SVYC ILCA South Grand Prix - 4 August (by Caspar Gray)
The race committee was greeted with a steady NW breeze for the first Sailingfast ILCA South Grand Prix to be held on the Isle of Wight in many years. With 61 entries from clubs across the south coast, the only missing element was, predictably, the weather. Racing started just a few minutes late under the U flag, the breeze just about holding enough for everyone to sail. 57 boats were counted around the first mark (+2 that were scored UFD), 59 boats on the start line was a great achievement for the club.
The clear winner of race 1 was the wind, which died shortly after the fleet rounded the leeward gate. 37 boats drifted across the line, with 20 retirees. Nick Harrison (Stokes Bay), lead Tim Wakefield (Seaview) and Malcolm Courts (Stokes Bay) across the line, mostly unaffected by the dying breeze. The reach to the finish quickly became a beat in a very light NE breeze, meaning the order across the line mostly stood. First ILCA 6 was Charlotte Vldelo (Stokes Bay), and first ILCA 4 was Benjy Edwards.
After a 45 minute postponement, the promised SW breeze finally filled in, the race committee having been tracking it across the Island from Yarmouth, to Cowes and then Sandown before arriving at Seaview. Race 2 started at 13:00, perilously close to the 14:00 cut off. A classic two lap chase around the Duver. Charlie White (Royal Victoria) won on handicap by around 20 seconds from Nick Harrison and Charlotte Vldelo. Thomas Green came in 5th as the leading Seaview boat, followed by Barnaby Cotterell and Oli Waltham. Charlotte Self came in 10th as the leading 4.7, with lots of 1 and 2 second margins between boats right down the fleet.
A badly timed wind shift just before the 3rd race unfortunately lead to a general recall, meaning that there would be no time for the 4th race to be completed. Noah Evans (Royal Victoria) won on handicap, from Nick Harrison and Charlotte Vldelo. Senan Bottomley lead the strong Seaview cohort in 4th, followed by JJ Lawrence and Tim Wakefield.
Prize-giving was unfortunately postponed due to the trophies not being returned, but congratulations to the winners.
1st: Nick Harrison (Stokes Bay)
2nd: Charlotte Vldelo (Stokes Bay)
3rd: Noah Evans (Royal Victoria)
1st Seaview Full: Tim Wakefield (9th)
1st Seaview Radial: Thomas Green (8th)
1st Seaview 4.7: Charlotte Self (12th)
SVYC would like to thank Bembridge SC, Stokes Bay SC, Royal Victoria YC, Club Náutico Valle de Bravo (Mexico), and Naivasha Yacht Club (Kenya) for supporting the event, and we hope to see you all next year on Sunday 10th August for the 2nd SVYC Isle of Wight ILCA Grand Prix.
SVYC Race Week 2024 - 5 to 7 August (by Caspar Gray)
After various failed attempts in previous years, Race Week was reborn this year as a full East Wight open competition, with 6 classes racing each day compromising up to 80 boats. Alongside the traditional junior circuit, SVODs, Lasers and Mermaids each had a 5 race series over the 3 days. With healthy competition in all classes, the week has set the standard for future years.
After a short briefing on Monday, the Junior classes started first, after a brief delay while boats made it out to the start area next to Little Deb. The junior classes all raced round the outer trapezoid, a familiar course from previous years to keep life as simple as possible for the junior sailors. The Cadet Squad class was the biggest class with 11 boats, and continued to fight right through to the last day. Barney Edwards and Ollie Glasgow took one win a piece on the first day. The Pico fleet was a little disappointing this year with 6 boats, but was still competitive. Amelia Slinger won both races on the opening day. In the Fevas, George Cecil took both races too. The was a brilliant turnout for the Open Handicap fleets, who after an initial first beat raced on the Bunny-Brookie-16 corridor. Noah Evans started his winning streak in style on the first day, and Caroline Simonds won the SVODs race ahead of Nat Ives. It was a disappointing turnout of only 2 Mermaids on day 1, where Katie Baker won ahead of Ian Prideaux.
