SOCIAL SCENE
Britannia party
King George V’s deathbed
request was that his beloved
yacht ‘Britannia’, one of the
world’s largest and a ‘J’ class
yacht, should not survive him.
In 1936 she was stripped
in Cowes, taken around the
Isle of Wight, and sunk with
explosives off St Catherine’s
Lighthouse. Ten years ago, a
Norwegian made an exact copy
of the hull beyond the Arctic
Circle, in Archangel, North
Russia. Now new owner Scott
Ward has brought her to East
Cowes, to restore her back to
her glory days, celebrated with
a party invited by Anthony
Churchill and Lora Aitken.
When she is complete, the
plans for her future were
revealed, with free use
especially by Island charities,
and by sponsors worldwide.
Sea Shanties welcomed
guests at the Sir Max Aitken
Museum, Cowes, and a full
house of 140 yachtsmen and
dignitaries wished the project
success.
Clockwise from top right: Amy Hill and Luly Ruiz Villar. Cllr David Williams, Susan Scoccia, Cllr Laura Peacey-Wilcox, and Rebecca McGregor, Mayor of Cowes.
Marilyn Barrell, M.P. Andrew Turner and East Cowes Mayor Margaret Prior. Richard Bundy, Royal Thames and Royal Southern Yacht Clubs, with Anthony
Churchill. The Island based Sea Shanty group, The Crew, who performed as a gift to the charity. The Britannia rebuild team, Tristan Stone, Giuseppe Longo,
Stefano Faggioni, William Slee, Royal Yacht Squadron Terry Meredith, and Scott Ward.
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