Inaugural Corby Cup Regatta at the Royal London Yacht Club
by John Corby 29 Jun 2008 08:30 BST
20-22 June 2008
Racing in the inaugural Corby Cup regatta © John Corby
A total of 9 Corby designed yachts turned up for the inaugural Corby Cup regatta consisting of 6 races held over 3 days, Friday to Sunday 20th to 22nd June, run from the Royal London Yacht Club in Cowes.
Because of the wide range in size, from the 45ft Incisor down to the 25ft Drakes Drum the fleet was divided for extra prizes in addition to the overall winner.
The racing format was also wide ranging starting with 2 short Solent races from the Club line on Friday afternoon, followed by 3 windward leeward races from a committee boat start on Saturday with a final longer Solent race planned for Sunday morning, which in the event was cancelled due to strong wind, a popular decision with every crew bearing in mind the party the previous night.
Roy Dicksons 36 Rosie proved to be a clear overall winner but seldom by much more than a minute, followed by David & Jackie Rileys 33 No Retreat, whos crew seemed to have found the go button and began the regatta with a textbook start.
3rd and 4th overall was a close match between Stephen Brackleys 30 Wild Child which counted a 2nd and 3rd and had all the bigger boats checking their watches, and the Octons 35 Njos, the oldest boat in the regatta but sporting a recent new keel and mast and flying both upwind and down.
Other special mentions include a trawling award to Cracklin Rosie; Drakes Drum who never missed the chance to keep in the frame with flawless hoists and drops; and Catherine which brought some old fashioned elegance to the event.
Shoreside, Friday evening was the more formal with a drinks party in the Sir Max Aitken museum followed by a dinner in the Royal London Yacht Club. Then a bar-b-q for 150 at Corbys on Saturday with catering by Quay Cuisine gave crews an opportunity to mingle, with a special mention to Njos who arrived fully equipped to make, what looked like, a small bath of Pimms. Other supporters on Saturday evening were Coca Cola and Wight Vodka.
A Sunday lunchtime prizegiving at the RLYC completed the regatta with a large selection of goodies being presented, for which Harken, North, Marineware and Coutts are to be thanked. The main prize, of course, being a new perpetual trophy constructed in house by Corby Yachts, utilising carbon fibre, stainless steel and teak as a cross section of the materials used in boatbuilding, with a surprise added bonus of the latest model Corby electric trouserpress, customised with the Corby Yachts logo, kindly donated by John Corby Ltd.