Day 2 promised more of the same, although with the CV set up around Brookie slightly further east. The junior classes got their first race in before a strong forecast NW shift came in that meant the race course had to be relaid. George Cecil and Hamish Findlay took one race each in the Fevas, keeping them dead level in the overall series. Cameron Clarke won both Pico races cementing his position at the top. In the Cadet Squad series, Barney Edwards took both race wins on Handicap, though a mention for Ollie Glasgow and Leo Jones for taking a race each on line honours.
The open classes each had one race on the SW breeze and one race on the NW breeze. The SVODs continued to be a close battle, with Henry Cecil and Charlie Stobart-Hook taking one a piece, with Nat Ives and James Chads also in the mix. In the Lasers, Noah Evans won both races cementing his position at the top of the table, with Tom Griffiths, Charlie White, Harry White and Tom McCahon all chasing him. Ian Prideaux and Ali Dobbs won a mermaid race each, although Oli Waltham set himself up well in the points series with two 2nds.
With a strong breeze forecast tomorrow, the junior classes got three races in today, with Hamish Findlay winning the 3rd Feva race, and only half a second separating Natsumi Winser and George Cecil for 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the Picos, Henry Fisher won ahead of Cameron Clarke, again only by a very small margin. In the Cadet Squad final race, Tom Charlton won ahead of Barney Edwards by around 30 seconds.
Conditions were trickier on Wednesday, with puffs up to 23kn recorded on the race course. The junior classes only had 1 race to get in to complete the series, and so cracked straight on hiding in Seagrove Bay. All the cadet boats did extremely well just to get round the course in the trickier conditions. Leo Jones won the Cadet Squad race after a valiant comeback, but ultimately handling the series win to Barney Edwards by 1 point. The Fevas went right to the last race, with Hamish Findlay beating George Cecil to tie the series on points. Amelia Standing unfortunately retired from the final Pico race, handing the race win and overall series win to Cameron Clarke. The open classes battled the conditions to complete both their final races despite the breeze. The first race consisted of a sausage course in Priory Bay, where Charlie Stobart-Hook won ahead of Henry Cecil in the SVODs. In the Lasers, Noah Evans continued his streak, this time leading Tom Griffiths and Charlie White across the line. It was lovely to see 6 mermaids out on the final day of the Race Week regatta, with race 4 ending with Ali Dobbs in front.
All the open classes had a simple final race, with many boats simply hoping to complete the course in the heavy conditions. Finishing on the line with guns to close the regatta, Henry Cecil won the SVODs, sealing the series, Noah Evens completed the grand slam in the Laser class, and Ali Dobbs won the Mermaids, meaning that particular series had to go to count back to determine an overall order. Ian Prideaux won overall in the end. With 25 boats in the SVOD series, and 35 boats in the ILCA series, the race committee were delighted to see all classes embrace the rejuvenated regatta, and hope to see everyone again next year.
Race Week 2025 will run from Monday 11th - Wednesday 13th August.
BSC Keelboat Regatta (by Robin Joy)
Our Redwings and One Designs were joined by ten Mermaids from Seaview Yacht Club and four Squibs from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club at Fishbourne for racing on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th August.
The Redwing fleet were first away into a lively 20kts from the SW on Friday, on a windward/leeward course from a start at JJ up to a laid inflatable windward mark near Footprint, with Ruthven as the leeward mark. Mark Downer in Enigma established a narrow lead over James Wilson in Quail, which he extended on the first run. Further back an unfortunate contact with One-Design No 3 damaged David Swinstead’s Vera, and she was towed back into the harbour for damage assessment. After 3 rounds Enigma led home from Quail, followed by the Cole family in Redwing, Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet, Billy Clegg in Lady Laetitia, Dominic Samuelson in Tarpon, Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence and Andrew Eddy in Plover.
