AT COWES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 295, 26 September 1935, Page 12

AT COWES

THE FAMOUS “WEEK.” GREAT YACHTING CENTRE. MECCA OF FASHION. No other yacht-racing centre on this side of the Atlantic appeals to the aA'erage man or Avoman Avith the strength that Coavps does, says a Avriter in the “Manchester Guardian.” For fifty-one Aveeks in the year it is a quiet little toAvn, doAvn whose High Street—if it Avere straighten—you might fire a gun without hitting anybody. Tradespeople come and go quietly about their business; Avorkers across the Medina at the shipyard ply their crafts a little less noisily hoav that •electric Avelding is superseding riveting; and a few aristocratic lacires and gentlemen take lire lazily on the laAvn at the Squadron Castle. Only Avlien the small yachts of the International or Solent class are reaching, running, or tacking through the Roads—as they are sometimes during the summer months—does the interest of the inhabitants in the pastime rise above the average. They think a lot of the little racing yachts in the Solent. Shamrocks, Endeavours, Velshedas, and Britannias are all very well in their Avav, but for real yachting, they say, “give us the six-metre and eight-metre boats.” Another Place. During one Aveek of the year’s fiftytAvo Aveeks CoAves is another place altogether. The fashionable Avorlcl, having tired of the attractions of Ascot, Wimbledon, Henley, and Lord’s, and having spent a little of its time, and: probably some of its money, at GoodAvood, joins its yachts, largeand little, in Portsmouth Harbour or Southampton Water, and leisurely proceeds to croAvd the historic Roads Avhich stretch from Norris Castle in the east across the mouth of the Medina down to the West Channel as far as Egypt Point. The fleet of pleasure craft tlyis assembled is always notable, not only because of its numerical strength but also because or toe quality of the units composing it. Motor-yachts are noAvadays more numerous than steam yachts; even cruising yachts Avith respectable sailspreads have auxiliary poAver, although in the nineties hardy pleasure sailors Avere heard to declare that if they had all the Avealth in the Avorld they would never oAvn a yacht “with a kettle.” The cream of the racing fleet also finds moorings or anchorages, and cruising craft flying less familiar burgees than those of the Squadron, Royal Victoria, Royal Albert, Royal Southampton, or Royal Southern are also to he seen. And in the midst of the assembly there is the Victoria and Albert Avith the King and Queen on board and a large Avar vessel—usually a battleship—keeping guard over everything and everybody.

Trippers. The fashionable Avorld is not, of course, in exclusive possession of CoAves during the Aveek, although there is not the least doubt that it avoulcl like to be. The people Avho compose it honestly believe that trippers—especially August Bank Holiday trippers—are sent by Providence ' to the Isle of Wight for the special purpose of trying them. The tradespeople are not very fond of the trippers either. The custom of people Avho are over, or in, for the day is not to be compared in respect of its value with that of the yachtsmen and yachtsAvomen. The shopkeepers, in fact, do pretty well during the carnival, which they no doubt Avish came oftener than once a year.

The men and women of the world of i fashion and the day trippers are not the only regular visitors during Cowes Week. Scores of ladies, some of them temporary residents and others on holiday for the day from the mainland, take up positions outside the side entrance to the Squadron lawn, from which they can see the distinguished folk arriving at or departing from the Castle jetty. They know everybody by sight, and judging from their conversations have been diligent students of “Debrett” and similar publications. Most of them bring little camp-stools, on which they sit all day, devoting the quieter minutes of their daylight vigil —those occur when the fashionable world is at lunch ashore and afloat—to study of the pictures and gossip in favourite newspapers. The objects of their scrutiny naturally do not earo for the publicity thus thrust upon them, but that seems, to be a matter of small account to the observers.

The Experts. When the racing is in progress the local experts congregate in the roadway in front of the Castle—most of them with their backs to the historic wall. They know the game, of course, and appear to be on familiar terms, so to say, with the principal owners. In their allusions to them, at any rate, they generally use only Christian names. The Royal owner of Britannia may, for all 1 know, never have been alluded to as “George,” but, “Toddy” was their affectionate loyal way of describing his predecessor on the throne. Their knowledge of the technicalities of fore-and-aft sailing is profound; most of them, indeed, are themselves capable handlers of boats. The palm for proficiency in the difficult art of “reading” a yacht race belongs, however, elsewhere. Being a Scot, 1 should like to award it to Larfis on the Clyde, but it really belongs to Harwich, when the men, women, and children of Rowhedge, Wivenhoe, and Blrightlingsea are assembled there for the local club’s annual regatta. The quality of the yachts which race, the numerical strength of the assembled cruising fleet, and the number of well-known people who are present afloat and ashore entitle Cowes Week to be regarded as the yachting festival of the year. Hunter's Quay, on the Clyde, has challenged comparison where the quality of the facing yachts was concerned. It never, however, has been host to so many cruising craft or to such a numerous company of notables. Kiel must be

ruled out for much the same reason, although the Imperial <*Avner of the Meteors once dreamed that one day it A\ r oukl rival G’oavcs in all three respects. Schooner-racing Avas a strong feature of Kiel programmes even before the day of Max Oertz, but A’ery little of any of the contests, especially of the matches to Travcmunde and Ekrenforde, was visible from the shore. For that reason the popular interest was slight. At Riviera regattas there is never any lack of welldressed obviously Avell-to-do people; the yachting interest, hoAvever, is not concentrated as it is in CoAves Week.