Panerai British Classic Week
Panerai British Classic Week takes place Mid to late Jul 2027 (the 2026 edition ran Jul 20 - 25; confirm with the British Classic Yacht Club) in Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The dress code is Smart-casual ashore, with crews often in classic whites. Club dinners and the regatta ball call for a blazer or jacket, and some evenings are black tie. Typical cost ranges from 200 to 1200 EUR per person.
The British Classic Yacht Club's flagship regatta, run from Cowes each July with a fleet of gaff cutters, vintage Bermudan yachts, metre-class boats and Spirit-of-Tradition designs. Solent racing is mixed with a lay-day passage race, a concours d'elegance and a run of club dinners ashore. It is deliberately smaller and more convivial than Cowes Week, and Panerai is no longer the title sponsor - the event now runs simply as British Classic Week.
- When
- Mid to late Jul 2027 (the 2026 edition ran Jul 20 - 25; confirm with the British Classic Yacht Club)
- Where
- Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
- Dress code
- Smart-casual ashore, with crews often in classic whites. Club dinners and the regatta ball call for a blazer or jacket, and some evenings are black tie.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 200 to 1200 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 16 - 22C, changeable English summer mixing sun, cloud and showers; Solent breezes can be brisk
- When to book
- Book Cowes rooms and Red Funnel crossings 4 - 6 months out; club entry and social tickets open through the BCYC in the spring
- Getting there
- SOU (Southampton), 25 min to Town Quay then 25 min on the Red Jet to Cowes
- Where to stay
- New Holmwood Hotel, Cowes (seafront, on the racing line), The Little Gloster, Gurnard (boutique rooms and the best food nearby), The George Hotel, Yarmouth (grand coaching inn at the quieter end of the island)
- Official site
- https://www.britishclassicyachtclub.org
How to attend
Free to watch the fleet from the Cowes Parade, the Green and the Royal Yacht Squadron line, and to walk the boats rafted in Cowes Yacht Haven. To race you need an eligible classic or vintage yacht entered through the British Classic Yacht Club, which requires membership, with entries opening in the spring. Enthusiasts without a boat can join as crew through the club and classic-boat networks, and some social events sell tickets to non-members. Take the Red Funnel car ferry or Red Jet from Southampton to reach Cowes.
Free to watch from Cowes Parade and the Green and to walk the boats in Cowes Yacht Haven; the British Classic Yacht Club only takes yacht entries, not spectator tickets.
Insider tip
Cowes Yacht Haven is open to walk through and the boats raft stern-to, so owners are generally happy to talk. The mid-week lay day usually pairs a concours d'elegance with a passage race, which is the prettiest sailing of the week.
Get inside Panerai British Classic Week
Booking matters here: book Cowes rooms and Red Funnel crossings 4 - 6 months out; club entry and social tickets open through the BCYC in the spring. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.