Britannia, Westward, Lulworth and White Heather racing in Christchurch Bay with the Needles beyond, 1927

Britannia, arguably the most famous racing cutter of them all, was extremely successful throughout her long life and even though she was re-rigged seven times in all, her hull shape was so efficient that she remained competitive almost to the end. Starting with 33 wins in 39 races during her maiden season, she enjoyed two brilliant but quite separate careers under first, the Prince of Wales (1893-97), and then his son, George V, after 1921. The latter grew so attached to her that, under the terms of his will, she was scuttled after his death in 1936 following the removal of all her salvageable gear.
Westward was a large racing schooner built by Nat Herreshoff in 1910. Bought soon afterwards by a syndicate of German businessmen who renamed her Hamburg, she was sold back into American ownership after the Great War and resumed her original name. In 1924 she was bought by T.B.F. Davis and thereafter became Britannia's regular challenger at Cowes. Over the years Davis and King George V developed a fierce though friendly rivalry and Westward became so beloved by her owner that he, like the King, stipulated that his boat was to be sunk after his death.