Slightly easier and sunnier conditions prevailed on Saturday, and a similar course was set. Mark Downer was obliged to take a 720 penalty before the start, leaving him a minute in arrears in his attempt to repeat his previous day’s victory. Class captain Rory Morrison in Paroquet had already worked out to a good lead by the first mark, but the next few boats were very tightly bunched. Mark worked his magic all round the course, but Rory was the one boat he couldn’t catch, so he had to settle for second. Billy Clegg was third, beating Joe into fourth by the tightest of margins, no more than two feet. Olav Cole took fifth a minute later, followed by the Goslings, Dominic, and Andrew.
On Friday ten Mermaids sailed over from Seaview, with many of them being crewed by a very enthusiastic and happy looking band of younger sailors. They sailed the same course as the Redwings (shortened to 2 rounds), with a mixture of reefed and full sail rigs being flown, and even a few spinnakers in the blustery conditions. Experience, however, prevailed over youth on this occasion, and the winner was Noel Dobbs in No 13, followed by Jeremy Spencer-Cooper in No 10. Then came Ed Bostelmann in No 3, Tim Wakefield in No 4, Rob de Laszlo in No 1, Addie Pinkster in No 6, Richard Bowtell in No 12, and George Self in No2.
There were fewer youngsters in the eight Mermaids that raced on Saturday, but the enthusiasm was undiminished! A tightly contested start and first beat saw the lead change hands a few times, but Noel was again the man to beat. Sailing No4 this time he fended off Robin MacCaw in No 13 and Jeremy in No 9 to win by a minute. Next came Richard in No 12, James Burridge in No 8, Robin McArthur in No 1, David Hunter in No 2, and David Carter-Johnson in No 8.
Nine One-Designs started on Friday, with the lead changing many times between several boats over the 2 rounds. Indeed Mark Grzegorczyk in No 9 led at the end of the first round, but that was soon to change. Charles Perry in No 8, Russ Fowler in No 1, and John Suffield in No 4 all led at some point, but Ed Burrows in the charter boat No 12, having not been on board a One-Design for years, sneaked in at the finish to win! Timing the last gasp tacks for the line was vital, and just a few seconds covered Charles in second, then Russ, then John. Mark G was next, then Roy Burrows in No 2 and Sarah Marshall in No 7. Alexander Ross sailing No 5 solo retired, as did Stephan Ludwig in No 3 following the collision already mentioned.
Five One-Designs raced on Saturday, with John Deacon in No 6 making an uncharacteristicly late start, from which he struggled to recover. Ed, again in No 12, sailed into a lead which the others couldn’t close. Simon Allocca helming No 1 was 40 seconds adrift at the finish, Penny Stanley in No 9 followed, and then came Roy in No 2, and finally John.
On both days four Squibs from RVYC sailed 2 rounds of the same windward/leeward courses. After some challenging racing on both days Chris Gear helming Osprey won both with Kestrel, helmed on Friday by Jeremy Landon and on Saturday by Harry White, second in both. Albeit on Saturday only by a mere 3 seconds! Third was Icarus, and fourth was Whizzard.
BSC Inshore Regatta - 9 & 10 August (by Mike Samuelson)
Initially conditions on Friday afternoon were looking very promising for the Inshore Dinghy Regatta, however the breeze increased to such an extent that prior to the first start, the AP was displayed and the Committee Boat (Sir Pellinore kindly on loan from BHYC) moved to the area of Drum to find some protection off St Helens shore. With a laid inshore inflatable as the windward mark and Drum as the leeward mark for the first two classes, racing got underway with a slightly depleted number of boats. No Oppies but there were two Teras who were set three rounds of the relatively short windward/leeward course. A convincing win for Olly Glasgow from SVYC. The nine Scows had the same course but four times round. Pete Giles from (BHYC) was always just in front but Catherine Williams (née Summerhayes) and Jodie Spence were never very far behind. Although dubbed the Slow Handicap, there were in fact only two SVODs and a Fusion and rather than them staying with the short course, it was decided to give them more of a challenge and send them out to Derrick as the leeward mark. Initially all three had difficulty location Derrick but in the end did round it safely. The beat back was certainly a test and the Fusion decided to head back to the harbour. This just left Charles Glanville and Charlie Proddow to complete the one round and finish at the windward mark.
