Lovely rigid crocodile skin case circa 1920. Expands for differing lengths of cigar. Decorated with a silver plaque that has two enamel flag burgees. The right hand burgee with the crown in a blue cross is for the Royal Cruising Club.
Dimensions (when fully closed): 17cm/6⅝ inches (length) x 10.5cm/4⅛ inches (width) x 2cm/¾ inch (thick).
Will take five cigars with approx. maximum diameter of 1.65 cm/40 ring gauge and expands in length to accommodate a maximum cigar length of 22.25 cm/8¾ inches.
The leisure activity of cruising (not racing!) went almost completely unrecognised by Victorian yacht clubs until, in 1880, a small group of enthusiasts led by Arthur Underhill founded the Cruising Club (becoming the Royal Cruising Club in 1902).
Unlike many yacht clubs the RCC does not operate from a fixed base, instead beginning with a get-together in 1894, it seems possible that the RCC may have invented Meets (a borrowed metaphor from hunting) where boats raft up in an anchorage; by tradition this now takes place once a year on the lower reaches of the Beaulieu River, but often also in much more remote corners of the world.
The cruising activity of the club's members expanded rapidly. The first transatlantic crossing, in 1892, was followed by more intrepid explorations culminating in the first complete circumnavigation in 1919. In 1902 a Royal Charter was granted and the club became The Royal Cruising Club.
The Club quickly earned a reputation for helpful competence by obtaining and circulating among members information on a wide variety of subjects such as navigation and local harbourage.
