Top Award

Centrepiece of the array of silver and glassware on display at the prizegiving for fully crewed racing at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club this evening is the magnificent Queen’s Cup, the Club’s premier award.
It was presented to the Club by Queen Victoria to commemorate her diamond jubilee back in 1897, and by tradition is raced for on the opening day of the world famous Cowes Week regatta each August.
Years after Queen Victoria presented the cup to the Club, Queen Elizabeth 11 agreed in 1960 to the re-instatement of a Queen’s Cup race at the Cowes regatta on the first day of racing, which the Royal Southampton has had the privilege to organise for many years.
At the Cowes regatta last August, the Queen’s Cup race was won by South African yachtsman Michael Bartholomew on corrected time on his yacht Tokoleshe 11 which is based on the Hamble river, close to Cowes and the Solent sailing waters.

Unfortunately he was unable to be at the prize giving this evening when awards were presented by new Cowes Week chief executive Phil Hagan, when he would have been at least able to hold the priceless trophy for a moment or two. The Cup itself remains at the Royal Southampton premises.