Windermere 17 Class 120 Years Celebration at the Royal Windermere Yacht Club
by David Heron 31 Jul 22:26 NZST
20 July 2024
The Royal Windermere Yacht Club was founded in 1860 by a small group of wealthy men, Lawyers, Mill Owners, and Industrialists from Lancashire, Merseyside, Yorkshire and surrounding areas, all having a common interest in sailing and racing.
At that time, racing was in boats of varying lengths, geometry, rig and sail plan, meaning that there was a wide range of performance between them, and racing courses often utilised the full length of the Lake and could be some 18-19 miles in length. The first form of standardisation of these boats was around 1867 when a maximum length of 20 ft and 6' 6" beam was adopted. As a restricted class, lots of experimenting and tinkering was undertaken by the owners for the Holy Grail of boat speed.
These boats remained until in 1904 it was decided to further advance the class with new designs and as such the Windermere 17 class was born as we know it today, with a 17ft waterline length. As such 2024 marked the 120th anniversary of the boat at the Royal Windermere Yacht club. In the past few years, the class has seen a resurgence in its numbers, with many boats that have remained in storage for years,being bought by new owners to be re born and return to racing. Two of the boats in the current fleet are 90 years old. They are still highly competitive and winning races, a testament to the early design of the boat. Of course there are later more modern designs, the latest being "The Flying Duckman", commissioned by the Late Chris Ducker in 2013 and designed by Ian Howlett, and both these and the "Classics" race side by side.
To mark this historic occasion, on Saturday 20th July the fleet led by Fleet Captain David Milburn, organised on a day of celebration at the club, the highlight being a flotilla of 17's in sail number order, sailing from South of Bowness Bay past the RWYC clubhouse, from where many members watched, and onward to the Windermere Jetty Museum to the North. The Museum had kindly loaned No1 "Merlin," the oldest surviving 17, to lead the procession.
On a day of fitful breeze, which was in fact conducive to a serene, graceful and uneventful sail past the clubhouse, many owners had decorated their boats with flags and bunting to make the spectacle colourful and magnificent. In total 24 boats took part in the sail past, and incredible achievement.
Following this the 17's ventured to the race course for the last race of their race week again in a light breeze.
An evening of entertainment food, music and stories followed to relive what had been a superb and memorable day.