Discovering the Stories of Victory Sailboats in Gibraltar

Have you ever wondered about the rich history and captivating stories behind the Victory sailboats at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club?

In the early 1930s, small dayboat racing was popular within the Portsmouth Harbour area, but as in other sailing locations there was a hunger for a local one-design. The Bembridge One Design was the preferred choice because there was already a number racing at Portsmouth.

With the sail letter V already having been assigned to the Sunbeams, the new boat was given a Z as its sail insignia.

Owing to the Portsmouth location, the Royal Navy was closely involved in the development, so there was little surprise when the design was labelled the Victory Class after Nelson’s flagship. The first boats launched in 1934, a move that coincided with the 70th anniversary of the prestigious Royal Albert Yacht Club in Portsmouth.

The price of new yachts was fixed by the association as in the region of £75, though this was soon amended to “not exceeding £85”. The new class was accepted by the Solent Classes Racing Association, which allocated the letter Z as its sail mark. From the start hulls were painted in black, with boot-topping coloured to indicate the owner’s club. 

The early boats were laid up with mahogany planks on American elm frames, but as these materials became scarce and expensive the construction changed to iroko on rock elm timbers.

Of the 32 boats numbered Z6 to Z37 built before the war, 3 (2 immediately on being built) came to Gibraltar before the war and 9 after the war. Of Victory boats built after the war numbered Z38 to Z69, 11 (5 immediately on being built) have come to Gibraltar

LOA 20ft 9in/6.3m

LWL 16ft 9in/5.1m

Beam 5ft 10in/1.8m

Max draught 2ft 6in/0.75m

Sail area (main and jib) 223ft2/20.7m2