Commissioning Race at Salcombe Yacht Club
by Graham Cranford-Smith 13 Mar 2017 10:32 GMT
11 March 2017
Salcombe Yacht Club Commissioning Race © Richard Morris
A day of "C's". Commissioning Race, Calcutta Cup and Curry
Twenty three sailors congregated on the start line for the first race of the Salcombe Yacht Club season. In fact, according to your correspondent's spreadsheet this is the first of 229 races the club is due to run this year, concluding with the New Year's day race 1st Jan 2018.
The heady cocktail of a light southerly and a strong flooding spring tide dictated a start at opposing banks. Peter Cook and Janet Exelby in their Merlin chose Portlemouth while most of the rest started under the race hut to cheat the tide.
The course consisted of a long beat to Blackstone with a run with the tide down to Mark 3, Snapes (Greening knows the names of all these marks) and a second lap of the same.
Cook and Exelby are superb operators in these conditions and they arrived at Blackstone in good shape being pressed hard by Ian Stewart (Phantom) with John and Annie McLaren in their RS400.
The run down to Snapes afforded thin pickings; areas of pressure were tantalising mirages. David "Pink" Greening sniffed out the pressure best and cheered up those at the front with his positive demeanour and cheery disposition as we all drifted past the fuel barge. Since he was sailing a considerably slower boat, they were not very pleased to see him.
A sudden shift to the East caused the Mclarens no little difficulty as they had chosen the Westerly shore; they were not to trouble the scorers again.
Stewart (Phantom) sailed impeccably and gained hard on Cook as they close tacked past Mill Bay. Meantime some of the back marking Solos concluded that, as kick off neared they would rather watch the Six Nations.
Biddle point, which is to the South of Millbay is always a challenge on a strong flood spring tide. Especially in a Solo. Greening, perhaps the corrected time leader at this stage, saw his hopes of an overall victory fade here. Meantime Gorringe and the Cranford Smiths enjoyed making the whole thing look difficult at this point too, in their Merlins.
At the final knockings, perhaps inevitably Cook and Exelby in Merlin "The Muppet Show" won out against a well-sailed Phantom: Ian Stewart: Pink Dave Solo third.
Particular credit to the cadet Ru McColl in the Quba. You may not have finished, but you were out there and you did well. Well done. More cadets please.
The assembled company retired to the excellent Salcombe Yacht Club Chart Room to take in the Calcutta Cup and enjoy a lovely curry. Those who were there, consider yourselves duly commissioned.
Thanks to Cleaves, Capt Nick Fisher and the race team for running the racing. Much appreciated.
Important announcement: Free offer to Students under 25. Bring a Firefly?
SYC are delighted to announce the sponsorship of Salcombe Gin for the Salcombe Regatta 12th- 18th August. Entry for this fantastic (in some cases life changing) event is FREE to full time students under the age of 25. Please bring whatever boat you can but we'd love to see a Firefly fleet this year. Very kindly sponsored by Salcombe Gin. Thank you so much.