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Falmouth Classics

Falmouth Classics features three days of enjoyable racing and a spectacular Parade of Classic Boats and the Small Classic Boat Parade. Since it began, in 1987, Falmouth Classics has steadily grown to be one of the largest Classic sailing events in the UK.

Falmouth is recognised as having some of the best sailing waters in the world in the Carrick Roads and Falmouth Bay. There are also many vantage points for spectators to view the events which take place in the Carrick Roads and Falmouth Bay. Over the last few years the Port and it’s yacht and sailing clubs have hosted many major events, such as the ”J” Class Regatta, Finn Gold Cup, Pendennis Cup, and the 2014 and 2023 Tall Ships Regattas, the beginning of the Golden Globe event in 2018 as well as the start and finish of the 2023 AZAB (Azores and Back Race) and many other National and International meetings.

The organisers look forward to the 37th year with all the usual activities both on and off the water together with a fleet of steam boats and of course the Falmouth International Shanty Festival.

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Falmouth welcomes “most beautiful” Classic Yacht Regatta – Richard Mille Cup: Falmouth – Le Havre, June 2 – 15 2024

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Spectators will be lining the coast and waters around Falmouth to watch the magnificent classic superyachts in action – photo courtesy of Richard Mille.

Some of the world’s most spectacular yachts are gathering in Falmouth Harbour for the first events of the Richard Mille Cup, as the luxury Swiss watchmaker brings its prestigious regatta back to the Cornish port deemed a perfect showcase from which to admire these classics of the pre-war era.

Twelve classic yachts will give spectators on land and sea views of exhilarating action in and around Falmouth Bay with the racing fleets of Schooners and Cutters crewed by some of the best sailors in the world.

“What a wonderful time for the Port of Falmouth, with the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club hosting the amazing Richard Mille Cup once more in 2024,” says the RCYC’s new Commodore Richard Pugh. “These truly magnificent and iconic yachts generate excitement and interest for sailors and ‘land-lubbers’ alike.

“In these very early days of my tenure as Commodore of the RCYC and on behalf of us all at the Club I extend a warm welcome to owners, skippers, crews and spectators in Falmouth.  Have a wonderful regatta.”

Falmouth Harbour with the RCYC as Regatta hosts will again showcase the first events of the two-week competition featuring historic yachts – beginning with a welcome on Sunday 2 June for more than 300 owners, crews and their entourages.

Three days of inshore racing in Falmouth Bay from Monday to Wednesday will be followed by a passage race to Dartmouth, Devon and coastal racing in Cowes, Isles of Wight before the grand finale in Le Havre.

In Falmouth racing will begin each day at 10:30, subject to weather conditions, and should finish at around 15:00, with race organisers aiming to bring the finishing line as close to Pendennis Point as conditions allow.

Land-based spectators should get some tremendous views from Pendennis, Rosemullion and St Anthony headlands. Spectator boats are welcome but will be required to keep a wide berth of the racing fleet at all times, especially ahead of the start where the huge vessels will be manoeuvring and requiring substantial sea room.

While in Falmouth Harbour the boats will be berthed at Pendennis Marina and the larger vessels moored between Caldy, Cutty Sark and Frigate buoys.

The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club has been a feature of Falmouth’s iconic harbour since 1871 and as a vibrant club today hosts many national and international events. During last year’s Richard Mille Cup the RCYC Sailing Trust took eighty local young people out on the water to watch the racing aboard the pleasure boat Princessa and proved such a focus the watchmaker is supporting a similar outing this year.

“It’s important to us that the wider community feels included, with the opportunity to enjoy what is a very rare sight in this country,” says Event Director at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club Sarah Hancock. “This year 95 young people from all over Cornwall will have a memorable day out aboard the Princessa, feeling very much part of the event and even sporting the same branded Richard Mille regatta hats and wristbands worn by the race team and crews.

“We hope that we can contribute to the promotion of our local area, hosting the owners and crews for an opening reception at Trelissick House with its stunning views over the Carrick Roads and for prizegiving at the National Maritime Museum.”

