Five Duchy 35s and two Duchy 27s cruised from Southampton over the Solent to Cowes and Bembridge alongside six Hardy motor yachts at the 2025 Cockwells Owners’ Rally, held from 20 to 22 June.
Reports from owners’ rallies are usually about the catering. I read them for something else: evidence of how people really use the boats I sell. This year’s Cockwells rally, run over the weekend of 20 to 22 June, gave me plenty to go on. Seven Duchy motor launches and six Hardys left Ocean Village in Southampton together, crossed the Solent to the Isle of Wight, spent a night in Cowes and finished the following day at Bembridge. That is a proper weekend’s cruising, not a photo call.
The make-up of the fleet is the first thing worth noting. Five Duchy 35s and two Duchy 27s made the trip, in company with six Hardy motor yachts of roughly 7.6 to 18.9 metres (25 to 62 feet), among them the Hardy 50DS and Lady Ella, the new Hardy 45 European – both of them Cockwells-built hulls. Raymarine UK’s own Hardy 42, Raymariner, which the electronics company uses as a test and demonstration platform, joined the convoy as well.
Friday night to Sunday afternoon: how the weekend ran
Friday was the gathering night at Ocean Village. Raymarine UK hosted a champagne reception in the sunshine, dinner was an Italian sharing menu at Bacaro nearby, and every boat went home with a tote bag of sponsor gifts – a 2025 rally pennant, a Pendennis cap, sun care from headline sponsor Haven Knox-Johnston Specialist, Pentire’s Coastal Spritz, an Anchoright key float, a Yanmar duffel and a St Eval candle. I list them not for the swag but because it shows a builder with a deep supplier network that keeps in touch with its owners long after handover.
On Saturday morning the fleet ran down Southampton Water and out over the Solent, with Dave Cockwell leading on Lady Ella. A drone tracked the formation for stills and video. Event photographer Paul Wyeth also stepped from one boat to another in open water to shoot the fleet from a fresh angle, with a Duchy owner holding station alongside to make it possible. I mention that because nobody attempts a transfer like that from a hull that will not sit steady at low speed next to another boat.
Cowes was full of festival-goers when the boats came into Shepards Marina early in the afternoon, which left the rest of the day for owners to sit on deck and compare notes on the crossing. That evening, with Yanmar as venue sponsor, a private chef cooked dinner inside the Sir Max Aitken Museum, surrounded by its collection of maritime artefacts.
Sunday meant an early start round to Bembridge Harbour, where a Cornish barbecue was waiting – Trevarthen sausages, Pentire drinks and Tarquin’s gin – followed by a quiz hosted by Pendennis’s Commercial Director, Stephen Hills. The rally closed with a three-course meal at Bembridge Sailing Club looking out over the harbour, and the presentation of the awards: Adventurer of the Year, Best Dressed Overall and the Concours d’Elegance. Between them, Cockwells and the owners also raised more than £1,000 for Cowes Sailability, a charity that gets adults and children with disabilities and long-term conditions out on the water.
What the weekend tells you about owning a Duchy
- The Duchy 35 gets used as a weekend cruiser, not a harbour runabout. Five owners took theirs across open tidal water with guests aboard and spent two days cruising in company.
- The Duchy 27 covered the same route. Two of them made the Solent crossing alongside boats more than twice their length.
- Owners dress ship, socialise and come back every year. The flags, the formation shots and the awards are the marks of a community, and a well-attended one.
- Duchy and Hardy owners mix. Both ranges come out of the same yard, and the rally has become the annual gathering for both.
It was a brilliant, sunny weekend of cruising and socialising around the Solent and Isle of Wight, and it was a joy to see the fleet of Duchy and Hardy vessels cruising together once again.
Dave Cockwell, Founder, Cockwells
For Duchy owners and buyers in Australia and New Zealand
Davis Marine Brokerage is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy Motor Launches and for Hardy Motor Yachts, so both halves of this fleet are available here. The first Duchy 35 for Australia was sold in December 2022 and arrived in Sydney in May 2023, and you can see the Duchy 35 on Sydney Harbour for yourself. The Solent is tidal, open water and the rally fleet crossed it on the Saturday and cruised on to Bembridge the next day; that is the sort of passage a Sydney owner makes to Pittwater or Broken Bay.
Both the Duchy 35 and the Duchy 27 can be ordered through DMB for delivery to Sydney. We import the boat, handle delivery and commission it here. If you would like to be aboard a Duchy 35 before committing, we can arrange a demonstration on Sydney Harbour from Fergusons Marina at The Spit, Mosman. And for owners who would rather the boat was fuelled, washed and ready every time they stepped on, our vessel management service covers that. Get in touch or call 0408 864 111.
Cockwells’ own account of the rally, with the complete photo gallery, is on the builder’s website.
Frequently asked questions
How many Duchy motor launches took part in the 2025 Cockwells Owners’ Rally?
Seven: five Duchy 35s and two Duchy 27s. They cruised with six Hardy motor yachts of 25 to 62 feet, plus Raymarine UK’s Hardy 42 demonstrator, from Ocean Village in Southampton over the Solent to Cowes and then Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, between 20 and 22 June 2025.
Is a Duchy 27 capable of an open-water crossing like the Solent?
On this rally two Duchy 27s made the crossing from Southampton to Cowes and on to Bembridge in company with the larger boats, in fine weather. The builder’s account of the day singles out the seaworthiness and easy handling of both the Duchy and Hardy ranges during the passage and the drone shoot.
Can I see a Duchy 35 on the water in Australia?
Yes. The first Duchy 35 for Australia was sold in December 2022 and arrived in Sydney in May 2023. Davis Marine Brokerage, the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer, is based at Fergusons Marina, The Spit, Mosman, and can arrange a demonstration on Sydney Harbour. Call 0408 864 111 to organise a time.
Which boat led the fleet across the Solent?
Dave Cockwell led from Lady Ella, the new Hardy 45 European, a Cockwells-built motor yacht developed from the Hardy 42 hull. A Duchy 35 appears at the head of the formation in the builder’s photographs, and the fleet also included the Hardy 50DS and Raymarine UK’s Hardy 42, Raymariner.
Davis Marine Brokerage is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy Motor Launches, Hardy Motor Yachts and Cockwells SuperYacht Tenders. To talk about a new build, a demonstration on Sydney Harbour or a pre-owned Duchy, call Sam Davis on 0408 864 111 or send an enquiry.
About the author
Sam Davis is the Director and Lead Broker at Davis Marine Brokerage, Fergusons Marina, Mosman. Brokering on Sydney Harbour for over a decade, he is a NSW State Councillor of the Boating Industry Association and the Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy, Hardy and Cockwells SuperYacht Tenders.
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