Britannia arrives back into Cowes

The Britannia Yacht left Norway last week, tugged by Svendborg Bugser. She arrived alongside Venture Quays at around 16.00 on Saturday (4th Februray) with just enough light left for those who have been waiting to welcome the convoy to watch her arrive into to Cowes harbour.

It is understood that the Britannia will be lifted into her cradle at the Southboats Yard in Venture Quays, Cowes as soon as it is in place and the tide is high enough. This is expected to be later today (Monday 6th February).





Thanks to Scott Ward for the Britannia Project and please visit the Britannia K1 website for more details on progress in Cowes.

The following information was also posted by our friends at Ship Tracking:

"Britannia at Cowes | Britannia tied up at East Cowes. On King George V’s death in January 1936, what should happen to his massive and famous J Class Yacht ‘Britannia’? He’d left instructions that she was to ‘follow him to the grave’. Stripped of all her spars and fittings, her hull was towed out from Cowes and sunk off St Catherine’s Deep, somewhere west of Ventnor and south of the Needles, on July 1st.

The remains of her hull are there to-day, rotting in a deep watery grave. Nobody is supposed to know the exact location, though fishermen from the island have snagged nets on her.

An exact replica of her hull was built, between 1993 and 2009, at a frozen shipyard north of the Arctic Circle, in Russia’s port of Arkhangelsk, and financed by a Norwegian magnate. Since then she’s been overwintered in Northern Norway. From there, and in January this year her hull has been on a final leg of her journey, trekking west and south – to Cowes. As you might expect, after Arctic winters and battered by storms on her way here, the hull looks the worse for wear. Local Anthony Churchill tells us, by the end of this week – weather permitting - she will at last reach her new home, alongside in Cowes, all 40 metres (120 feet) of her. The plan: for her completion to commence, and for the Trust that now owns her, to invest in fitting-in new deck ware, restoring her interior, her mast, rigging and sails, back to what they were in the Classic Days of Cowes Yachting. The goal: for her to become a flagship for charity, reaching out to underprivileged children, war veterans and to be used as a fundraising venue for upcoming charities in the UK and across the globe.

Head of the Trust, Scott Ward, says “The hull needs a good brush up and tender care, but we hope to introduce her to you all in a few weeks, once she is out of the water and looking her best”."