Nostalgia: Brixham's golden age of regattas

BRIXHAM HERITAGE REGATTA HISTORY

 Working trawler races have sailed off Brixham since the early 1800s. They were fiercely competitive, with the boats being driven extremely hard. In strong winds in 1927, the winning trawler 'Valerian', which averaged over 12 knots around the course in 1914, was presented with the Perpetual Challenge Cup, also popularly known as the 'King George V Cup' or the 'Kings Cup'. 

This was to be raced for by Brixham-registered sailing trawlers over 40 tonnes but, due to the First World War, was not presented until 1919. This cup was competed for annually from 1919 until the advent of the Second World War in 1939. 

In 1919, Sunny Isle was the first winner of the King George V Cup. Lord Churston presided over the earlier events, and in his letter to King George V, he sent the good wishes of the fishermen of Brixham and personal reassurance that 'the gift will ever be held as a link between the Port of Brixham and the Throne'. 

The original title of the regatta was the ‘Port of Brixham, Torbay, Royal Regatta’. Following this auspicious approval by royalty, the local trawlers competed each year until 1939, when war broke out. Valerian (of which there is a model in Brixham Yacht Club) was particularly successful with Vigilance (winner in 1933) and Torbay Lass (winner in 1936). During the heyday in the 1920s and 30s, the racing was an incredible spectacle, with not only a large fleet of big ketches but also of the great classic yachts, including King George's yacht Britannia and several of the famous J-Class yachts. 

After the war, racing lapsed, and as sailing trawlers became commercially outdated, the fleet slowly disappeared. However, through the efforts of local skipper Toni Knights and with the involvement of the Devon Gaffers and several local restoration projects, in particular the Vigilance Preservation Society, Trinity Sailing Foundation, and the Pilgrim Trust, the Brixham trawler fleet re-emerged in 1997 for the Perpetual Challenge Cup (King George V Cup).

The modern event had racing in five classes, allowing traditional sailing vessels of all types, shapes, and sizes to take part. Since 2011 the Regatta has had a sixth class for yachts of any type of construction or rig that are over 30 years old. The event is now a highlight of the traditional sailing calendar. The Heritage Regatta is organised by a team of volunteers, many with nautical experience of both modern and classic boats.

The first record of yacht racing in Torbay is in an advertisement in the Exeter Flying Post of a sailing race for “…boats of not more than 25 feet in the keel and to carry not more than 60 yards of canvas” to be sailed on Monday, 11th September 1811.

On 19th August 1863, 23 gentlemen formalised as a social club (with no mention of sailing as part of the activities of the members) known as “The Torbay and South Devon Club Company Limited”. The premises they ultimately purchased on Beacon Terrace for the sum of £2500 had been constructed some ten years earlier as a purpose-built clubhouse.

In 1875, the Torquay Yacht Club was formed in a room in the Queens Hotel with Sir Lawrance Palk as Commodore. The new club was granted an Admiralty Warrant to fly the defaced Blue Ensign and later in the year was granted a Royal Warrant, with the club’s name being changed to the Royal Torquay Yacht Club.

Ten years later, on 1st January 1885, the Royal Torquay Yacht Club merged with the Torbay and South Devon Club, and the name of the combined unit was changed to the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. In the following year, the freehold of the land on which the club premises stood was purchased for the sum of £650.

In 1886, the Club held its first regatta over three separate days in June, July, and August when the prize money ranged from £4 to £25. Thereafter, it was the practice to hold a regatta on one day in each year, and within two years, the prize money had increased substantially to between £40 and £60.

In 1888 the regatta was marred because the first mark for the large yachts was not in place, and the committee launch, when required, was found to be “… in charge of two boys, without orders, with no fires lit and no coal on board” – this launch subsequently broke down. Plus, ça change!

During the early 1900s, the effect of increasing costs meant that assistance was sought from the members through voluntary donations – a proposition to increase the subscription from 4 to 5 guineas had not been accepted by the membership. To help reduce costs, the charwoman was given notice, and her work was taken over by the housekeeper. In recognition of this, her annual salary was increased from £14 to £18!

In 1914, the regatta was abandoned because of the outbreak of war.

The club reached a milestone in in1932 when ladies were admitted to conditional membership with limited access to certain rooms.

Arrangements were made to hold the America’s Cup trials in Torbay in 1934, and by 1935, six J-Class yachts were racing in the bay. However, following the death of His Majesty King George V in 1936, J-Class racing came virtually to an end.

In 1937, an International Coronation Regatta was held with an entry list of 292 yachts, including six 12 metres, eight 6 metres and 15 yachts over 75 tonnes.

BRIXHAM TRAWLER TORBAY LASS

As of November 2020, Heritage Marine Foundation has received funding from the Culture Recovery Fund to put Torbay Lass into a dry dock and have a survey completed whilst she awaits further funding to undergo a full restoration. Torbay Lass will be moved into her new home in early 2021, ready for the next stage of her life.

Heritage Marine Foundation recovered Torbay Lass BM163, previously Kenya Jacaranda, from Tilbury Docks to prevent the vessel’s disposal and subsequent loss. Although she is not an East Coast-built vessel, she has spent more time working the East Coast than in her original home port of Brixham. She now sits safely in a mud berth in Maldon. The removal of debris and installation of pumps and power supplies have ensured the vessel remains afloat and in a stable condition. Now awaiting restoration, she is subject to the Heritage Marine Foundation’s lottery bid to restore her to sail again.

Our long-term plan for Torbay Lass is to restore her as far as possible in her original design and configuration, both above and below deck, using traditional methods and materials where possible. The future use of the Torbay Lass is not intended to be as a conventional sail training vessel but as a more unique learning platform to promote the objectives of the charity, including education on maritime history and researching marine pollution and environmentally friendly methods of cargo transport and fishing.

Torbay Lass was built in Brixham in 1923 by R. Jackman & Sons for Alfred Lovis, a well-known Brixham fisherman and able mariner, as he even sailed her to victory in the 1936 King’s Cup, footage of which can be seen below. She was converted to a yacht shortly before World War II and eventually came to be used as a sail training vessel by the Mayflower Sail Training Society.

She is of special significance, as she is one of the last of many hundreds of Brixham sailing trawlers built from the late 19th century onwards. In view of this symbolic significance, she holds the present status of being one of some 200 vessels of all types and functions listed by the National Historic Fleet.