Thomas Chippendale style.

"Steering a classic sailboat is like throwing one of Thomas Chippendale's furniture pieces into the sea and then trying to spend other Chippendale furniture pieces withininch away from it," was the metaphor with which comedian, actor and yachtsman Griff Rhys Jones opened the awards ceremony for the Panerai British Classic Week regatta held in Cowes last week. The photo shows a 1911 Mariquita during this regatta. Mariquita was one of four 19-metre boats which continued to be successfully raced until the outbreak of the Second World War. She served as a houseboat for 40 years until she was fully restored by Fairlee Restorations in 1991. At Panerai British Classic Week the boat took first place in Class 0 (large classic yachts). All the results can be viewed here.