Royal Southern team win Solent Inter-Club Masters Team Race
by Peta Stuart-Hunt 14 Nov 2011 19:18 GMT
13 November 2011
Solent Inter-Club Masters' Team Race Regatta winners (l to r) Patrick Liardet, Jerry Hill, Alain Waha, Steve Johnson, Brian Mead, Nick Compton, Stuart Childerley and Andrew Dallas © RSrnYC
Royal Southern's old masters have the whip hand
The Royal Southern Yacht Club (RSrnYC) team won the Solent Inter-Club Masters' Team Race Regatta held at Queen Mary Sailing Club, Middlesex on Sunday 13th November.
The teams were greeted with lovely autumn sunshine and a 6-8 knots SE wind. Racing took place in J80's and two full round robins were sailed as the four teams sailed against each other twice. The two Royal Southern boats remained unbeaten until their final race of the regatta, when it appeared that fatigue had begun to set in, and they lost against the Cowes Darings' fleet team.
A "Master" is someone who remembers the moves but sadly lacks time to practice and perfect the subtle mark traps and boat handling skills required for team racing. Additionally, the crews have to meet specific age limit of over 45 years, ensuring they were all at their peak!
Jerry Hill led one of the RSrnYC crews with Andrew Dallas, Patrick Liardet and Steve Johnson. The other team of Nick Compton, Rear Commodore Brian Mead, Alain Waha had their fourth member, Stuart Childerley, gripping the tiller hard. Thankfully no spinnakers were used and the on-water umpires were at hand to keep the peace, as some old scores were settled. All the races saw close racing with one or two bumps as the crews competed hard. The Royal Thames team were odds-on favourites heading into the regatta and clearly had a wealth of talent to send afloat against Seaview YC, Cowes Darings and the RSrnYC teams.