Entries open for the Royal Escape Race

Race entry documents now available

As the documents for the Royal Escape were only recently loaded onto the website at www.royalescaperace.co.uk I thought it appropriate to update everybody on what has been going on behind the scenes and why we've been a bit late.

Prizegiving Venue

The biggest issue has been losing our usual venue in Fécamp for the prize giving. There had been an ominous silence since contacting the owners before Christmas, so they were top of my list for a visit when I went over to Fécamp in February. After many apologies it became clear that they had elected to host a wedding party... which left me with a rather large problem. I won't bore you with the blind alleys that have been followed in securing a space big enough for the event, but I am please to report that as of Monday 18 April I agreed to a proposal from the Hotel Normandy. The lack of a venue also meant that we were unable to fix a budget, and hence the entry price, which is why things have been a tad later than I wanted. I am now pleased to announce that the entry fees have been held at the same rate as 2010, which was also the same price as 2009 - which has to be seen as great value!

Short & Single Handed

A small but hopefully significant change to our original plan for the short/single handed racing is that these two classes will now race under SCCH rather than IRC. We are really keen to get enough interest to run these two fleets for the first time and if my inbox is anything to go by then this change will do the trick. The single handed trophy is really special so if you are short on crew or just want a challenge then get your entry in and start practising.

Start Times

Following the skippers survey over the start timings I can also confirm that we'll be getting all the fleets away an hour earlier than usual. With luck that'll give everyone even more of a chance to make it into Fécamp in good time before the regular cough in the breeze on the French coast - of course having made this adjustment it'll probably now blow dogs off chains on the day! We decided against starting at first light for two good reasons; the first being that there is often no wind on the UK coast at dawn, and the second was sympathy for the huge number of volunteers who give up their Friday mornings for us to make the start happen both afloat and ashore - they all go to work after we sail over the horizon so would have been falling asleep at desks.

Sponsors

Our regular sponsors are all back so please remember who's helping you to a great weekend. SMR are there for all your chandlery, safety equipment and rigging needs including the launch of a new online chandlery on 3 May www.smrmarine.co.uk. In fact Mike Stevens is offering a free safety check to anybody that asks - he'll have a poke around and inspect your rig with a no obligation report. All he asks is that you call him as early as possible so there's a fighting chance to fix any problems before the race. Don't forget both BMYC and SYC members get a 10% discount from him.

BD Foods

However the biggest news of all for the race is a major sponsorship deal with John Davis of BD Foods. Back in 1997 John with Barracuda of Tarrant was the last winner of the Tettersel Cup, which is awarded to the yacht who breaks the record for the fastest crossing in the Race. John's 1997 record time of 7 hours, 34 minutes and 22 seconds still stands, which goes some way to explain why he has agreed to become the biggest supporter we have ever had. His largesse means that not only will every racing yacht get a prestigious Royal Escape war flag for free, but BD Foods will also be footing the bill for the Champagne Prize Giving Reception in France.

One price for all dates AND a free war flag

So the race will be starting on Friday 27 May and we'll be laying on a full day of functions in Fécamp on the Saturday. There are currently close to 60 yachts who have pre-registered and the Notice of Race and entry forms can be found right here on the website. I am also for the first time abandoning the old early-bird booking price - right up until 2 weeks before the start there is just one low entry fee. So come on and sign up - you get to enjoy the greatest offshore race in Sussex AND you get a massive free flag!