Altair, the jewel of the Copa del Rey de Barcos de Época preserving nearly a century of history

The largest yacht competing in the 22nd Copa del Rey Repsol de Barcos de Época still retains much of the original interior from her 1931 launch, including a period bathtub.

At almost 40 metres in length, Altair is the largest yacht competing in the 22nd Copa del Rey Repsol de Barcos de Época. Her skipper, Fernando Pacheco, affectionately calls her “the old lady”, and with good reason: designed by William Fife III and launched in Scotland in 1931, the schooner still displays almost all of her original navigation instruments nearly a century later, perhaps the feature that most clearly sets her apart from the rest of the classic fleet.

“We pay particular attention to keeping her as faithful to the original as possible,” explains Pacheco, an experienced seafarer, shortly after stepping aboard. The modern instrumentation is concealed behind what appears to be a decorative panel. Everything else, the compass, clocks and period instruments — remains exactly where it was in 1931.

That balance between past and present can be seen throughout the yacht. During one refit, for example, the former locker used for hanging wet-weather gear was converted into a shower, “bigger,” Pacheco jokes, “than the one in many homes”, while just a few metres away the original bathroom remains intact, complete with its fully operational period bathtub.

The interior retains five guest cabins, all arranged symmetrically and still fitted with their original washbasins. Replacing individual components when they break is becoming increasingly difficult. “The people who used to make them simply don’t exist anymore,” the skipper says.

Moving around inside Altair is not straightforward. Her interior is “almost labyrinthine” and full of doors, as Pacheco describes it during the visit, meaning that a detailed knowledge of the yacht is essential to avoid getting lost among the cabins.

Keeping a vessel like this alive, the skipper admits, involves much more than sailing. “Being captain of a boat like this means you also have to be a restorer, an antiques specialist, a personnel manager, a hotelier…” But in the end, he says, the effort is worth it: “It is very special to sail aboard a schooner that is almost 100 years old and to see just how well boats were built in the past.”

Pacheco stresses that Altair is not a museum piece kept permanently at the dock. Quite the opposite. A former winner of the Panerai Transat Classique, she regularly sails as a private cruising yacht for her owner and family.

Her presence in Mahón this week was not originally part of the programme. The crew happened to be sailing in the area and decided to join the regatta in cruising configuration, without the racing sails kept at her home base.

Registered in Southampton since her launch and sailing under the British flag — despite her Swiss owner and the fact that she competes under the burgee of the Société Nautique de Genève, the aim for this edition, Pacheco explains, is the same as always: “To enjoy sailing and the sea aboard a unique yacht.”

That cruising philosophy also helps explain her position in the Big Boats standings, the class for the largest historic yachts, currently dominated by The Lady Anne. Without her racing sails on board, Altair is not challenging for overall victory, but her presence alone on the start line, alongside the 1896 ketch Cariad, which withdrew from the competition yesterday after breaking the topmast of her mainmast, has produced, over the previous two days, one of the most spectacular sights that classic yacht racing can offer today.