With family members getting older there was also more call for individuals to take off and explore the Mediterranean with their friends. As a result Cambria cruised the Tuscan coastal islands, Southern and Eastern Sardinia, and also Corsica over June and July. One of the many highlights of this time was one of the children catching their first yellow fin Tuna. Though we have caught many tuna over the last ten years, we have never been lucky to do so whilst guests are on board and this catch finally dispelled the myth! Our first cruise took us from Livorno, Italy to Cassis near Marseilles via Elba and North Western Corsica.

We then competed in our only regatta for the season: Argentario Sailing Week, held in the beautiful Porto Santo Stefano. Our draw card was Shamrock V who was competing in her first regatta at this amazing location. Again the breeze was excellent and the two yachts played out dramatic scenes on the water with many fine crossing moments. Both yachts having their days, though the overall winner of the week was Mariquita who had learnt the vagrancies of the wind around the edge of the bay from the previous year. Cambria fell out of the ranking for being DSQ on the last days racing. This was due to an ambiguous course layout which Cambria interpreted the wrong way! Though losing the regatta as a result it certainly highlighted the problem to the race committee and the potentially dangerous situation they were creating with such a course. None of this really mattered as the spectacle far outweighed the results. To have Shamrock back  with the owners on board racing and having such a fantastic time will hopefully lead to many more such encounters.

From Santo Stefano it was a quick change out from racing to cruising gear and off to Cagliari, Southern Sardinia to pick up the family for the next leg of cruising. Once again, our time on the east coast of Sardinia was breathtaking; where some of the finest anchorages in all of the Mediterranean are to be found.  Northern Sardinia was particularly breezy which resulted in some exciting sailing. Some magic down hill runs with 35 knots abaft the beam on flat water through the spectacular coastal inlets and waterways. The Mistral continued incessantly. We attempted the Bonnafacio straight to sail up the west coast of Corse, but 4 to 5m seas lead to us having to change plans and cruise the east coast of Corsica as the west was blown out and untenable. Following this, we continued up to Elba where we enjoyed plenty of watersports and of course watching Germany win the world cup final.

Cambria then returned to Cannes to restock and pick up guests for another attempt at cruising the west coast of Corse. The Mistral was easier on us this time and we had excellent sailing between Girilata, Calvi and St Florent . The two memorable sails were the down wind sprint from Calvi to St Florent with 35 gusting 40 knots of westerly in beautiful sunshine, and the return crossing from Calvi to Cannes in 25 knots of South Westerly.

This took us to the end of July and we now had another quick turn around to prepare for the 2000 Nm voyage to Southampton. After three days we set off with 4 extra delivery crew; Woody, Christophe, Ollie and Ez.  Though the fishing was excellent, filling our freezer before reaching the Balaerics, the wind was not so favourable. By the time we made Gibraltar we had sailed 12 hrs and were forced to make a second fuel stop. The weather up the Atlantic coast , though by no means perfect was kind to us and we made it through to La Coruna in 4 days rather than the 9 it took 5 years ago! With another quick crew change in Coruna we were off across the Biscay. After two days of Northerly the breeze back to the west and then south west allowing Cambria to finish the delivery in style, with trysail, staysail and jib we ran up through the channel arriving in Southampton waters at dawn on day 5. Of the 15 days of delivery we only managed 3 days of sailing, however, compared to the beating over 25 days we took last time we (and Cambria) were very happy with the voyage.

Arriving in Southampton by the 19th of August gave us time to de-rig, unstep mast and start emptying Cambria readying her to enter the SYS shed: her new home for the next year. With help from the delivery crew, Cambria was derigged within three days and the mast out. One week after arriving, Cambria was calmly waiting at the SYS yard for her shed to be cleared and was hauled out on the 2nd of September and into the shed on the 3rd. Whilst still in the slings of the travel lift, we removed the rudder on the 4th – this allowed Cambria to now be ‘blocked off’ and for the travel lift to be moved out of the shed. With this out of the way the mast and boom which had been barged up the river, could now be rolled into position next to Cambria within the shed and allowing the front of the shed to be closed over.

It was vital to get Cambria into the shed as early as possible to have the sheathing removed to allow her to properly dry out before the winter set in. Cambria has been wrapped in GRP sheathing for 20 years. With the glass removed, her planking (now exposed) can dry out allowing us to fully understand its state.

