Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2017 | Page 39
Interview
1922 Seaview Mermaid Cynthia on show on her mooring before being awarded the Concours d’Elegance. Picture © Rick Tomlinson
skill, rather than a matter of superior
marine technology.
Mermaids rule
Having been raced off the Island for
over 100 years, the Seaview Mermaids
are a well- known sight in the Solent,
and remain the oldest class of boats
to have been consistent entries in
the annual prestigious Cowes Week
regatta.
There are currently 13 later-designed
Mermaids owned by the Club which
are raced daily throughout the April
to September season, along with a
handful of privately-owned ones.
Some are in-class with the Club-
owned boats, whilst others are of
previous generations.
The iconic 1922 version, which
was extremely robust but costly to
build, was finally phased out from
1962, with the fleet being sold off to
individual buyers.
The old boats went to all corners of
the world, and today there are seven
or eight, including Cynthia, still in
existence.
Others are known to be located in
Greece, the Orkneys, the West Country
and the East Coast as well as one
in Cowes and two inactive ones at
Bembridge.
“What makes the Mermaid so
attractive” says Mike, “is that it is a
classic boat, and the forbear of a very
successful fleet”.
As for the original owner Cynthia,
she died in 1993, at the age of 87.
Mike and the syndicate did manage
to track down the boat’s previous
owner, now a very elderly gentleman
living in Brighton, and brought him to
see the vessel during restoration.
In some ways, he had been Cynthia’s
saviour – because it was during his 20
years of ownership that he sheathed
her in glass fibre, protecting her hull
for this latest sailing incarnation of a
legendary lady.
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