Prince Philip’s Bluebottle returns to Cowes Week

Prince Philip’s beloved 29ft racing yacht Bluebottle delivered a spectacular performance at Cowes Week, storming to victory in the Dragon class competition on the Isle of Wight.

This legendary wooden boat, helmed by world-class skipper Graham Bailey, achieved a remarkable victory after picking up three race wins and a second to beat the other 25 boats in its division.

Some 5,000 sailors aboard 642 vessels set out to battle for 156 trophies throughout the popular week of sailing events.

A Royal Wedding Gift and an Olympic Pedigree Built in 1947 by well-known Gosport boatbuilder Camper & Nicholsons, Bluebottle was gifted to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip by the members of the Island Sailing Club in Cowes as part of their wedding celebrations.

Prince Philip, an avid racing sailor for much of his life, took Bluebottle to sea many times. Arguably most memorably, the yacht raced across the Solent in 1957 with then eight-year-old King Charles III aboard, his father taking the helm. During a previous racing career, she even represented Britain at major competitions worldwide.

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Graham Mann, the boat took a bronze medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics – Britain’s only Olympic medal in the Dragon class.

Naval Cadets to Full Restoration Following the retirement of Bluebottle from royal service in 1961 she was handed to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, where successive generations of naval cadets trained using the yacht as a practical vessel.

Skipper Graham Bailey humorously recalled the vessel’s reputation on base. “I’m told that no cadet dared use her for fear of pranging her,” he chuckled.

Decades later, with The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust funding an 18-month restoration process carried out by boatyard experts David Heritage Racing Yachts, the beautifully restored classic wooden yacht was returned to its former sporting glory in time to take up the challenge of international racing.

Bittersweet Victory Although Prince Philip himself was able to endorse plans for a radical, albeit challenging renovation on Bluebottle, and received frequent updates during the boat’s 18-month ‘rebuilding’, he sadly died in April 2021 before being able to witness her first race.

Bailey described it as “one of the great sadnesses” of his life that the Duke of Edinburgh didn’t survive to see the yacht back in the water.

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It is no surprise that Prince Philip’s prized possession continues to represent British maritime achievement with pride, proving a 70+ year-old wooden yacht can still triumph over its modern counterparts on the water today.