It is now January 2015 and we are 4 months in to the refit and we have had the opportunity to let her dry out and fully investigate the works required. There is a tremendous amount of work to do, however there have not been any unassailable surprises. As expected, the main issue has been high moisture planks and corroded steel work. This has lead to the stems removal and opening Cambria’s bow to expose the steel work needing renewal. The amazing part about what we have found is the incredibly good state of her teak back bone and her keel bolts. Along with her first six planks, also teak, these are all 86 years old and in excellent condition.  Other than the major repairs to the steel keel plate, angle and vertical keel plate forward of the mast, the remainder of the steel work will have minor repairs where required, thus again leaving Cambria 95% original.

A full refit report will follow…..

A special thanks to all of the permanent crew and race crew for their hard work this year. Cambria is still the belle of the fleet and sets the bench mark  both on and off the water.

As another year ends, it is amazing to think this has been the 10th  year of the current owners stewardship of this great yacht. There have been ten proprietors of Cambria over her 87 years and she has never been decommissioned during this time. Such a life is rare for a yacht and shows how important Cambria is as one of the most original, if not the most original, of her class and era of yachts. It is testement to the owners and crew who have maintained her over this period.

We started the season with the Voiles D’Antibes. A particularly light year, winds barely exceeding 6 knots. The conditions suited the 15’s; Mariska and Tuiga who were both well sailed and took both line honors and corrected time wins on the first three days. Day four filled in with 8 – 12 knots and Cambria found her stride, taking line honors on the last day. Final results were Mariska, Tuiga, Moonbeam of Fife, Moonbeam IV, Cambria, Halloween and Sunshine.

Cambria then cruised Corsica, Elba, Tuscan coast, Mallorca and Ibiza.

The Vele d’epoca Imperia was first on the autumn schedule. Cambria had not attended since 2012. Conditions were light all week, generally under 6 knots and very stripy, everyone looking for wind lines to sail through calms. The current was important as places were quickly made or lost if not respected. Cambria’s competition was Mariska, Halloween and the two Moonbeams. The three masted schooner Atlantic also dropped in for the regatta and though not racing, sailed outside the fleet adding to the spectacle. Mariska proved to fats in the light conditions taking line honors on three of the four days, Cambria taking the only day over 6 knots. Final results Mariska 1^st, Cambria 2^ndand Halloween 3^rd. Cambria always has an amazing spirit onboard amongst the crew and again the loudest laughter and largest smiles emanated from Cambria’s decks. We had many first time race crew, all friends or family of existing crew, and though many different nationalities and ages the team work and camaraderie quickly established. Cambria seems to have that effect on people.

The Regates Royale followed for the fleet and excitement was building as Mariette and Naema were attending after a long absence plus Elena of London, Puritan and Germania Nova. The 1903 schooner Invader was also attending though not racing. Excitement turned to disappointment as it unfolded that the schooners had formed their own new Association and would not race in the ‘Big Boat Class’. They would have their own start and separate course. Personally this was incredibly disappointing as the Big Class which had taken years to establish, and traditionally consisted of all rigs; Bermudian, gaffers, sloops, cutters, ketches, yawls and schooners, was being separated. Worse of all our sparing partner and closest racing competitor, Elena of London, was now racing in a different class. The Big class went from a potential 14 boats on the start line to six. Cambria sailed well for the regatta with 2 line honors out of three with Mariska picking up the third. Final results were Moonbeam III 1^st, Mariska 2^ndand Moonbeam IV 3^rd. Cambria finishing 6^thon handicap.

Sadly for the Elena/Cambria rivalry, St Tropez decided this year to run a “Dragon Regatta” within the Voiles de St Tropez. This split the fleet again with all Fifes, from the 6m Eva to the 40m Cambria, sharing the start. Twenty two fifes was certainly a beautiful site, though the racing was more of a parade with the smaller yachts clearly out rating larger yachts and, fittingly, one of the smallest, Viola (also celebrating 100 years) won the event. Cambria had some fun with the 15’s and enjoyed the event for what it was this year, a spectacle.

Cambria’s 90^thyear was again successful, both on and off the water. Special congratulations to our chef Nicola who welcomed to the world our newest crewmember, Austin. Nicola has now moved ashore and we wish her all the best for the future.

