14° LA MONACO CLASSIC WEEK KICKS OFF IN STYLE

14e Monaco Classic Week – La Belle Classe

Serenaded by French naval military band – Musique des Equipage de la Flotte – the tone was set for the 14th Monaco Classic Week which celebrated American-Monegasque friendship at the end of a sunny day that saw most of the classic yachts out on the water off Cap d’Ail. Until Sunday the YCM Marina and Monaco’s Port Hercule plays host to some of the world’s most beautiful yachts, the throaty roar of classic motorboats following in the wake of these gaff riggers and Marconi sloops, not to mention a whole fleet of 12-foot Dinghies, an Olympic class in 1920, and full range of Metric Classes.

Gleaming brass and precious wood - 130 boats to admire on the quays and on the water

Monaco Classic Week is the only event of its kind to invite both classic sailing and motor boats, with nearly 130 boats in all, including 73 sailing yachts and Rivas and Chris Craft boats. All are here to revive the famous “Art de Vivre la Mer” spirit of friendship that has existed for over a century from the Mediterranean shores to the North Atlantic.

And steam also!

Another icon, SS Delphine (1921), the 79m steam-boat built for the wife of automobile magnate Horace E. Dodge, makes a welcome return. It was aboard this beauty that three world leaders, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, negotiated at least part of the 1945 Yalta Agreement. The 79m SS Delphine is a steam-boat built in 1921 for Horace Dodge, co-founder of the famous Dodge car brand. Launched in 1921 and named after Horace Dodge’s daughter, of all the big steam-boats built between 1893 and 1930 SS Delphine is the only one still in service in her original configuration including two steam engines. In 1926, SS Delphine caught fire and sank in New York, but was recovered and restored in New York. During World War Two, the vessel was requisitioned by the US Navy in 1942 and renamed USS Dauntless, serving as the flagship for Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief of Naval Operations.

Tomorrow: Chefs aboard!

In keeping with the Club’s Art de Vivre la Mer philosophy, the Chefs competition is open to crew members (professional chefs or not) from all types of boat, an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity to produce dishes from a set number of ingredients paired with champagne. The dishes must be prepared on board and then presented on the quay to a jury of top chefs.