles II in 1685, royal patronage of yachting ceased until George III re-established sailing as a royal pastime by taking ‘aquatic excursions’ during several of his holidays in Weymouth. Although the King did not participate in any racing, he presented a cup, as Prince of Wales, for a race from Greenwich to the Nore and back in 1749.
This interest was subsequently matched by his brother Henry, the Duke of Cumberland, as the following notice in the Public Advertiser of 6 July 1775 reveals: “A Silver Cup, the gift of His Royal Highness The Duke of Cumberland, is to be sailed for on Tuesday, the 11th instant, from Westminister Bridge to Putney Bridge and back, by pleasure Sailing Boats, from two to five tons berthen, and constantly lying above London Bridge. Any gentleman inclined to enter his Boat may be informed by applying to Mr Roberts, Boatbuilder, Lambeth, any time before Saturday Noon next.”
CUMBERLAND AND THE ROYAL THAMES YC The race, postponed by two days due to the weather, was won by a Mr Parkes in his yacht Aurora. Sadly, no account of the race itself survives, although it appears to have attracted about 20 entries. The race became an annual fixture of the Cumberland Fleet, also known as the Cumberland Sailing Society, which appears to have been formed in the same year and is the forerunner of today’s Royal Thames Yacht Club. The exact details of the club’s formation have been lost in the mists of time. However, it is known that the Fleet’s colours were
44 CLASSIC BOAT FEBRUARY 2012
established in 1775: a white ensign (without the St George’s cross), a white burgee with a red cross that did not extend to the fly of the flag and a 22ft (6.7m) swallow-tailed pendant. The club’s members were predominantly London businessmen and professionals who kept their small craft on the Thames. They were styled Captain, dressed in ‘aquatic uniforms’ and had to helm their own sailing craft. As well as races, they organised mock naval engagements off the Nore. As patron, the Duke took a keen interest in the club’s affairs by attending their annual race in a Royal Barge to personally present each of the silver cups that he donated from 1775 to 1782. The seventh of these cups proved to be the most important in terms of value and historical significance. When the Duke agreed to present a 50-guinea silver cup for the 1781 event, the club staged the first ever open sailing match, which was won by its Commodore, Thomas Taylor.
The prize ceremonies for these annual races were enlivened by music from a band, gunfire and the cheers of spectating crowds. The Duke’s butler would fill the silver cup with claret and hand it to his Royal Highness, who drank the health of the victorious yachtsman before awarding him the cup. The winner would then return the compliment by drinking to the Royal couple and calling for three cheers. The Duke’s involvement during the club’s formative years built on Charles II’s yachting legacy and helped to encourage a wider participation in the sport. Even though the establishment of the Royal Thames was preceded by that of two other clubs, the Water Club of Cork Harbour (forerunner of today’s Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Devon’s Starcross Club (now called the Starcross Yacht Club), it was the first such organisation to regularly organise sailing races within British waters, thus providing the basis for the sport as we know it today.
Next month: George IV, William IV, Prince Albert and the beginnings of the Royal Yacht Squadron
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