Thank you to the permanent crew; Dave, Rhodri, Lucy and Grace. Anna Barkham for all her help and support with everything. Thanks to all the race crew, old and new. Finally a special thank you to Cambria for keeping us safe and the owner for continuing to maintain her in pristine condition.

Capt. Chris Barkham

SY Cambria

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In February the eighth owner of Cambria, the Australian John David passed away at age 87. JD, as he was known, with other members of a Sydney consortium purchased Cambria in 1995. It was because of his vision Cambria returned to the racecourse and the public eye in 2001 at the Americas Cup Jubilee in Cowes, UK. We were lucky to have JD on board for Cannes and St Tropez regattas last year, he was in fine form and obviously happy to be back on board. At JD’s funeral in Sydney the Cambria dragon battle flag provided the backdrop, a fitting display to the great man.

Following on from last year we still had some vibration about the starboard shaft. Though the alignment was now correct we felt the cutlass bearing had worn. Whilst in the ship yard prior to Antibes regatta, Will and Dave drew the shaft and replaced the cutlass, a somewhat easier task than drawing the shaft in the port as they did last year. After an antifoul job it was back into the water and off to the Antibes regatta. This time vibration free!

Voile d’Antibes

As always we kicked off the season racing in Antibes. The Big Class competition this year consisted of the 15m Mariska, Moonbeam III,

Moonbeam IV, Hallowe’en and Shenandoah. The conditions worked well for Mariska who sailed a flawless regatta, taking out both line honors and corrected time.  Cambria’s most exciting day was the last day which found us trying to get through the infamous Cap d’Antibes cross swell. We set the light kite to get us through a very light airs patch but just as she filled and pressured up, we struck swell from the opposite direction which immediately over pressured the light weight kite causing it to tear directly across the head! The crew did a fantastic job in retrieving the mess and keeping us moving forward. This obviously opened the door for all in our class and as the breeze filled certainly made it even more difficult to get a result. We rounded the bottom mark off Gulf Juan behind all but Shenandoah and set to work the chase. By the point of Cap D’Antibes we had caught all but Mariska and with the finish line in sight we were overhauling her. It was truly spectacular as Cambria dipped to leeward and sailed through Mariska lee as if she had parked of La Garoupe beach. It was not enough for a handicap result but it certainly showed her class after the incident with the kite.  Cambria finished third on corrected time over all behind Moonbeam III and the winner Mariska.

Argentario Sailing Week

After three years Cambria returned to Porto Santo Stefano for one of the best sailing events on the program. The sea breeze in the bay makes this place a mekka for sailing events. This year we had Moonbeam III and Hallowe’en to sail against. The courses covered the bay and the wind conditions were stable. Cambria had fantastic starts each day and took line honors on all three days, unfortunately not by enough to defeat little Moonbeam who won the event. Moonbeam III first, Cambria second and Hallowe’en third. We were joined this regatta by some new face, all who have had an interest or a direct involvement with Cambria over the years. It was magic sailing with them and sharing stories on the foredeck.  It is such a special part of the yacht to attract such a diverse group of people who immediately enjoy each others company.

Barcelona Puig Classico

Next stop Barcelona. This was the first time Cambria had participated in the Puig event, now in it’s tenth year. Traditionally a light wind event we were looking forward to new experiences in the historic Catalan capital. Our usual competition, Moonbeam III and IV joined us along with the three masted schooner Xarifa. We also discovered schooner Invader was based in the Real Club Barcelona and would be our neighbor for the event, though not race.  The forecast was for fresh breeze each day and with two generations of the owners family on board it was looking to be a fantastic event.  Thursday, day one, averaged 20 knots. Cambria was all powered up and twice we had our runner girls floating off the side only to be washed back on with the next wave. Down wind with the kite was particularly exciting and fast but with such short legs it was over very quickly. Fridays conditions were a copy of Thursday, whilst Friday eased a little. Cambria took line honors on all three days but again was unable to shake the competition by enough time to affect the podium. The results saw Moonbeam III first, Moonbeam IV second and Cambria third.