Falmouth Harbour CEO Miles Carden adds, “Falmouth – the third deepest natural harbour in the world with a history steeped in boatbuilding and renovation – is an incredibly hospitable port town. Mooring and berthing in the heart of our inner harbour accentuates the spectatorship of the Richard Mille Cup for the community and for crews and guests – an opportunity to step straight off these beautiful boats into our vibrant town.

“Hosting the prestige and size of these vessels is not without its complexities but all do-able thanks to a brilliant Harbour team. We are delighted to again be hosting the start of this incredible race.”

The Richard Mille contenders are invited owners and charterers of yachts built before 1939 or faithful replicas of such yachts, with vessels competing in the Schooner and Cutter categories.

The event includes racing and social events organised by the Royal Cornwall and the Royal Dart Yacht Clubs, the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the Société des Régates du Havre.

As befitting such a prestigious event, the three-foot-high Richard Mille trophy was designed by Garrard, jewellers to the British Royal Family for the last 300 years and designers of the America’s Cup trophy 170 years ago.

The second edition Richard Mille Cup will take place from June 2 to June 15 2024 with further details of the events, races and competing vessels announced and updated at www.richardmillecup.com

Courtesy Richard Mille

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Falmouth Classics 

Falmouth Classics

Berthing at Falmouth Haven Marina, the Falmouth Classics will  be going ahead on 14 – 16 June and will feature a dedicated three-day regatta with heritage and classic sailing from a variety of boats across the Falmouth Harbour and Carrick Roads

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Tall ship and a Gentlemen’s Motor Yacht enter the Falmouth Classics

With entries already over 100 and more expected, the 2023 Falmouth Classics is set to welcome the brig Phoenix, launched in 1929, and Lilian, described as a gentlemen’s motor yacht, built in 1916.

Both vessels will be joining the local RNLI lifeboats and a Classic French life boat form Portsall, Brittany, in leading the fleets of sailing, motor and rowed vessels in what will be a spectacular Parade of Sail to be held on Sunday 18th June from 10.30 – 12.00.

The Phoenix, at 111’ overall, with her two masts, both with squares sails and fore and aft mizzen, will stand out in the harbour and provide a reminder of scenes from the past in the port and of the tall ships event to come in August. The Phoenix was built by Hjorne & Jakobsen at Frederikshavn, Denmark in 1929, originally as a Baltic log trading vessel, but traded from launch for 20 years as an Evangelical Mission Schooner and later carried a variety of cargoes. She was recovered in a very poor state in Miami, USA, and then refitted as a brigantine but in 1996 she was rerigged as an 18th century two masted brig for the film industry and spent many years in Charlestown, Cornwall.

She will be recognised from her many film performances including: the Horn Blower series, In the Heart of the Sea, Poldark and Taboo. The vessel is now under new management and her home port is Belfast, Northern Ireland. She will be pleased to welcome paying guests during the Classics which runs from 16th – 18th June and provide them with a unique opportunity to view the racing and participate in the parade of sail on board a tall ship. Find out more here .

Captain Joel Edward Foote said: “We are thrilled to participate and as one of the most highly anticipated sailing events of the year, Falmouth Classics offers a unique opportunity to showcase our beautiful tall ship to a wide audience”. 

Lilian, described as a gentlemen’s a motor yacht, she does however carry sails and is rigged as a gaff schooner. She did have sails when built but just a single mast She was designed and built by Carl Gustave Petterson in Stockholm in 1916 for a well-known Danish banker as the support boat for his racing yachts in the Baltic. She is thought to be one of the first yachts to use twin screw diesel propulsion and the only one remaining in the world. Not surprisingly she is listed on the National Historic Ships Register. The original engines have been renovated but are no longer installed.

The banker made considerable losses and She later moved to French ownership, then English, and has been based on the Thames since 1938. From 1968 she served for a while as the Windsor Sea Scouts base ship. The current owners purchased her in 1980 and restoration to a seagoing standard followed, which was completed in 1988. The owners live aboard and have cruised her widely and participated in many classic events. Like the Phoenix, this is her first time at the Falmouth Classics.

