The Classic Boat Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of boats and of the history of yachting and boating. It is located on the Isle of Wight at two separate sites on either side of the

River Medina The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newpor ...

; The Boat Collection in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

, and The Gallery in

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

. It is a working museum featuring restoration. Work takes place all year round. In addition to classic boats, the museum contains tools, artefacts, books, photographs, film and archival items that relate to the history of boat building, sailing, yachting, cruising and racing over the last century.

The Boat Collection

The collection includes varied types of boat, most made from wood, that have now been restored. In addition to the main exhibits, there are also smaller boats on display including dinghies, canoes and rowing boats. *Flying Spray - A now restored 1920's river launch. It was found holed and rotting in a Thames backwater. Since restoration the boat has attended several rallies in France, Germany and Switzerland and recently won the

Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...

at a French regatta in

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

. *Airborne Lifeboat - A Mark 1 version of

Uffa Fox Uffa Fox, CBE (15 January 1898 – 26 October 1972) was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast, responsible for a number of innovations in boat design. Not afraid of courting controversy or causing offense, he is remembered for his ec ...

's 1943 Air/Sea Rescue design. The Mark 1 was carried and dropped by parachute from a

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

aircraft. Mark 1A boats used the larger

Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose twin-engined British aircraft developed and operated during the Second World War. In line with the naming convention followed by other RAF heavy bombers of the era, it was named after a British city or ...

. Later and larger versions used Lancasters and B-17s. These boats were dropped to airmen who had ditched in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is estimated that these boats saved around 200-300 lives. The boat carried sufficient stores of food, water, fuel and clothing for a month at sea. A rescued crew was able to sail, motor or row home. This early example underwent a two-year restoration programme to restore it to its original specification after being dug out from a garden in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. Airborne lifeboats were eventually replaced by helicopters in the 1950s. *Sopranino - This is the famous first example of an offshore mini cruiser/racer and was the foundation of the present day

Junior Offshore Group The Junior Offshore Group (JOG) is a UK based yacht club that organises offshore yacht races in the UK using IRC handicap system. The upper IRC limit for JOG is currently set at 1.200 and there is no lower limit as long as yachts comply with the ...

fleet. In 1952 she was sailed across the Atlantic by Patrick Ellam and

Colin Mudie Colin Mudie (11 April 1926-11 March 2020) was an Edinburgh-born yacht designer, author, naval historian, balloonist, and advocate for the handicapped sailor. He studied engineering at Southampton University, before working under yacht designers incl ...

and was later found in a poor state in the USA. She was purchased for $1 and returned home for restoration. *Kestrel - An early Bembridge Redwing. In 1934 Lord Brabazon of Tara fitted a rotating aerofoil rig, swivelling mast and a brake at the masthead. Its design is unique. *Rosabelle - A launch (restored 2011) from which Frank William Beken took famous sailing photos that can be seen worldwide today. *Vigia - This historic Una Catboat awaiting restoration is the latest acquisition by the museum and was donated by the family whose care she has been under for over 70 years. She was built in

in 1872 and is thought to be the oldest English registered pleasure yacht to be still sailing. *Black Bess - An 1870

Itchen ferry An Itchen Ferry is a type of small gaff rig cutter that was originally used for fishing in the Solent and surrounding waters and often raced in town regattas. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest one way or another, it has been said that the ...

. The boat carries the name of the museum on her sail to many regattas during the summer.

The Gallery Exhibition

The Classic Boat Museum's Gallery, based in the former Saunders Roe 1935 building, houses a number of photographic and artefact items, including: *Photographs and other items and events associated with

, including 14 ft dinghies, sailing canoes, transatlantic voyages etc. *Photographs, papers and test tank models relating to the

Thornycroft family The Thornycroft family was a notable English family of sculptors, artists and engineers, connected by marriage to the historic Sassoon family. The earliest known mention of the family is stated in George Ormerod's ''History of Cheshire'' as duri ...

's working and sailing life on the Isle of Wight, including the testing notebooks of naval engineer

Blanche Thornycroft Blanche Coules Thornycroft (21 December 1873 – 30 December 1950) was a British naval architect. She was not formally recognised in her lifetime but her role as an "assistant" is now better credited. Life Thornycroft was born in 1873 in Hammers ...

*Photographs of yachts in the Solent and East Coast from the 1920s onwards, named and dated * Jo Carstairs' collection – press cuttings and photographs relating to her motorboat racing career in the 1920s *Models of power boats and working craft *Library of 2,000 maritime books *Gipsy Moth IV Connection — The museum's Gallery features some of the original equipment from the boat and clothing worn by

Francis Chichester Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE (17 September 1901 – 26 August 1972) was a British businessman, pioneering aviator and solo sailor. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the worl ...

during his journey. *Other displays relating to

Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight. MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, ...

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

, Fleet Reviews, Princess Flying Boat,

Hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

and

J-Class yachts The J Class of racing yachts (sometimes called "J-boats") were built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J Class is considered the apex of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibility in the America's Cu ...

References

External links

Classic Boat Museum website
{{coord, 50.76035, -1.289048, display=title, region:GB_scale:2000 Museums on the Isle of Wight Museums established in 1996 Maritime museums in England