They come together for an event where it's not just the good racing but the atmosphere of Cowes Week,' says Capt Tony Pearson, secretary of the Island Sailing Club which is not quite as posh as the Royal Yacht Squadron.
Officials at Cowes use vast binoculars with 20x magnification but they have to rest them on tripods to keep them still.
'But all the same, it is fun to have them around,' a local says. Seaview and Cowes are the other main haunts for smart sailors.
Sensible long-term plans were disrupted constantly by short-term considerations.' The new Pounds 1.5m radar test tower at Cowes - considered vital by Siemens for all sorts of reasons - was first proposed in Plessey days as long ago as 1980.