Royal Dee Yacht Club Regatta

The annual Royal Dee Regatta was once again held in Holyhead Bay and attracted over 35 offshore yachts from around the Irish Sea. On this occasion, in association with the Holyhead SC, competitors were made to feel most welcome as racing was unfortunately abandoned on day one ,with gust of 44kts on the racecourse, never fear for the shed was near, the 'shed' being a converted Trinity House building resplendent with giant dvd screen showing sailing action with an excellent bar facility enabling sailors and ‘backstay swingers’ to get to know one another before battle commenced the next day.

Day 2 dawned fine and sunny and three w/ward/leeward races were run in quick succession by race officer Mike Butterfield. There remained a swell from the previous day, so with only 7kts of breeze on tap, it was quite a challenge for the heavier boats to pick up the pace. In class one Mike Budd sailing his Mumm 30 'Seven' took 3 bullets, with his crew roll taking the boat around the course like a laser. Some of the larger yachts attempted to emulate him but lacked the acceleration through the tacks to stay in close contact. Finishing the day solidly in 2nd place in class 1, the new Dehler 39 sq 'Deliverance 2' [G Cowper/ C Jones] sporting a carbon rig, showed great pace in the light airs to hold off the lightweight Castro 31 'Turbulent Flo' { D. Hughes] who finished the day in third

In class two a terrific debut for Wil Partington's new Corby 25 'Partington Marine' easily winning the day chased by the X332 sport from Howth 'On the Rox' [ C Boyle] and in third slot 'Chia Chia' from Liverpool YC [P Eagleton]

Day three consisted of 2 more races with exactly the same 7 kts of breeze, but this time the seas had flattened off. In class one it was Seven who made the running in race one with Deliverance 2 finally taking a bullet in the last race. Further down the fleet in class 1 some interesting duels developed. Philip Barnes sailing his new Dehler 36’ Polaris elected for a bandit rig of 130 percent furler jib and fixed sprit flying an asymmetric and given a little more breeze he could prove to be a serious threat, he certainly ruffled a few feathers taking 4th overall, with the Prima 38 Mighty Max, in 5th.

Ultimately the boats that fared well were those that sported a good percentage of headsail overlap, given a little more breeze, things might have been different, but the smiles on the dock after the event reflected that a good time had been had by all After a short prize giving, Royal Dee commodore Captain Richard Yeoward thanked the sponsors, Yachtshop, GC Marine, TJ Rigging, Lamont Commercial and Marlin Ribs for their most welcome support.

Overall Results:

Class 1:
1st Seven, M Budd
2nd Deliverance 2
3rd Turbulent Flo, D Hughes
4th Polaris, P Barnes

Class 2:
1st Partington Marine, W Partington
2nd On the Rox, C Boyle
3rd Chia Chia, P Eagleton
4th Xpletive , M Crompton