Next off were the ILCA 4s (Laser 4.7) who had the same course. Although the less experienced struggled offshore, Henry Landon lapped up the challenge and finished well ahead of the only other two boats who completed the course. Three Feva’s gallantly set off but found the conditions too difficult and only Aaron & Basti Crutchfield managed to stay upright and finish. Finally there were four entries in the Fast Handicap. As to be expected, Tony Burton in his Laser 4000 lead the way having rounded the windward inflatable, but the 4000 does not have a very friendly PY number, whereas the Laser 2000 is the opposite, so despite coming in well ahead, on corrected time he was second behind Matt & Sammy Glasgow. Although the WASPZ did cross the start line, Al Luxford retired soon after - gusty conditions really don’t make life easy when racing a foiling dinghy!
Conditions on Saturday afternoon initially looked promising and the forecast was for a reduction in the wind speed, however it was still at the top end of F4 and as it was a SW’erly the breeze between Pepe and Garland was just too strong to safely run mixed ability racing, so the Committee Boat moved to the same area as the previous day off Drum. However, armed with an additional inflatable that was laid about half way to Derrick for the faster boats things were considerably more contained. The downside of laying a windward mark in towards the beach is that it becomes very fluky, but then it is the same for all! Three Oppies and three Teras sailed from Seaview and had a joint start with the Oppies who were set three times round and the Teras four times round. Leonardo Jones won the Tera race and Barnaby Edwards the Oppy race. Eleven Scows started and had the same course as the Teras. As always, there was some close racing with a number of place changes as boats found and lost the breeze. Martyn Davies in No 619 lead home Oliver Morgan in No 638 and Pete Giles in No 3.
There were no slow handicap and only three ILCA 4s and one RS Feva. Along with the Fast Handicap their leeward mark was the more distant inflatable which worked well. As he did the previous day, Henry Landon lead the other ILCA 4s from the start line and never looked under any real threat. Tom Tamtam was second and his brother James was third. Aaron and his son Basti were the only Feva wanting to race which was a bit disappointing, however they did complete two rounds so that they could justify winning a first prize! There were six in the Fast Handicap including Stuart Gummer in his RS100, Matt Glasgow with his son Sammy in his Laser 2000, Tony Burton helming his Laser 4000, Kristian Schafer sailing his ILCA 5 (Radial) and Chris Sproat helming a 29er (subsequently retired). Although the Laser 4000 took line honours, again their handicap did not favour them and the winners on corrected time were Kristian, followed by Matt with Stuart third.
SVYC Regatta - Day 1 (by Caspar Gray)
After a mixed bag of weather at Cowes Week, a record-breaking ILCA Grand Prix, and a successful Race Week, all eyes turned to the SVYC Regatta, the culmination of the Seaview sailing season. 19 starts a day in arguably the best piece of water in the Solent for racing, everyone had looked forward to a great two days of racing.
Once the mist had lifted, the race committee were greeted with 10-14kn NE, a good breeze albeit from the wrong direction. This was slowly tracking round to ESE once the SVOD Cadets got underway. Unfortunately, with only 3 entries, they raced to Jenny Hunter and back twice, before Benjy Edwards won ahead of Charlotte Self, and George Cecil.
The Mermaids, Squibs and Cruisers followed, with long first beats off the (for once!) windward (Green) line. Wreck was the favourite windward mark off the line, although both Dereck and Ruthven were used over in Bembridge's patch. After a jostle on the Mermaid start line, Ben Few Brown sailed away with the first Mermaid cup of the Regatta. Tiaki, helmed by Charles Youngman, took line honours in the Cruisers, but Paul Newell in Charteuse took the win on handicap by 35 seconds. Charlie White took the win in the Squibs first race, in a much closer fleet than in previous years.
