Royal London Yacht Club

The Royal London Yacht Club was founded in London in 1838. Its first meeting place was the Coal Hole Tavern in Fountain Court on the Strand. Racing commenced on the Thames. It obtained its Royal Warrant from the dowager Queen Adelaide in 1849. The Royal London Yacht Club is now located in an elegant pair of Georgian houses on The Parade in the centre of Cowes waterfront, on a site that it has occupied since 1882. The view from the balcony across the Solent is one of the best. The Royal London Yacht Club has always held a prestigious place in Cowes yachting history - it was the first popular yacht club to bring the sport to Cowes. In its early days it fostered racing innovations and was instrumental in establishing a universal set of rules and system of measurement. Its members have ranked among the most colourful personalities in the yachting scene, and the Club now hosts the increasingly popular Cowes Classics Week for metre classes, dayboats and classic cruisers held annually in July. Membership is limited to 500 members.