Solway Yacht Club celebrates 2019 - Winners on the Water and Nautical Poems
by Robert Dinwiddie 29 Jan 2020 12:54 GMT
25 January 2020
Anne Stewart, Scott Train, Mary Dinwiddie, Robert Dinwiddie - Solway YC 2019 prize-giving © Becky Davison
On January 25th Solway Yacht Club members gathered to celebrate the 2019 season's sailing and to award prizes for series racing throughout last year. They also enjoyed and took part in judging the winners of the club's first nautical poetry competition, run over the 2019 season. Given that it was the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, a one-time exciseman in the area, this was deemed to be an appropriate date for such an event.
Before the prize-giving and the poetry competition the 2019 Club Commodore, Lindsay Tosh, reported on the club's activities during the year. The traditional annual events including the Open Day, which attracted 125 visitors, the annual Cadet Week and Kippford Week racing events and the local RNLI Regatta were as popular as ever. The Laser Grand Prix, N12 and Finn Open weekend was also much enjoyed.
The overall Club Championship was won by the brother and sister team of Scott Train and Anne Stewart in their Flying Fifteen. Lilli Bell, in her Topper, won the Junior Championship and Hannah Davison won the best cadet contribution. Individual series winners in Flying Fifteens included Anne Stewart and Scott Train, Colin Filer and Jamie Gascoine, Gordon Daly and Jane Gascoine, other winners were Scott McColm and Nicola McColm in their Merlin Rocket and Stewart Mitchell in his Finn. James Bishop won the best boat handling trophy and Richard and Sarah Bishop were rewarded for their special rescue boat contributions throughout the season.
Honorary Life Memberships of the club were also awarded to Stuart and JoAnn Monaghan for their major contributions to club activities over many years and their hugely generous gift to the club of their 8m Catalan Catamaran "Alicat" for Cadet training in the years to come. Past Commodore Maureen Scott was also specially rewarded for continuing services to the club over recent years.
Twenty three poems, all of a very high standard, were submitted for review. The winner was a poem entitled "Solway Symphonics" by an author entitled "Anon-E-Mouse". The second prize for a poem entitled "SYC Politician" was awarded to club secretary John Sproat.
"Solway Symphonics" goes like this:
Teardop hulls scythe through the silken sea, silvery blue diamonds in their lee,
Hurry, slurry left on the land, we're out on the Urr, a happy band,
One hundred hearts beating fast, Start Hut, "Starboard", the hooter's blast,
Swift planing, surge across the tide, beats Grand Theft Auto played inside,
Gybe, a reach, roll-tack flick-flack, rainbow spinnakers all the way back,
Back up the Scaur with fun and frolics, talking lots - tell me, what rhymes with "rowlocks"?
Robert Dinwiddie's Commodore's poetry prize was awarded to Christine Benson for her poem "W'Urr wee boat" (SYC=Solway Yacht Club). It goes as follows:
W'Urr wee boat scuds briskly ower the briney sea,
Sunlight sparkles like diamonds, my heart sings and is free,
When Brooding storm clouds gather and gulls t'wards safety flee,
W'Urr wee boat brings me safely to the SYC,
But W'Urr wee boat's nae a boat at a', just a lump of plastic and a paddle to row,
So happy am I that I can still be potterin' around the scaur by the sea.