Cruising this year saw us back in the beautiful turquoise waters of Corsica and Sardinia. We have cruised this area extensively in the past, but this year we were particularly fortunate with the weather and managed to anchor in places usually in accessible along the west coast of Corsica. As the weather changed we managed to catch the westerly and enjoy a magnificent sail from Adjaccio to Porto Cervo, averaging 11 knots in basking sunshine. From here we continued down the east coast of Sardinia to the Bay of Orosei.

Monaco Classic Week

Every two years the classic fleet, including motor yachts, rendezvous in Monaco for the Monaco Classic Week. The spectacle is incredible and makes up for the general lack of wind. This was the first time Cambria had visited the new club in Monaco where she has been a member since 2004. The racing unfortunately was quiet with very light breezes both Thursday and Friday. This again suited Cambria who sailed short handed and managed to take both line honors and handicap wins. Saturday unfortunately was a mistral and racing was cancelled. The end result was a win overall for Cambria her first this season.

Cannes Regate Royales

The last Panerai event of the year.  Cannes is traditionally the largest strictly classic regatta fleet.  With 10 yachts in the Big Boat Class, there is always excitement on the start line! The fleet consisted of: Cambria, Mariska, Tuiga, Elena, Hallowe’en, Sunshine, Germania Nova, Moonbeam III, Moonbeam IV and Aschanti IV.  Cambria had a fantastic event, particularly against the smaller yachts as conditions again suited the smaller boats, winds ranging from 8 to 18 knots. Our main competition in real terms is with Elena, the giant Herreshoff schooner. Over the last few years there have been many tight tussles between the two. This year however Cambria showed her a clean transom each day, and though losing to Mariska again on handicap, Cambria managed a well earned second place overall.  In this fleet certainly a great achievement. Hallowe’en took out the overall winner for 2017 in the Big Boat Class with Cambria second and Moonbeam III third. This was a great result for the Hallowe’en team who have been great competitors over many years, their first overall trophy. For Cambria it shows her consistency as she competed in one less regatta than the other yachts and still came in second.

Voile Des St Tropez 

A very difficult year in St Tropez this year as the autumn solstice played havoc with the forecast and the fleet. Cambria was forced to abandon two races as the wind exceeded our rig choice. Day one was forecast to increase to 20 knots from the west. We had reefed and flew the small jib and staysail, by the time we arrived at the first mark the wind was a consistent 30 gusting 35knots.  The earlier classes had gone through but in the gybe some crew members had been washed over board so we were approaching a mark at 12+knots which had people swimming around it trying to be recovered. Elena arrived first and also proceeded to drop a crew member over the side. By this stage many sails had blown out, gaffs snapped and little Eva, the Fife 6m, lost her mast. At this stage we headed to wind to drop sail and managed to get a line around the propeller. We retired and limped back into the gulf under staysail to clean up the mess!

Wednesday, day 2, by stark contrast was beautiful, and Cambria managed to retrieve some face by taking line and handicap honors.

Friday was also a fun day on the water but with slightly more breeze than Wednesday suiting Elena who took line honors over Cambria. Saturdays forecast went the same way as Tuesday so again Cambria retired. It was a difficult regatta and frustrating but after walking the docks and witnessing the damage of the week, I think the right decisions were made, everyone and Cambria still in one piece ready for the next event.

Particular thanks go out to the race crew for the year: Jean Michel, Fleur, Pete Mc, Ezmerelda, Dietrich, Leonard, Alex, Steve J, JLVB, Francis, Christophe, Patrice, Tim J, George M, Woody, Lachy, Alex Fr, Matthew T, Oliver, Leo, Angus, Kjell, Bill, Eric, Jaques, Jud, Jerome, Nicky, Fi, Frano, Lucas, Andy V, Andy B, Laura, Colin, Scott, Tubby, Chris, Giles and Hannah

Special thanks to our full time crew: Dave Hambly, Will Story, Nicola Conron, Rhodri Jones, Lucia Exposito Bagshaw and Anna Barkham. Will, after two on board is moving onto his next challenge and we wish him all the best, he has certainly been an asset onboard and will be missed.

This year saw the ingress of a new generation on board Cambria. It is exciting to watch new younger sailors taking to the classic sailing fleet. It ensures the laughter, happiness and pure joy of sailing this spectacular yacht will continue into the future.

Capt. Chris Barkham

SY Cambria