Situated on the waterfront setting of the Greenbank area in Falmouth, the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (RCYC) was formed in 1871, and is the 15th oldest “Royal” yacht club in England.

History

In 1871 the forty-seven founding members of the club first elected Lord Wodehouse (the future second Earl of Kimberley) as Commodore. In June, 1872 sanction was given by the Admiralty for members of the club to wear the defaced Blue Ensign and the Home Office gave permission for the word "Royal" to be incorporated in the club's title. The first Patrons were

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and the future King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

(then Duke of Cornwall) and successive Monarchs were Patrons until King George VI was succeeded by Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh in 1952. Prince Charles (Duke of Cornwall) has been the Patron since 1977. Falmouth has long been a venue for major regattas. "The King's Class", for Kings Edward VII and George V were frequent competitors in ''

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

'', and later the J-Class were regular features of RCYC Regattas prior to the World Wars. Since the Second World War the club has organised national and international sailing events including, in 2012, the Finn Gold Cup. In January 2012 the RCYC officially became the club under which the newly formed Ben Ainslie Racing would compete in the America's Cup World Series. In July 2012 the Club hosted a regatta for the J-Class; it had not sailed in Falmouth since 1936, or as a fleet in UK waters since 1937.

References

External links

Royal Cornwall Yacht Club
Royal yacht clubs 1871 establishments in England Sports clubs in Cornwall America's Cup yacht clubs Organisations based in Cornwall with royal patronage Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage Gentlemen's clubs in England Yacht clubs in England Falmouth, Cornwall {{Cornwall-org-stub