Please select your home edition
Edition
RYA Membership

Etchells Saida Cup run by the Royal Thames Yacht Club

by Jan Ford 12 Jun 2019 05:48 BST 8-9 June 2019
Etchells Saida Cup in Cowes © www.sportography.tv

Sadly, the Saturday of this year's Saida Cup, hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, was cancelled as the tail end of a front brought strong winds to the Solent. The race committee sensibly made the decision to cancel Saturday's racing on Friday, which gave competitors the chance to prepare for Sunday's early start.

Despite Saturday's lack of sailing teams from the RLYC's Etchells academy made the journey over to the Island to be officially welcomed to the club and for drinks. Later they were joined by other Etchells sailors for dinner - a great evening was had by all.

Sailors were greeted by a completely different picture on Sunday, with a high pressure bringing light winds of between 5-10 knots. Nonetheless, after an hour's delay Race Officer Phil Hagen got racing under way, with 4 races scheduled.

The first race saw those who took to the left-hand side of the race course on the first beat finish at the front. The race was won by Peter Rogers (Highlife), who was pushed hard down the last run by Shaun Frohlic's Exabyte. They were closely followed by Shamal sailed by the Royal Dart youth team and Grant Simmer on Man's Best Friend.

Race two was a similar story - the west to east tide making the pin favoured, with those starting towards the pin also able to escape off to the favoured left-hand side. Rob Goddard's Rocketman was launched off the pin, leading comfortably at the Winward Mark. However, by the finish, the speed of Grant Simmer's team and the youth team from the Royal Lymington prevailed, with the pair taking first and second respectively and Goddard finishing in third.

Man's Best Friend picked up where they left off in race 3, again winning the left-hand side of the course on the first upwind and stretching away for the win. They were followed by the crew of Joly Roger and Shamal.

The last race of day was considerably different from the first three of the day. The breeze built to a steady 10 knots and swung right. This increase in wind speed meant that the racing was especially close and hard fought. In familiar fashion Man's Best Friend took the win, followed closely by Highlife and Ollie Grogono's Royal Thames Youth team.

The win for Grant Simmer and his team was enough to secure the win of the event, with Peter Roger's Highlife finishing second and the Royal Lymington team finishing third and first Youth and first Corinthian.

A special thanks to the race committee, all the volunteers and the Royal Thames Yacht Club for organising and running a great weekend in tough conditions.

Overall Results:

PosSal NoYacht NameSkipper / CrewR1R2R3R4Pts
1  GBR 1460MBFGrant Simmer / Graeme Spence / Sam Haines / Graeme Spence41117
2  GBR 1441HighlifePeter Rogers / Neil Harrison / Ben Cooper148215
3  GBR 1020Royal Lymington YC Youths (Corinthian)Robby Boyd / Alex Hayman / Hattie Rogers / Midge Watkins924419
4  GBR 1352Jolly RogerNicholas Stagg / Matt Reid / Henry Wetherell752620
5  GBR 1437Exabyte 7Shaun Frohlich / David Bedford / Duncan Truswell285823
6  GBR 1407Ice (Corinthian)Andrew Cooper / Mike Greville / Patrick Condy866525
7  GBR 782Royal Thames YC Youths (Corinthian)Ollie Grogono / Thea Crawshaw / Josh Croft / Verity Hunter6711327
8  GBR 927Royal Dart YC Youth (Corinthian)Miles Jones / Fraser Woodley31231129
9  GBR 1439Rocketman (Corinthian)Rob Goddard / Bryn Phillips / James Cowen1139730
10  GBR 1353The Plant HunterMalcolm Offord / Laurence Mead / Jack SharlandRET971039
11  GBR 1005Eccentric (Corinthian)Colin MacDonald / Peter Boyd101010939
12  GBR 1194Oxford University YC Youths (Corinthian)Rebecca Anthony / Josh Bell / Meli Besse / Annika Moslein511121240

Related Articles

Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta overall
Perfect Solent conditions and desperately tight racing for the conclusion Picture-perfect conditions of a building 8-18 knots from the south-west, bright sunshine and flat Solent conditions on the flood tide made for a glamorous conclusion to the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta on Sunday. Posted on 16 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 4
Challenging summer Solent conditions test the fleets A brisk south-westerly breeze, with gusts above 20 knots at times, made for challenging top-end conditions for all the fleets on a very busy Solent for the Royal Thames Yacht Club 250th Anniversary Regatta. Posted on 14 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 3
Patience rewarded on light air afternoon Conditions more akin to the Mediterranean greeted the 251 entries on day 3 of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, with bright sunshine and a shut-down of air flow across the Solent racecourses. Posted on 13 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 2
All seasons in one day as the competition gets serious Day two of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta was described by Principal Race Officer, Tim Hancock, in his morning competitors' briefing as a 'transitional' one with a chilly, rain-filled weather system passing over the Solent. Posted on 12 Jun
Inaugural Eastern Asia Offshore Race start
Seasoned sailors beat through the harbour in super light winds 14 boats set off from Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour in the Inaugural Eastern Asia Offshore Race, taking competitors on a 350nm journey to Tainan, the southwestern tip of Taiwan Island. Posted on 29 May
Jura Scottish Series runners and riders
Fleet are mustered in Tarbert Habour, Loch Fyne, ready to race Competitors at the Jura Scottish Series may not be assured of continued sunshine, the like of which has blessed the north of Britain for the last few weeks, but they should be blessed with breezes which seem set to build progressively. Posted on 23 May
Scottish Series champions will be back to defend
Jura Scottish Series on Loch Fyne starts soon Last year's overall winners of the Jura Scottish Series, Allan Manuel's Etchells 22 Bounce Back, are returning to Tarbert, Loch Fyne over the coming days looking to defend the class title which they won with a convincing scoreline. Posted on 20 May
Etchells North American Championship overall
Luke Lawrence and team win at San Diego Yacht Club The competitors for the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego left the dock Sunday morning for the final two races of the regatta with a lot of work still in front of them to determine the winner. Posted on 19 May
Etchells North American Championship day 2
Three more races held on Saturday The 2025 Etchells North American Championship continued with 3 more races on Saturday. Conditions were more favorable for racing today with wind in the 8 - 12 kt range. Posted on 18 May
Etchells North American Championship day 1
A strong day for Masfen, Cooke and Wilkinson give the NZL team top position Day one of the Etchells North American Championship started off under an AP flag with mostly cloudy skies. After an almost 90 minute delay, Race 1 got under way at 12:55 with a course bearing of 235 with 1.2 nm legs. Posted on 17 May