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. www.visitilife.com 39