Local history
UFFA FOX : boat designer and much more
One of the most original characters to come out of Cowes , Uffa Fox was a boat designer and builder by trade and a raconteur , bon vivant and all round eccentric individual by nature .
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A personal friend of Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh from 1949 , the Prince wrote the foreword to Uffa ’ s biography written by his niece June Dixon , including these words : “ His life was one long campaign for the freedom of the human spirit and against the foolish , the stupid and the self-important , the whole conducted with a cheerful breeziness that disarmed all but the hardest of cases .” He and Prince Philip raced together on the Dragon ‘ Bluebottle ’ and in the Flying Fifteen ‘ Coweslip ’ that was designed and built by Uffa . The 20 foot Flying Fifteen was one of Uffa ’ s most successful post-war designs and Coweslip was presented to the Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip by the people of Cowes as a wedding gift . Although the Queen did sail Coweslip with her husband the boat was more often seen with the Prince as helmsman and Uffa as crew . The duo were prominent at Cowes Week in Coweslip and she was kept and maintained on Uffa Fox ’ s quay at Cowes , enabling Prince Philip to join her from the Royal Yacht during Cowes Week without having to run the gauntlet of crowds ashore . Uffa later took the royal children sailing at Cowes when they visited for Cowes Week . “ Uffa was a genius with a sailing boat and his advice on tactics and knowledge of the tidal conditions in the Solent was invaluable ,” said the Prince of his friend . “ He was usually very keen to take as much advantage as possible by going in-shore to avoid an adverse tide . This put us on the rocks at Egypt Point more than once !” Uffa Fox designed the Britannia
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