The 75th anniversary regatta of the Portsmouth Victory Class has been combined with the inaugural Westmacott regatta of the Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club and more than 50 entries have been received.

Day racers from in and around the Solent, many of which were designed by Alfred Westmacott, will also be taking part in the two day event on 6th/7th June based in Haslar Marina Gosport.

The competitors will be racing off the seafront at Southsea for the 144 year old Royal Albert Cup -photo attached.

The Royal Albert Cup (then called the Albert Gold Cup) was first raced for in 1865 and was won by Niobe . The winner in 1866 was Sphinx, a famous cutter yacht, owned by H C Maudsley. She was an enlarged version of Niobe. Maudsley developed a large foresail for running down wind. It was first called the Sphinxer and then universally the Spinnaker. It was almost certainly first used in the 1866 race and was certainly first used by a member of the Royal Albert Yacht Club.

The Cup was competed for on an annual basis every year up to 1946. Among other famous winners was George V’s own Yacht Britannia.It is expected that the Westmacott Regatta will become a regular annual feature of the Solent racing scene
For further information and entry forms see www.victoryclass.org.uk