Keith Tullett, the Chairman of the Falmouth Classics Association said “The Association is very pleased to welcome these two wonderful historic vessels to Falmouth Classics. They will both add much interest to the event and add considerably to the spectacle of the Sunday parade”.

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A prestigious three-day regatta of racing, parades and onshore events

Falmouth Classics has been held in the waters around Falmouth each year since 1987. In 2013 it was re-launched in mid-June as a three day “Falmouth Classics Regatta” to coincide with the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival.

The synergy of Classic Boats and Sea Shanties produces an event which provides an ideal opportunity to bring the Town and the Sailing scene closer together.

Falmouth Classics features three days of enjoyable racing and a spectacular Parade of Classic Boats and the Small Classic Boat Parade. Since it began, in 1987, Falmouth Classics has steadily grown to be one of the largest Classic sailing events in the UK.

Falmouth is recognised as having some of the best sailing waters in the world in the Carrick Roads and Falmouth Bay. There are also many vantage points for spectators to view the events.

The Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival takes place at the same time and over 65,000 visitors flock to Falmouth.

Find out more here

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Old Time Sailors at Trebah Garden

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Tall ship and a Gentlemen's Motor Yacht enter 2023 Falmouth Classics

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Falmouth Classics 2025

Name: Falmouth Classics 2025 Date: Friday 13-Sunday 15 June 2025 Type: A celebration of nautical traditions Suitable for: Classic sailing boat enthusiasts Location: Falmouth and its surrounding waters Price: Free

FALMOUTH CLASSICS 2025 TAKES PLACE BETWEEN FRIDAY 13 AND SUNDAY 15 JUNE 2025. EXPECT ALL MANNER OF BOAT RACES TO TAKE PLACE IN THE WATERS NEXT TO THE TOWN WHILE THERE’S A FESTIVAL ATMOSPHERE ONSHORE…

Classic sailing vessels. Pilot gigs. Motor boats. Traditional craft. And everything in between. That’s what you’re going to see – and then some – in Falmouth ’s waters when the Falmouth Classics 2025 boat festival sails into town between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 June 2025 (with the vessels arriving on Thursday 12 June 2025).

This ultra-popular classic sailing festival, which began way back in 1987 and has grown to become one of the UK’s largest, features races out on the water, as well as some spectacular parades, including the Parade of Classic Boats and the Small Classic Boat Parade. Expect the area to come alive with the sight of taught jibs and the sound of clanging rigging set against a host of fab shore-side events, just as it did during the incredible three-day 37th edition of the fest out on the waves in June 2024.

The coastline around the town provides plenty of fantastic viewpoints to watch the action across Falmouth Bay and the Carrick Roads section of the River Fal during the 38th edition of the festival in 2025. On the water, sailing vessels from nine-footers to whopping 150ft monsters compete for the title of top seadog in a whole host of boat categories.

For the traditionalist, one of the event highlights is the ‘Falmouth Working Boats’ which, as its name suggests, features vessels that hail from the local area that have evolved for fishing in the local waters. Other races include classic boats powered by sail, oar, steam or engine, all of which showcase traditional boat building methods from all over the world.

There are plenty of opportunities to interact with the vessels in the Classics Maritime Village and you can also watch rowing and sculling races in and around the harbour. Catch all sorts of entertainment and musical events around the town too, particularly as Falmouth Classics, coincides with the lively Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival 2025 . Read all about that: here .

All eyes will be on Cornwall’s biggest deepwater harbour for a long weekend of maritime merriment so you can get this one in your dairy… schooner rather than later.

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Falmouth Classics set for 2023

Falmouth Classics will take place from 16 -18 th June 2023, the organisers have announced, with arrangement already underway for the West Country classic regatta which has become famous for its spectacular parade of sail featuring every kind of vintage boat, from Pilot Cutters to Metre yachts.

Once again, Atkins Ferry Wealth Management will be the event’s headline sponsor.

The entry for 2022 was 175 and the regatta team hopes to exceed this in 2023, particularly as they are expecting a flotilla of steam boats to be in the port during the weekend!