The Cadet Squad held the first of their two races on an inshore course off the Northbank. A disappointing turnout of only 4 boats had a cracking race in the building breeze. Barney Edwards took a conclusive win from Jack Conn and Rory Pinkster. The Drascombe Luggers struggled with the building tide, but all the boats recovered from being OCS for a short race out to sea and back. The dead downwind start had caused some issues as previously mentioned but had a nice reaching course to Priory and back, with the White’s lugger taking the victory.
The ILCA (Laser) fleet never fails to be a surprise, and this year was no different. With 20 starters the class had a box course off Seagrove, beating in from Wreck again. Senan Bottomley took sizeable line honours, but not enough to hold off Ed Chad on handicap, who won by just 7 seconds. The Slow Handicap race followed an hour later, and in sloppy seas Charlie Stobart-Hoo took the win by over 2 minutes on corrected time, continuing his trend from last year.
The Mermaids second race was extremely simple, Bembridge’s Derrick to port, and back! The Mermaids were once again tricky on the line, with three boats OCS. A half-hour first beat out to Derrick, Andrew Neil took the Bruce Donald Cup from Guy Lawrence. The Redwings had a brilliant turnout of 9 boats, and following a tricky course, Mark Downer was clear ahead of the opposition. Five BODs also made the trip round from Under Tyne, and after an hours race Martin Bonham took home the Bullin Cup.
The next flight of dinghy starts went after lunch, with the Fast Handicap leading the way. With a good turnout, a long and tricky race followed with the wind dropping hard, completely against the forecast. Charlie Stobart-Hooks 29er is always impressive to watch, and secured one of his best-ever results in 2nd, albeit with Tom Griffiths taking revenge from the first race, leading by 90 seconds on handicap.
The Mermaid and Squib courses followed along similar lines, with the longest run possible on the Seaview patch from Wreck down to Bob (well over 1nm) before a tactical beat up towards the line. With some Squib scoring queries yet to be resolved Chris Gear took the provisional victory. The Cadet Squad went for the second race of the day, this time an inshore course off the Duver hiding from the tide. Barney Edwards again took a conclusive victory in his Opi.
In the final set of starts (which were hampered by a late-notice wind change, and a Mermaid main halyard up the mast!), Ben Few Brown led the Mermaids away and never looked back, making it 2 from 2 for him today. There were over 50 starters between the two SVOD races as the afternoon drew to a close, battling tricky conditions with minimal wind and lots of tide. Tracy North led the Victory race, after an innovative green line downwind start, from Louisa Mills and James Charlton. The Amber fleet was started off the club line, and only narrowly avoided a General Recall. Again, tricky, shifty conditions laid havoc on the race committees original intentions, although a good battle ensued between Gavin Simonds and Colin Simonds, with the former overtaking late on in the last beat.
With 18/19 races run, and in the region of 200 boats started, the race committee would like to thank all the boatman and safety boat crews for their efforts today. The forecast looks trickier tomorrow, with the wind swinging from E to SW during the day. Although we are not publishing any amendments this evening, those with morning races should be aware of postponements and possible changes to the schedule tomorrow morning.
SVYC Regatta - Day 2 (by Caspar Gray)
After a successful first day, the race committee was expecting tricker conditions on day 2. The suspicions were immediately proved correct, when the forecast SW breeze had not materialised, instead replaced with conditions very similar to the previous day (8-12kn E).
With the tide running strong, the SVOD Cadets struggled to make headway in the 6-8kn breeze, and after a shorten course Benjy Edwards secured his second trophy ahead of George Cecil and Charlotte Self. The Cruisers had a similar course to yesterday, out to Bembridge and back twice. Tiaki put up a valiant fight, but ended up around 8 minutes behind Paul Newell skippering Chartereuse on corrected time. The Mermaids and Squibs followed off a rare Green Line start, giving square windward starts in unusual wind directions. With an unfortunate wind shift the Mermaid course ended up more like a procession, Ben Few Brown lead ahead of Fred Few Brown and Nick Stuart. Harry White won the Squibs race after a great ding-dong with Chris Gear, levelling the overall series.
