152nd Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club Regatta
by Adam Saltonstall 25 Aug 2009 12:12 BST
15-21 August 2009
25 boats took to the water last week for the RYYC’s 152nd Annual Regatta. Local boats competed against each other and visitors from Scarborough and Rutland sailing clubs to claim the top prizes in the week which is seen as the pinnacle of the club’s racing calendar.
2 visitors from Scarborough sailed the short distance round ‘The Head’ to challenge 2 local boats in the Cruiser class. Nemo and Sin Bin both returned after taking on the challenge last year and were not disappointed by the racing available against rivals Starchick and Growler. After 8 races however it was local boat Starchick, sailed by John Peacock, Bob Wallace, Mike Kaye and Fred Ingham, who won the Voluta Cup for the overall series, having won 7 of the 8 races. Nemo finished 2nd, with Sin Bin in 3rd.
A fleet of 5 Squibs welcomed debutant Kachina from Rutland Water to take part in their series. Some excellent close racing saw last year’s winners Ghost, sailed by Gerard Dyson and Adam Saltonstall, and Perkers, sailed by Neil Orum and Tony Saltonstall, share the race wins 7:3 in Ghost’s favour, allowing them to win the Fairy Cup for the overall series. Visiting boat Kachina held off a good challenge from Jetstream to take 3rd place overall.
The Yorkshire One Design fleet, depleted by running repairs and refurbishments to 3 of the surviving 13 boats, saw only 6 boats racing, but also experienced close racing from everyone involved. Neil Paveley’s Iolanthe gave Blackie and Mona a couple of scares during the week, but eventually it was YOD1 – Blackie, sailed by Tim Rix and Mark Egglestone, who retained the Prince’s Parade Cup for 1st overall, with Crispin Blyth’s Mona several points behind in 2nd.
The ever-growing Contessa 26 class welcomed 2 new boats to the fleet this year. One of these, Steve Travis & Andrew Scullion’s Daisy Dog, ran out winners after taking 7 wins from 8 over the week. The battle for 2nd overall was much closer, as 3 boats went into the last race of the week who were all in with a shout of taking runner-up spot. David McKie’s Coriander held off the challenge of Contessa Juliet, helmed by Jeff Preece, to claim 2nd overall, with the latter taking 3rd. Over the whole week, Daisy Dog also took the coveted Commodore’s Rose Bowl for the best performance by any boat over the whole week.
Harry Rix won the Simon Nettleton Trophy for the RYYC cadet of the week. He and Sam Ashby each won races during Saturday’s ‘Cadet Challenge’ which saw racing held amongst the younger section of the clubs members on Laser Picos. Following the club’s recent success at the NSSA regatta in July, it is hoped that these challenges will continue in the future.
Next year’s regatta starts on July 31st 2010, anyone interested in entering should contact the RYYC office on 01262 672041 to be kept up to date. In the more immediate future however a number of the RYYC’s boats will return to Scarborough to defend their titles at their regatta. Ghost, Starchick and Contessa Juliet all claimed the top prizes in their respective classes last year and will no doubt meet stern challenges when they return next weekend, along with several other members of the RYYC.