Over the Spring Bank holiday weekend, Brixham hosted its annual Heritage Sailing Regatta. One of the highlights of the event is the race to compete for the King George V Perpetual Cup.
Originally gifted by King George V in 1914 for races between working trawlers, the cup was first presented in 1919 by Lord Churston on behalf of the King after races were suspended during the First World War.
Today the thriving local heritage sailing fleet race for the trophy just as they did all those years ago. Competing over a 5 mile course in Torbay, the race is demanding on the crews that take part as they are sailing these traditional gaff rigged heavy working boats. Pilgrim is over seventy feet in length and weighs more than ninety tons.
Pilgrim won again this year for the sixth time out of the last seven years! At the prize giving at Brixham Yacht Club, Pilgrim’s Sailing Director Lynda Davison said, “we won this by having a great volunteer crew on board led by our very capable professional skipper Brendan Stewart.”