“The yachting world is divided into three factions: those who believe the Imperial Poona Yacht Club exists, those who may be termed the ‘come-on-pull-the-other one’ lot, and my wife,” wrote former yachting journalist John Chamier in an article in The Field in December 1979.

As unbelievable as it may sound, the Imperial Poona Yacht Club (IPYC) does exist and celebrated its 75^thanniversary in 2009 when this history was written. 75 Years of Balls (named after the Club’s burgee of three red balls on a yellow background) traces the history of the Club from its foundation in Oxford through a world war to its current position as the only Imperial Yacht Club recognised by the Royal Yachting Association.

Poona was formed in 1934 as a reaction against the imperial bores returning from India at the time. Its active membership is limited to 25. The founder, Sir Reginald Bennett, was quoted in the Daily Mail in 1983: “There are only 25 members and they all have to be fantastic sailors to qualify — Prince Philip is only an honorary member.”

Despite this slight, Prince Philip, or as he is better known within Poona, The Maharaja of Cooch Parwani, has deigned to comment in his Forward (as opposed to Backward, or even Foreword — you will have to read it to find out why!) to the history: “If you can bring yourself to read this book from cover to cover, you will be in a position to judge for yourself whether, or not, life can be significantly improved by not taking it too seriously all the time.”

The author, The Gully Gully Man, has, according to the Maharaja, “successfully met the challenge to combine historical accuracy while contending with the outrageous and the absurd.”

Jeremy Atkins