Scarborough Yacht Club North Sea Race to start on 1st July
by Edd Peacock 21 Mar 2017 14:36 GMT
1 July 2017
Scarborough Yacht Club North Sea Race © Pete McIntyre
Scarborough Yacht Club's annual 210 mile race to Ijmuiden in Holland, again sponsored by Boyes Stores, will start at 09.00 on Saturday 1st July.
This is Yorkshires largest offshore yacht race and it is a spectacular sight in the bay with all the boats ready for the start with hopefully the Lifeboat positioned to see them off safely. The race creates a real buzz for the town and the harbour wall is an excellent vantage point to see the action and take in the atmosphere.
Once again we are really hoping for our usual number of visiting boats from our neighbouring clubs ranging from the Tyne in the north to the Humber in the South, which gives added competition to our own local boats. We will not have the large contingent of foreign visitors this year who joined us from the continent for the return leg of their 2 handed 500 mile race last year, as they are planning to program the event in for 2018.
The boats set off with the tide and hopefully a decent breeze to try to make it past Flamborough Head before it turns and then set their course for Holland. Of course it still takes navigational skills crossing the gas fields and keeping a good distance from the platforms, which is essential. More and more wind farms appear along the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire coast each year which adds to the concentration of the helmsman.
The next hazard are the traffic separation zones which have ships of all shapes and sizes passing up and down the Dutch coast and finally as the competitors approach the Dutch coast there are an array of wind farms to negotiate before entering the port of Ijmuiden.
After registering their finish times the boats head up the North Sea Canal for a well earned night out in Amsterdam.
A presentation dinner is held on the Tuesday evening at Turf Restaurant in the old seaport of Hoorn, in the Markenmeer about 30 miles from Amsterdam, after which the boats are free to enjoy the waterways of Holland before making their own way home.