The Cadet Squad fleet was much improved this morning with 10 boats out, giving them a real fight at the front. Ollie Glasgow held his lead across the line to win on handicap, from Barney Edwards and Felix Ives. The Luggers followed on a tricky downwind start, in which Ben Clayden dominated the race.
After various APs and delays, the Lasers finally got away a few minutes late. With 21 on the start line, they too had a good race in the easterly, with Thomas Green leading ahead on handicap from Senan Bottomley (who took line honours), and Ed Chads. The Mermaids set off again on a classic sausage course up and down the shoreline. Though it did have to be shortened, Noel Dobbs took the Donald Bowl.
The SW was threatening to come in from the Duver, and eventually did just as the Slow Handicap got underway in fairly breezy conditions. The Race Committee kept a very close eye on the fleet to ensure that they could cope, but with no capsizes, Charlie Stobart-Hook took both line honours, and the win on handicap. The Redwing and BOD courses had to be changed as a result of the 135 degree shift from the original offshore sausage that had been set up, to go out to Somers and Bunny respectively to get a beat back in the new breeze. Mark Downer won the Redwings, and Mark Grzegorczyk the BODs.
Everything was looking good after lunch, as the breeze held steady and from a good direction. The Fast Handicap, Mermaids and Squibs all started in classic Seaview SW courses to Somers and Bunny, along with Cadet Squad out to the west. However, the wind disappeared around 15:00 in a very unusual fashion, leading to some extremely difficult 0-2kn sailing. Some boats picked up the faintest breath of the NE gradient and got their kites up on the way back to the line. Mike Acton won on handicap in the FH, from Tom G, Patrick Mattinson and Charlie Stobart-Hook being the only finishers. Colin Simonds won the Mermaids from Senan Bottomley, and Chris Gear won the Squibs from Harry White, sealing the overall series for him by just one point. The Cadet Squad race unfortunately had to be abandoned.
After a short general AP, the wind filled back in for some cracking final races, before going hard north-west towards the end of the day! Barnaby Cotterell won the Pam Donald Trophy in the final Mermaid race of the regatta, Tracy North the SVOD Victory fleet race, and Gavin Simonds the Amber fleet, after a general recall, an AP, and plenty of shifts!
A successful prize giving was held shortly afterwards on the staging, and the Organising Committee would like to thank the Principle Race Officer (Caspar Gray), the Race Officers (Richard Dobbs and Jimbo Mitchell), and all the deck crews, boatman and safety boat teams that made the regatta such a success. We look forward to welcoming everyone back next year for the Sea View Yacht Club Regatta on 17th-18th August 2025.
J70 Regatta Day 1 - Saturday 17 August (by Mike Samuelson)
As always, the first half an hour of the J70 Regatta is all about trying to remember how to rig up these ‘pocket rockets’ and then getting some practice in before the first race. After a bit of a delay getting all twelve boats close to the starting area, the first start was a practice one with boats being called back just after the starting signal.
J70 Warm up start - https://youtu.be/tx46R-81mhU
This was then followed by a short race (once round a windward/leeward course) that away smoothly in the NW’erly F2 (8 knots) breeze.
