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11:33 Saturday 6 Aug 2016 Sue Pelling/AAMCWHistoric Queen Cup returns to Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week

The Queen's Cup

One of the most significant prizes on offer this week – the Queen's Cup, traditionally raced for on the first Saturday of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week – will be presented at a special ceremony in Cowes later today, to the winner of Class Zero.

This is the first time in many years that this magnificent gold cup, presented to the Royal Southampton Yacht Club by Queen Victoria in 1897 – her Diamond Jubilee year – will be awarded to the winner at Cowes Week rather than at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club annual prizegiving later in the year.

According to records, the first Queen’s Cup was a spectacle with 11 boats taking part. The race was won by Mr W M Johnstone, owner of Latana, a 165-ton yawl, the largest yacht in the fleet.

From there on the Cup was raced for on the opening day of Cowes Week and soon became one of the most prestigious prizes on offer. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century however, disaster stuck when the Cup mysteriously disappeared.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom because apparently it was miraculously discovered by a club member who spotted it for sale in a second-hand shop in Wales. Naturally he snapped it up for £35 and handed it back to the club.

Given its interesting past, and its value, RSYC keep the Cup closely guarded so it is a delight that they have agreed to present it to the winner of Class 0 later today.

With such a glittering prize up for grabs, competition in Class 0 on the opening day of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week will be intense. Last year Michael Bartholomew and his team on the GP42 Tokoloshe II took the honours. Although Bartholomew is now racing in the Fast40+ fleet and therefore unable to defend his Queen’s Cup title, there are 11 boats in with a chance of taking the honours including Piet Vroon’s Kerr 51 Tonnerre 4.

The prizegiving for the Queen’s Cup is scheduled to take place at the Royal Yacht Squadron at 1800 this afternoon.