Classic yachts and some of their regattas are something I keep getting drawn to. It’s never been my bag before, having always been far too interested in performance boats and the latest advances in technology. I try to justify this as anything other than advancing age.

And this season I found a good reason at the British Classic Yacht Club event in Cowes. Now in its 24th year, this collection of venerable boats provided some forward-thinking ideas.

The growth of ‘bargain basement’ yachting has been drawing my attention too, especially the Sonata class that celebrated its 50th year with a great anniversary regatta.

Many of those in the 29-boat fleet were drawn to the popular Mini Tonner design from the 1970s because you can pick them up cheaply and, with a relatively modest amount of cash to tidy them up, enjoy some competitive racing.

Having grown up racing against Sonatas when they were new – and thinking they were the bees-knees back then – I hadn’t sailed one until this summer when Richard Thomas, son of designer David, invited me aboard for an evening race out of Cowes.

I didn’t need convincing when it came to the Sonata’s design credentials, but I was taken aback by just how much fun these 7m boats are. It’s no surprise why they still attract decent fleets around the UK and abroad.

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Not every event has been on the up though. As one of the biggest events of its type in the world, Cowes Week has seen a reduction in entries over recent years. Yet, the idea that sailing is in decline is one I simply don’t accept. There’s no mass exodus from sailing. It has not become inaccessible, immoral, or socially unacceptable. Instead, there has simply been a shift in what people want to do.

Interestingly, one of the unexpected consequences of Covid was to remind us how good our clubs are when there are more of us taking part, and how you don’t necessarily have to travel hundreds of miles to have fun. Unfortunately, this has had a knock-on effect for those very events we were going to regularly pre-Covid.

Looking at the declining numbers at key regattas the problem seems to be based around two things: time and money.

We all know the world is not as it was two or three decades ago. Lifestyles have changed dramatically, and our lives have become busier as we cram more activities and commitments into the same 365 days.

Events that recognise this and adapt their offering are the ones that seem to be doing the best. Among them is the British Classic Yacht Club (BCYC) regatta.

“We know one of the reasons people come to our event is for the social side. We all love looking at other boats, talking about them and of course racing them, but one of our goals was to make this a 50/50 regatta. For every hour spent racing there should be at least an hour of social time at the dock,” said BCYC chair Giovanni Belgrano.

“Many people are time poor, so we’ve adapted our racing. We’ve cut the event down to five days from six and have reduced some of the longer races in an effort to make the event as efficient as we can. We take a dynamic approach where we’re not afraid to change format from year to year.”

An impressive IRC Zero fleet competing for the Britannia Cup at this year’s North Sails Cowes Week. Photo: Martin Allen/PW Pictures

Shortly after the BCYC event, Cowes Week celebrated its 200th anniversary and enjoyed a bumper entry, up from just over 400 to more than 600 boats. It made for a great event, filling the Solent and the town during an exceptional week of weather. It suggested that after years of decline, Cowes Week was back.

But while I’d like to think that’s the case, my concern is that the anniversary event and incredible weather will mask the underlying issues of time and money.

The event has done much to change over the years with good course setting, much better communications for competitors and events tailored to specific classes.

More of this could be the key to the future.

Cowes Week has the infrastructure and expertise to deliver events within the main regatta, so instead of focussing on a seven day marathon, offer more classes the option to have shorter mini-series within the week.

With a long hot summer of endless sea breezes and perfect balmy evenings to socialise, there’s been little not to like and attendances have proved it. But let’s not allow this to mask the fact that we also need to consider adapting events to what people can and want to do today.

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