J70 Race 1 start: https://youtu.be/UBk6YxyLxf0
A useful ‘warmer into the butts’ which saw Tom Preston in 745 setting the pattern of the day. Mind you Lachlan McLucas in 739, Jamie Richardson in 744 and Rosie Gosling 736 showed promise. Race 2 was the same windward/leeward course but twice round. With the wind strength relatively benign it was an ideal opportunity to practice using the best sail onboard, the asymmetric spinnaker! After a clean start it was again 745 that was the boat to beat. Lachlan in 739 was again second and Max Aylmer in 743 was third. Race 3 provided more sail handling practice as they went three times round the windward/leeward course. Yet another win for Tom in 746, with Rosie second and Lachlan third. With the breeze dropping to almost nil, the decision was made to stop for lunch. What the Race Officers had failed to realise that lunch meant switch off time for most boats and with an ebbing tide this meant that they were taken slowly but steadily towards the Bembridge Ledge. When subsequently asked if the boats had anchors, the answer was ‘yes but they needed to be got out of the bags’! Anyway, half an hour later and after copious towing, the fleet congregated back at Fitzwilliam ready for the fourth race which, to ring the change, was started on the run with the leeward mark as Ruthven. Things went quite well to start with, but the closer to Ruthven they got, the more windless holes appeared and we were faced with the classic SE’erly breeze being countered by a NW’erly. When eventually the breeze did come, it was the NW’erly that initially prevailed so it looked as if the planned beat back to the line was not going to happen; however within a few minutes the SE’erly kicked in and spinnakers had to be hastily dropped. Tom picked up his fourth win of the day, Ed Eddy in 742 was second and Rosie was third.
After the inflatables had been re-position to account for what looked like being the dominant SE’erly, the fifth and final race of the day got off to a promising start - especially for the front four. Finishing close to the moorings at Undertyne, Tom looked as if he was going to pick up his fifth win; however as they closed on the finish line the breeze dropped off again with Ed, Jamie and Rosie advantageously position to windward ready for the zephyrs when they came. In the end he could do no better than fifth after Charles Armitage in 737 had ghosted across the line in fourth.
J70 Regatta Day 2 - Sunday 18 August (by Mike Samuelson)
The forecast for Day 2 was for a slightly stronger and steadier breeze which augured well for the . J70 crews in particular. The first of the six J70 races got away to a slightly inauspicious start with so many boats over cooking it that there was a General Recall.
Start of the first race on Sunday (General Recall) - https://youtu.be/vImHtjJy1WM
With Flag U as the preparatory, the second start was much better, albeit 740 (Rex) got their timing a minute out (a stop watch definitely an over due Christmas present!) and so were automatically disqualified.
Re-start of Race 1 (Race 6) on Sunday - https://youtu.be/vsOM2tOI77k
A two round windward/leeward course that saw the previous day’s winner rack up another first place. Rosie was second and Alex Neil (738) was third. Lower down the fleet 742 (Ed) and 739 (Lachlan) tied for 7th place. The second race, again started under Flag U was a short and sharp one round windward/leewarder. This suited Rosie (736) who managed to get ahead of Tom (745) and the One-Design crewed boat helmed by Russ Fowler (735). Three boats tied for eighth place (740 (Rex), 747 (Izzy Huber) and 746 (Tim Montague).
To ring the changes, the third race of the day was ‘round the cans’ using Footprint, an inflatable wing mark and Fitzwilliam three times round. The angles worked well and gave them two nice reaches each round.
Start of Race 3 (Race 8) on Sunday (Flag U) - https://youtu.be/Zp9Xu31hZ2c
With the Committee Boat re-positioned for the finish (to port) at Fitz, the winner was Rosie (736) with Tom (745) and Ed (742). After a brief lunch, the fourth race (Race 9 overall) was another down wind start with Cochrane as the leeward mark, and then back to Fitz. Although the breeze had not increased as forecast, there was certainly enough to make for some fun sailing. Another win for 745 (Tom) with 736 (Rosie) second and as certainly quite a surprise, 747 (Izzy) third.
The penultimate race was another round the cans, but this time the windward mark was Britten, with Footprint Tara and finishing back at Fitz. After another Flag U start, it did not take long for 745 (Tom) to move into the lead which he held for the rest of the race to pick up his seventh first place. Jamie (744) was second and Alex (738) was third.
Start of Race 5 (Race 10) on Sunday - https://youtu.be/xFk7COUYNXk
With the breeze veering more north, the final race of the day was again round the cans with Janson as the windward mark. Then it was a reach to an inflatable wing mark, a reach/run to Tara and a final two tack beat to the finish at Undertyne. After a successful port tack flyer, Rosie (736) managed to stay ahead of Tom (745) to pick up her third first of the Regatta. Tom (745) was second and Lachlan (739) was third.