Don Garman, Vice Chair of the Falmouth Classics Association, said: “2021 saw the event cope well with both Covid and the G7 Conference, in 2002 we experienced 47 knot winds from the North on the Saturday, which curtailed racing and led to significant berthing rearrangements. Despite the stormy conditions on the Saturday there was still an excellent showing in the parade of sail on Sunday. The team look forward to a less challenging year in 2023!”

www.falmouthclassics..org.uk

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New vintage yacht regatta sets sail from Falmouth

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

Written by: Marine Industry News

Some of the world’s most beautiful classic superyachts are gathering in Falmouth Harbour this weekend for the first Richard Mille Cup, which features three days of fierce competition hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.

The inaugural Richard Mille Cup, which runs from 10-13 June 2023, will take spectators back to the classic yacht races of the late 1800s — with phase one seeing Falmouth’s Harbour and Bay dominated by towering wooden masts and billowing sails on twelve authentic wooden vessels – some of which are well over a century old.

Falmouth Harbour will showcase the first events of the two-week competition featuring historical yachts from Great Britain and France. It will begin in Falmouth and finish in Le Havre, with three days hard-fought coastal racing in each of Falmouth and Cowes, and passage races to Dartmouth and Le Havre.

“Classic yachts bear a living, breathing testimony to the highest values of workmanship, heritage and tradition passed on to us through centuries,” says a Richard Mille spokesperson in a statement. “By creating this challenge, we aim to set sail through history and to bring this high-end craft very much back to life.”

Some of the yachts, including the 65m three master Adix and the 42m twin masted schooner Mariette have been restored or refitted on many occasions over the years by Falmouth’s own superyacht specialists Pendennis Shipyard – in between their voyaging and competing across the world.

The Richard Mille Cup will pit these classic vessels against each other in both inshore and offshore competition with more than 200 sailors expected to participate in the racing.

The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club has been a feature of Falmouth’s harbour since 1871 and as a vibrant club today hosts many national and international events.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected as the initial venue for this special and innovative event in the yachting calendar,” says RCYC Commodore Sarah Hancock. “It should prove a major spectacle and attraction for Falmouth, with over 200 participants arriving in port and be a very rare opportunity to see such stunning yachts competing seriously against each other.”

Boats will be racing from Falmouth on the 11, 12 and 13 June, starting each day at 10.30am with a start line approximately 800 metres off Pendennis Point — giving tremendous views to spectators from Pendennis, Rosemullion and St Anthony Heads.

Depending on weather and wind, the vessels will race across Falmouth Bay to a turning mark off the Manacles, then sail up channel towards Fowey and turn again to Falmouth with the finishing line off the Falmouth beaches or Pendennis Point, should conditions allow, at approximately 3.00pm.

Spectator boats are welcome but will be required to keep a wide berth of the racing fleet at all times, especially ahead of the start where the huge vessels will be manoeuvring and requiring substantial sea room.

While in Falmouth Harbour, the boats will be berthed at Pendennis Marina and the larger vessels moored near Caldy and Frigate buoys. On Wednesday 14 June, the Richard Mille fleet will race from Falmouth to Dartmouth.

Dr William Collier, who has restored multiple historic yachts back to vintage racing condition, is working with the watchmaker and the hosting yacht clubs on this new event. “The Richard Mille Cup strives to recapture the spirit of the pre-war British racing circuit,” he says. “We see these yachts as important cultural artefacts.”

The Richard Mille contenders are invited owners and charterers of yachts built before 1939 or faithful replicas of such yachts, with twelve vessels competing in the Schooner and Cutter categories. The event includes racing and social events organised by the Royal Cornwall and the Royal Dart Yachts Clubs and the Royal Yacht Squadron, before the final race of the Société des Régates du Havre.

The three-foot-high Richard Mille trophy has been designed by Garrard, jewellers to the British Royal Family for the last 300 years and designers of the America’s Cup trophy 170 years ago.

The cup takes place shortly before the 2023 edition of UK sailing regatta Falmouth Classics (16 and 17 June), with boats arriving into port on 15 June. Earlier this year, the event announced that it would  welcome steam-powered boats for the first time .

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