Paradise

There are records of organised sailing and racing in Mount’s Bay dating from the middle of the nineteenth century. One of the local sailing clubs, Mount’s Bay Sailing Club, has trophies from this period; these trophies are still awarded annually for the Club’s dinghy racing.

The first serious class racing probably started in 1903 following a decision to adopt an 18 foot Jolly Boat Class. Major the Hon. Edward St. Aubyn bought one and sailed in Mount’s Bay under the Royal Yacht Squadron flag. When he had to leave for service in Egypt, he gave her to the Mount Men to race; she was renamed ‘Mount Lily’.

By the 1930s the population of the Mount had increased and more people became interested in sailing and racing sailing boats. Formal series racing was introduced on Tuesday and Friday evenings with weekends reserved for regattas.

In 1938, a sailing club, The Mount’s Bay Sailing Club, was founded, but its early activities were short lived with the outbreak of war.

In 1946, The Mount’s Bay Sailing Club re-established itself. The small fleet of Jolly Boats increased to eight with the purchase of three further boats: “Westwind”; “Sheila”; and “Happy Days” from the Isles of Scilly. Competitive dinghy racing in Mount’s Bay became a regular occurrence and local helmsmen gained formidable reputations. Summer regattas took place between the Mount’s Bay and Isles of Scilly Isles fleets.

In 1954 the renowned boat designer Uffa Fox visited Mount’s Bay to demonstrate his latest design, an 18 planing hull dinghy. It was purchased by Lord St. Levan and named ‘Judy’. By 1956, the Mount’s Bay Sailing Club fleet of such racing dinghies had grown to five.