Start of Race 6 (Race 11) on Sunday - https://youtu.be/Bx1XJ5oBjbY
So after eleven races, it came as no surprise that the overall winners of the Regatta was 748 helmed by Tom Preston and crewed by Jos Laughton-Scott, Tom Seeley and Charlie Palmer. Second was 736 helmed by Rosie Gosling with Amy Cardale, Will Noy and Barney Dykes. And third was 744 helmed by Jamie Richardson with Gus Laughton-Scott, Xander Huber and Archie Haliday.
Another great two days, and heartfelt as always thanks is due to all the helpers, mark layers, race officers, support boats (especially the ‘Flag Ship’ Duma); but most importantly to Andrew Eddy without whose amazing organising skills and enthusiasm, the Regatta would simply not be possible.
Additional J70 photos - https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBE377
Although predominantly J70 orientated, the Redwing and One-Design racing last weekend is also covered in my report on yachtsandyachting (and sail-world.com). To view click on: https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/278438/Bembridge-Sailing-Club-J70-Regatta
BHYC Keelboat Regatta - Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 August (by Mike Samuelson)
With Undertyne as the pin, eleven Redwings and just one One-Design (none of the family pairs stayed on for a third race) had to be called back with a General Recall after most of the fleets were OCS. The second start under Flag U was much better and the fleet soon split tacks as they headed to Drum.
Redwing & One-Design joint start - https://youtu.be/tV6Q2xzBqFU
Quail, helmed by James Wilson was well ahead rounding Drum; next was Mark Downer in Enigma with a further gap to gaggle of boats including Toucan (Colin Samuelson), Lady Laetitia (Billy Clegg), Redwing (Olav Cole), Musicus (David McCue) and Gosling (Serena Gosling). The run to Cochrane was slow and saw the fleet compress considerably. While the majority headed out after rounding Cochrane, Enigma and Tara (Mike Toogood) took a punt and took the inshore route which in the event was not successful. After a change of course to Tara rather than back to Cochrane, the breeze backed to the SW and the final beat to the finish at Undertyne turned into a close reach. Quail crossed the line a minute and a half ahead of Toucan with Lady Laetitia a minute later. Engima had to make do with seventh being pipped on the line by Tarpon (Dominic Samuelson). Susie Beart helming the only One-Design (No 5) had rather a solitary race and was finished at Tara after one round to win the Selwyn Cup.
Conditions on Sunday afternoon were distinctly brisk with Chimet showing a F6 SW’erly. However it seemed shame not to see whether a course based on Drum as the windward mark, Britten as the wing mark and Derrick as the leeward mark would provide more sheltered (and therefore enjoyable) racing. Well, the bottom line is that it did! Although obviously a shame that there were only two Redwings (Quail helmed by James Wilson; and Harlequin helmed by Xander Shaw) and four One-Designs (No 2, Martin Bonham, No 3 ,Stephan Ludwig, No 5, Susie Beart) and No 9 D Orange), they all had an exiting race in the challenging conditions.
As usual the Redwings went off first; Quail had marginally the best start from the laid line about 700 metres from Drum, and rounded the mark a few boat lengths ahead, enough to then allow James to sail his own race and not worry about covering Xander, who was unable to match James’s control in the breezy conditions. At the finish at Garland Quail was about a minute in front.
The four One-Designs meanwhile had the same course but only twice (the Redwings did it three times). Stephan Ludwig helming No 3 tried a port tack flyer but did not come off and he was last round Drum; however he moved up to third on the second round and then took over the lead during the final beat to Drum. Holding his nerve on the reach to the line at Garland, No 3 crossed the line five seconds ahead of No 5 (Susie Beart) with D in third and Martin in fourth.
Undoubtedly challenging conditions but at least we did manage get some racing. Congratulations to James who with wins on both days won the Loch-Nell Trophy; to Susie who won the Selwyn Trophy on Saturday, and to Stephan who won the Hector Humphray Cup on Sunday.
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