2005 Setley Cup & Seahorse Trophy near Lymington

Craft of all shapes and sizes for the 2005 Setley Cup junior model yacht race near Lymington © Mark Jardine

Craft of all shapes and sizes for the 2005 Setley Cup junior model yacht race near Lymington © Mark Jardine

Craft of all shapes and sizes for the 2005 Setley Cup junior model yacht race near Lymington © Mark Jardine

Junior Model Yacht Regatta

The Setley Cup model boat race at Setley Pond is always one of the most hotly contested regattas in the Lymington racing calendar, and 2005 was no exception with the closest ever finish in the monohull class. A superb entry of 16 monohulls and 23 multihulls of all shapes and sizes entered with a huge number of supporters for the young sailors setting their boats off.

The rules are fairly simple:
- Hulls of a maximum length of 660mm with unrestricted beam
- Sails must fit in a rectangle of 1000mm by 500mm
- Boats can be of any design and can be made of any material, usually old coke bottles!
- No stored power (rubber bands, batteries, radio control or pets)
- All boats must be launched by helms under 18 years old
- Bows of multihulls must be connected to prevent trapping other boats

Conditions at the pond have varied from ice and no wind to gales and driving rain, but 2005 saw a gentle breeze, cold temperatures and the odd spot of rain. After the registration and allocation of sail numbers the first race to the other side began.

First off were the multihulls with the coke bottle cat of Magnus Lee (sail no. 30) taking the first race. In the monohull class Arun, Isley, & Iona Murton (sail no. 44) took the first race after 22 and 1 collided just feet from the finish line. Race two returned the other way across the lake with Kate Hardacre (sail no. 23) taking victory in the multihulls and Connie Stock winning the monohull race.

After a quick collection of stray yachts by the rescue boat ably sculled by Robert Weguelin the next race was set off with a little more wind. Kate Hardacre took her second victory in the multihulls and Jamie Jardine (sail no. 22) won in the monohulls. The final, return race was won by Hector Hurst (sail no. 25) in the multihulls with Jamie Jardine winning again in the monohulls.

Once all the results were collated and the discard was applied, it became clear just how close the racing was in the two divisions. Just one point separated Hector Hurst in second and Kate Hardacre in first for the multihulls racing for the Seahorse Trophy, but the monohull finish was even closer, with the top three all on five points. The tie break saw Jamie Jardine just retain the Setley Cup with Arun, Isley & Iona Murton second and Connie Stock third.

Special mention goes to Pip Weguelin sailing the festive sail number 261205, which was definitely the best looking boat at the event complete with glitter and tinsel.

Many thanks to John Doerr, the principle finisher with his team of Ado Jardine, Jessamy Walker & Phil Lawrence and PRO Stuart Jardine. Also thank you to all the children, parents and friends who spent their Christmas constructing the yachts.

Overall Results: (4 races, 1 discard)

Multihull Division for the Seahorse Trophy:
1st Kate Hardacre (23) 2,1,1,2, 4pts
2nd Hector Hurst (25) 3,2,2,1, 5pts
3rd Arabella Jardine (3) 6,3,3,5, 11pts
4th Harry Woodington (26) 8,4,4,3, 11pts
5th Magnus Lee (30) 1,DNF,7,7, 15pts

Monohull Division for the Setley Cup:
1st Jamie Jardine (22) 3,DNF,1,1, 5pts
2nd Arun, Isley & Iona Murton (44) 1,2,3,2, 5pts
3rd Connie Stock (1) 2,1,2,3, 5pts
4th Gareth Moore (12) DNF,3,5,5, 13pts
5th Elana Bennett (8) 5,DNF,4,6, 15pts