River Exe Regatta at Lympstone Sailing Club
by Mike Rice 3 Jul 2012 08:15 BST
30 June - 1 July 2012
The recent unsettled weather delivered challenging conditions on both days of the River Exe Regatta, run last weekend by Lympstone Sailing Club. Now in its 12th year, the regatta attracted over 100 entries, mainly from the clubs around the River Exe. The event was sponsored by Saleboards Estate Agents and Exeter College.
The Saturday dinghy and multihull racing was based on two courses set in the river, between Starcross and Lympstone. First away on the A course, managed by a team under race officer Alastair Sword, were the multihulls. These very fast boats were set a longer course than the fast dinghy fleet, which followed them over the start line, set close to the shore N of Lympstone. The RNLI inshore lifeboat, George Bearman, was there to witness the start, but was thankfully not needed in a professional capacity. Safety of the competitors was in the hands of a fleet of patrol boats from the River Exe clubs, managed by safety officer Mike Gall.
On the B Course, race officer Gavin Lowery ran racing for the slow (not so fast?) dinghies, Lasers and juniors. There was a great turnout of juniors, given the tough conditions; fourteen boats, predominantly Toppers and Laser 4.7s. Regatta committee chairman Brett Candy said "the juniors were fantastic – whatever the weather threw at them they kept coming back for more!"
Two races were run on each course. With the SW wind building and gusting to around 30 knots at times, there was some attrition, with a number of boats choosing to head for home after the first race. Over the two races, the winners of the multihull fleet were Mike Arstall and Eamon Tyrell, followed by Graham Buxton-Smith and Nigel Hingston. The fast dinghy fleet results were dominated by Starcross YC sailors. In first place was the Merlin Rocket of Olly Turner and Figs Cain, followed by the B14 of Crispin Taylor and Guy Harill.
The slow dinghy fleet was mainly a battleground for the Comet Trios of Exe SC. Tony Brewster and Toby Elliott won the first race, but did not compete in the second, leaving the way open for a convincing overall win by former Exe SC commodore Frankie Upton, crewed by Rosey Davies. Upton said "it was certainly challenging, but very rewarding and ultimately a great result, ahead of some very experienced sailors."
In the Laser fleet, former Contender sailor Paul Kelley of Starcross YC found the heavy conditions to his liking. After coming second in the first race, he led a depleted fleet to victory in the second race, to take the overall win ahead of visitor Brian Hutchings of Roadford SC.
Emma Phillips of Starcross YC did great battle with the elements in her Topper to win the Junior fleet. Another Topper, sailed by Jacob Hutchings of Roadford SC, was second and third place went to the Laser 4.7 of George Melbourne.
For the fourth year running, the regatta included an open boat fishing contest, organised by Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club and Exmouth Deep Sea Fishing Club. The weather conditions kept the majority of the boats in the river. A few braved some of the local inshore locations but it was not long before they scurried back to the relative shelter of the River Exe.
Some 60+ anglers took part this year in a total of 22 boats and at the weigh-in, 25 fish (7 different species) were brought to the scales. First prize of £300 cash was won by Andy Wareham with a silver eel of 2lb 1.2oz
Both clubs would like to thank the following sponsors for their support - Charter boats - Rose Ann and Trinitas of Exe, Exeter Angling Centre, Harbour News, Ash Marine Chandlery, John Bridger Marine and Peter Dixon Chandlery.
This year the regatta cruiser racing was confined to the Sunday, because of the tide times. Even so, the low water prevented a number of competitors from reaching the start. A total of 9 cruisers took part, split into two divisions on handicap. The first two places in the first division went to the J80s of Frank Rowsell and Steve Best. The Hunter Horizon 26 of Simon Jones and Mike Davies won the second division.
If the dinghy sailors had been hoping for slightly less demanding conditions for Sunday's racing, they were out of luck. By the time of the start of the two hour pursuit race, the gusty SW breeze had been building all day and was hitting the high twenties (knots) at times. It was interesting how many of those times coincided with the approach to the gybe mark, resulting in multiple capsizes. The stronger breeze favoured the more powerful boats and with one lap to go, the B14 of Tony Blackmore and Charlotte Jones hit the front of the fleet and stayed there unchallenged until the finish. Blackmore said "on the first reach we were going about as fast as a B14 will go, with just two sails up."
While the dinghy pursuit race was in progress, the multihulls enjoyed a long-distance race out to sea and back, which was won by Graham Buxton-Smith and Nigel Hingston with Mike Arstall and Eamon Tyrell second.
The prize giving followed the traditional regatta tea, organised by Lympstone SC's excellent galley team, directed by Alison Gall. Prizes were given out by Colonel Graeme Wheeler, Chair of the Lympstone Harbour Board, Ben Hedden, manager of the Haven Banks outdoor education centre (on behalf of regatta sponsors Exeter College) and Martin Hebdidge, Chairman of Lympstone SC.
Full results and pictures can be seen on the regatta website at www.river-exe-regatta.org.uk