Lucie, Cresta, Bathsheba, Petite Aile IV, Cupidon Fou and Felma race downwind past Egypt Point to the west of Cowes in 1931.

It is highly likely that this photograph was taken during Cowes Week, as we know from newspaper records that all of these boats raced that year. Cowes Week has always attracted boats from around the world, and this example is no different. Cresta, Bathsheba and Felma were British boats, but Petite Aile IV and Cupidon Fou were French, and Lucie from the United States.

Cowes Week that year was hit by tragedy as, just after the start of the first race for the big yachts, HMY Britannia’s second mate, Ernest Friend, fell overboard and was drowned. Described in the press as “a popular member of Britannia’s crew and highly thought of by the King”, he tragically left a wife and four children.