Centenary Vintage and Classics Exhibition

On Saturday 7th May we welcomed over 800 people to our Centenary Vintage and Classics Exhibition at the Club, where we showcased 100 years of vintage boats and classic cars and motorcycles. This open event, free for the all in the community, was a fabulous celebration of Royal Lymington Yacht Club's centenary, demonstrating how boating and transport have evolved over the past one hundred years.

Stephen Crates, Vice Commodore of RLymYC said, "Our fascinating display of vintage cars and motorbikes alongside beautiful classic yachts and dinghies, many with interesting histories, attracted a huge amount of interest. Many, many thanks to the members and friends who kindly allowed us to include their classic as an exhibit in our collection."

"It was great to open the Club up to the public for such a unique event. A big thank you to all the Club members who were involved with organising the exhibition - both in the run up to the event and on the day. The feedback from visitors was fantastic."

An exhibition of boating over 100 years

The unique exhibition included classic vessels on the pontoon and vintage dinghies next to the Club, many of which were designed and built locally in Lymington, such as the 1924 35ft West One Design yacht, Suvretta, that was one of five produced by Berthon to establish a class at the Yacht Club.

Also fully dressed for the occasion and on display was the 1924 31ft Alfred Westmacott cutter Windflower, 1932 21ft Alfred Westmacott X One-Design Zest, 1938 22ft classic Rossiter Heron cruiser Nancy, 1952 25ft classic Folkboat Genifrede, 1964 15ft Sea Urchin runabout Kandie, 1964 Seafarer 21 small cabin launch Chinook and 1972 38ft modern Old Gaffer ketch 2000 Alice III.

On display were two original collapsible Berthon lifeboats, a design pioneered in 1854 by the Reverend E. L. Berthon that would eventually help to normalise ships carrying adequate safety boats.



Included in the display to the side of the Club was an original wooden Firefly (pictured above) which was owned by a member of the Club whose widow gave it to a young member to restore as part of his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. The dinghy was sold at the event for £1,535 with all proceeds given to the charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

The Club was founded by Scow racers and visitors had the opportunity to see a fantastic line up of prams including the famous 11-foot pram and a wooden Lymington River Scow. Also included in the display of vintage boats was a wooden Flying Dutchman, a wooden Finn, a 1934 14ft International built by Uffa Fox and a classic 18ft wooden rowing skiff.

An impressive display of vintage cars and motorbikes

A number of vintage cars and bikes were displayed in front of Royal Lymington Yacht Club, the oldest of which were the fascinating 1915 GN belt-drive cyclecar and the 1921 GN chain drive "Vitesse".

It was interesting to see how quickly technology advanced from these early cars to the 1932 Ford Indianapolis Sprint Car and then onwards to the 1953 MG, 1969 E-Type Jaguar 4.2 litre and 1973 4/4 Morgan. In total fifteen privately-owned classic cars were displayed and much appreciated by enthusiasts.

The display of seven vintage motorcycles included a 1921 Sunbeam 500cc and a 1932 Norton 500cc which was fascinating to compare with the 1957 Norton 600cc Dominator.

Visitors were able to enjoy "vintage tuck shop" refreshments in the Club's restaurant and out on the sun terrace, from where they could enjoy also a birds eye view of the dinghies and yachts on display. They were also able to find out more about the history of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club and our RYA OnBoard Centre that has been at the heart of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club for 37 years.

Find out more about becoming a member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.

Find out more Wednesday Junior Sailing, our community RYA OnBoard Centre.

Images: Paul French