Opposite: Almeric Paget’s Alfred Mylne-designed 15-Metre Ma’oona was built in Scotland at the Robert McAllister yard in Dumbarton. She was ‘resurrected’ in the UK in the 1970s before being moved down to the Med where she was destroyed by fire in the late 1980s. Above: the Royal Thames moved to its new Piccadilly premises in 1911, subsequently the venue for a great many influential meetings of the great and good of the sport. Almeric Paget (top) in his pomp and Lt Cmdr George Martin OBE, first Commodore of the RORC
knew it would not have come into being. He was assisted, of course, by the likes
of Algernon Maudslay and Malden Heck- stall-Smith, but he dealt with most of the practical details himself: when a subscrip- tion plan for providing the Fastnet trophy (plus smaller versions for winning owners to keep) failed, he stepped in to both order and fund the silverware. The harbourmaster at Plymouth was
needed to man the race finish, and George, also Rear-Commodore of the Royal West- ern of that city, had the personal contacts to organise it. After the race he paid for the celebratory dinner – a substantial act of generosity even if you consider that only seven boats had started from the 14 entered, given that he budgeted for every crew. The following year George made clear that everyone would be paying for themselves! As we know, like Paget/Queenborough,
George Martin had a deeper and far- ranging vision of the future. He realised that one race would not change anything – a club was needed to foster ocean racing over here, but he also wanted the sport to
go truly international. Before the inaugural Fastnet there had been rumours of Euro- pean yachts taking part, although none appeared on the day. But the motivation for his 1926 transatlantic voyage in Jolie Brise was a big idea – not only to enter (and, hopefully, win) the Bermuda Race – but to then race American boats back, before all took on the second Fastnet. George was quite clear – he wanted to create a global sport. So it was ‘America or bust’, with ‘bust’
proving the end result. George’s finances took a hammering, and he was forced to sell Jolie Brise on his return. I know this because the skipper, Sid Briggs, told his friend Reg Matthews, and Reg told me. George tried to resign from the newly formed Ocean Racing Club because he had no boat, but the rest would not let him – he was too important, they said, especially with his international connections. Over at the Royal Thames it cannot
have gone unnoticed that the new ocean race, with its assortment of strange com- petitors, had grabbed all the headlines, instead of their own 150th anniversary
King’s Cup. Meanwhile, impecunious George went off to write books and crew Thames barges, eventually working as mate on the Memory of which he owned a modest share. Shaking his rough, work-hardened
hands might have raised a few eyebrows at some more prestigious yachting social events, but Queenborough would have understood. The two men had both earned their living through hard labour, as cow- boy and fisherman, after being denied access to the family riches. However, Queenborough ended up a
multimillionaire, whereas George Martin was so broke his mother added a clause to her will excluding him from inheriting anything if he happened to be bankrupt when she died… Both men, although unorthodox
personalities, had leadership, vision and determination, and drove their two clubs to lasting success. The effects of their dedi- cation to their clubs and to their sport resonate with us today as we celebrate these impressive 250th and 100th anniver- saries in 2025.
SEAHORSE 57
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