Islander recalls serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia

My name is Jay Sowerby, though during my time in the Royal Navy, I was known as JJ.

After leaving school, I began an apprenticeship in marine engineering at a local boatyard in Cowes and studied at Southampton Technical College to gain my City and Guilds qualification.

One evening, while walking past the naval careers office on my way to the hydrofoil, I decided to go in and say I wanted to join the Royal Navy.

I joined HMS Raleigh on May 2, 1988 and spent the next nine and a half years serving at sea.

After an extended draft aboard HMS Ark Royal, including active service during the 1991 Gulf War, I was assigned to HMS Dryad for my mandatory shore posting.

It was not a move I wanted, as I had hoped to remain at sea, but that is how Navy life works.

Looking for a new challenge, I made a decision that would change my life forever.

While at HMS Dryad, I ran into a killick RP (Leading Seaman Radar) who had recently left Britannia to attend his promotion course.

Bob asked whether I had a VG Supr (very good, superior rating) on my naval record, which I did, and said he believed I would be well suited to Royal Yacht service.

I submitted the required request form to be considered for Royal Yacht service, attended the Captain’s table in support of my application, and after a series of interviews, I was drafted to HMY Britannia in August 1992.

A year later, I was accepted into the Permanent Royal Yacht Service (PRYS), where I remained until I left the Royal Navy when Britannia was sadly decommissioned in December 1997.

I have many happy memories of serving on the Royal Yacht, along with plenty of memorable runs ashore during deployments around the world.

My most treasured memories are of the Royal Yacht taking centre stage during the annual Cowes Week regatta.

As a Cowes man, coming ashore on leave was a wonderful experience.

I was well known in the town, and walking through Cowes High Street in Royal Yacht uniform as a local lad was an incredible feeling.

At times, it felt as though I was being carried along by the pride of my family and friends.

I had earned the role of bowman on the Royal Barge, a position of which I was immensely proud.

Approaching the Royal Yacht Squadron landing steps, to collect or drop off a member of the Royal Family was always a remarkable sight for those on the shore and for the many people watching from the boats in the harbour.

I would stand on the bow of the barge, legs braced against the chrome rail, ceremonial boat hook in hand, with the Royal Standard flapping in my face, focused on every precise movement in true Royal Yacht fashion.

Along the seafront, among the hundreds — perhaps thousands — of onlookers, I would often spot my father with his telephoto lens, capturing the moment forever.

He, along with other friends and family, knew I had seen them, but I could never wave or acknowledge them.

We were on Royal duty, and standards had to be maintained.

My cousin was a skipper on the local Jenny boats, ferrying passengers between Victoria Parade and the Royal Yacht for a closer look at Britannia, the Royal Family, or the Yachtsmen.

I would sometimes see the Jenny Lee approaching with him at the helm and give him a cautious salute.

He would then announce to his passengers, “On the main deck, you will see Able Seaman Sowerby, known as JJ — he’s my cousin.”

We were both proud to play our part in the traditions of Cowes Week.

When I was four years old, I sat on my father’s shoulders on Cowes Parade and asked, “Daddy, what is that boat out there?”

“That is the Queen’s boat, the Royal Yacht Britannia,” he told me.

I did not think about the Royal Yacht again until I was serving in the Royal Navy, but through chance, determination, and perhaps fate, I was able to serve aboard that magnificent vessel.

There was a saying on the Royal Yacht: if something was not right, it was “not yacht”.

That standard has stayed with me throughout my life.

I now run a successful Isle of Wight handyman service and still work to the standards expected of a Royal Yachtsman.

I remain meticulous about timekeeping, cleanliness, attentiveness, and commitment to our customers.

Our business was recently named the Prestige Awards’ Top Handyman Service 2025/26 for South England, and in October 2025, we received the MOD Bronze Award in recognition of our pledge to the Armed Forces Covenant.

We are immensely proud of what we have achieved, and I truly believe I am the person I am today because of my time serving on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.

An addition to the Cowes Week Bicentenary celebrations is a special pop-up exhibition Sailing Through Royal History, running from July 31 to August 29 (except Sundays) at Commodores House. The exhibition is curated by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. Tickets can be purchased from the website www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/cowes or on the door of Commodores House at 74 High Street, Cowes.