Well... there always was! And now the Med season has closed, it has been interesting to talk to Argyle who has attended most of the (ex) Panerai circuit of Regattas this Summer, to hear that they attended a series of top notch events, run and administered well by the various Yacht Clubs and that the absence of bright blue carpet, canapes and time-pieces did not dent the events to any appreciable degree.

This year’s Panerai British Classic Week saw a fleet of over 50 classic yachts from across Europe put through their paces in the challenging tidal waters of in the Solent in all weather conditions. Owned and helmed by regatta-regular Giovanni Belgrano, the Laurent Giles One-Off Bermudan Sloop Whooper sailed a tightly contested six-race series to win the regatta overall, taking home the BCYC Trophy and Panerai clock.

This year’s Suffolk Yacht Harbour (SYH) Classic Regatta saw a fleet of over thirty beautifully maintained classic yachts racing and socialising in sunshine and fair winds.

With the smell of bacon sandwiches in the air, skippers and crews gathered for briefing on Saturday morning to be welcomed by SYH managing director Jonathan Dyke. Race officer Peter Martin outlined the dos (do stay out of the shipping channel) and don’ts (don’t go in the shipping channel!) before the yachts cast their lines for the day’s racing.