Celebrating U a Fox, 50 years on
The UF50 celebration of the life and work of Ua Fox, in Cowes in August, attracted more than 80 Fox-designed boats, including the 22 square metre Vigilant, the Flying 15 Hobgoblin and the 1934 frostbite dinghy Fay with bamboo mast, which is now on display at the Classic Boat Museum, writes John Roberson. Also in the mix were National 18s, Albacores, plenty of International 14s, a Pegasus, National Redwings, a National 12, a Flying 10 and a small swarm of Firefly dinghies.
The oldest boat was Anthony Wheaton’s 101-year-old ga-rigged International 14, Grebe of Hampton, which lost her mast on the Saturday. Among many other boats of note were Patricia Knight’s International 14, Daring, in which Ua won his second Prince of Wales Cup, and Alastair Vine’s Firefly, Jacaranda, which was the GB entry in the singlehanded dinghy class in the 1948 London Olympics sailed at Torquay.
Boats were on display along Cowes Parade, where owners and crews compared notes, while others tied up at Shepards Wharf Marina, with numerous Flying 15s and yachts including the Atalantas, who were out in force with some coming from the English east coast and Guernsey. The 1930s one-o yawl, Mary Lunn, built in India, was berthed on the Trinity Landing, alongside Clare of Beaulieu, a former Cowes Harbour Master’s launch.
Racing took place on the Friday and Saturday, with 65 boats starting. Meanwhile over the weekend there was an Ua Fox trail to follow around Cowes, tracing aspects of Ua’s life, and a number of social events including at his last home, Commodore’s House, where Prince Philip’s Flying 15 Coweslip was displayed. The evening was sponsored by Dartmouth Gin. A number of clubs and organisations were part of the event including the Sir Max Aitken Museum, the Classic Boat Museum Shed, Cowes Heritage and Community Group, Cowes Library, East Cowes Heritage Centre and the Classic Boat Museum Gallery in East Cowes.
On the racecourse, Jeremy Vines and his team sailing the National 18 Ace remained undefeated in the fast handicap class. The toughest fleet at the event was the slow handicap, where the battle for the top spot was between two Fireflies, with Ben Pym’s KEM just taking the honours from John Greenland in Falken.
The Flying 15s were the numerically strongest, and Patrick Harris sailing Seventh Heaven took victory by three points from Rob Goddard’s Over The Moon.
In the keelboat class, Rowan Horner’s Harrier 20 Meg won the only two races sailed, beating the beautiful yawl Mary Lunn skippered by Robin Whaite, which finished second in both races.
Jeremy Vines’s strongest competition came from a pair of Albacores, Mathew Thompson sailing the best-named boat at the event, Ua Fox Sake, and Mike Banner’s Fifty Shades. The first of the vintage International 14s in the fast handicap fleet was K545 Sunrise in the hands of Mark Harrison. This boat was originally built by Fairey Marine for “the boss” Charles Curry and he went on to win the coveted Prince of Wales Cup with her.
There were thanks all round for the Royal London Yacht Club, which organised the event.