Classic Boat

Admire the world's most beautiful boats, brought to life through breath-taking photography. Classic Boat offers a unique blend of yacht reviews, seamanship and restoration features, history and design columns, practical advice and coverage of the leading international regattas and events. Whether your interest lies in working on restoration projects or sailing in classic regattas; whether you're a wooden boat owner or simply an admirer of traditional marine workmanship, Classic Boat will have something for you.

The wind drops, the mind wanders

Classic Boat

WHITBREAD’S WHIPPER SNAPPER • Moonraker is one of very few sailing yachts that took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, and after the war she was owned by the brewer Whitbread, sponsor of Francis Chichester and the Whitbread Race. Now, after restoration, she’s back in the fleet.

CLASS COMPETITION

The way the west was won

MEET AT THE FINNISH LINE • From wheelchair sailing to classic yacht restoration and the America’s Cup, the 12th Classic Yacht Symposium weekend in March was a treat for those who managed to get a ticket

TO THE LIGHTHOUSE • Barry Pickthall and Robin Knox-Johnston are treated to a surprise with a story – a visit to an abandoned, then resurrected Porkkala lighthouse in the Finnish Baltic

ITALY’S JESTER • The tiny yacht Rondetto and her Italian skipper Erik Pascoli are, to Italian sailors, nothing less than Blondie Hasler and Jester. Sunk by a storm in 2018, she is now restored and at the Rahmi M Koç Museum in Istanbul

Saleroom

Race of the winds • No one describes the wind like Conrad

FIXING THE FOX • After rebuilding some of the most famous sailing yachts of all time, how hard could this 1960 sportfisher project possibly be?

THE RETURN REMEMBERED • This Dunkirk Return would be the first without a Dunkirk veteran, leaving just the little ships to carry the banner. After a decade of planning, Ramsgate cheered, the winds blew hard from the west, a few planks let go and 58 brave little (and not so little) ships set sail…

LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY • The world’s most famous yacht race is a century old. Barry Pickthall, who has covered every race for 50 of those years, takes up the story

PETER’S FRIEND • Following our story last month on the formidable sailor Dulce Hazel Kennard, better known as Peter Pears, we look at the yacht she loved and left behind, Juanita

DIESEL BASICS • A marvel of engineering? Or a horror lurking below the steps? Two men with more than 120 years of experience run us through the basic checks needed on a four-stroke marine diesel

Tools and spares • The tools you need are determined by the engine you have. Most engine maintenance and fixes at sea are down to preparation and practice, and that includes assembling the correct took kit. All engine tools should be kept in one box, preferably in the engine space.

The perfect brig • A lesson in practical authenticity

POWER MOVES • Ahead of a regular review of the SoT world, we take a defined dive into the latest motorboat moves and find an awful lot to get excited about. From genre-splicing refits to exciting new designs, the future looks warm, bright and surprisingly fast

Yard News

Boatbuilder’s Notes

Traditional Tool

Letters • LETTER OF THE MONTH SUPPORTED BY MYLNE YACHT DESIGN

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