Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta - Handicap Fleet
by Phil Laycock 23 Aug 2005 09:00 BST
Nearly 30 boats competed in the handicap fleet at this year’s Salcombe Regatta, ranging from a Dayboat and GP14 through to an RS600 and Fireball with the bulk of the boats being in the handicap range of 1030 to 1100.
The weather was typical Salcombe and despite the relatively mild tides the conditions played a major role in deciding the outcome of this years racing. Estuary racing is not for the faint hearted and morning racing with a developing sea breeze which often kicks in half way through the race is a challenge for everybody. Local knowledge can help and a very high percentage of the fleet were Salcombe regulars.
The Hays sponsored Finn of Phil Laycock dominated the racing throughout the week with three firsts and two second places. Making the best starts in all conditions and not making any mistakes was key to his success. He led off the line in every race and showed what a good estuary boat the Finn is when sailed properly.
In the stronger winds the Phantoms made the most of the long reaches and Jeff Vanderborought led the fleet home in race 4 only to be disqualified for a local rule infringement, which was very bad luck. Regular sailors Chris Ellis in a Lark, last year’s winner Michael Hicks in a Scorpion and Geoff and Gail Allen in a Wayfarer also featured in the top few boats throughout the week.
The Finn’s dominance was confirmed in race five with a winning margin of over ten minutes on corrected time and it was the 4th time in 5 years that Phil Laycock has won the event in his Finn missing last year through injury.
With nearly 300 boats competing in a number of different classes the Salcombe regatta is one of the best attended family holiday weeks in the UK and it is exceptionally well run by John Murrell and his race team who over the years have taken on board the views of the competitors resulting in a very fair and competitive week’s racing sailed in excellent spirit.
Overall Results:
1st Phil Laycock – Finn
2nd Michael Hicks – Scorpion
3rd Chris Ellis – Lark