A Tale of Two Halves for this year's Fowey Week
by Karen Toms 11 Sep 2020 06:38 BST
15-22 August 2020
Fowey Week Cruiser Racing © Simon Chapman
It was a case of gentle breezes for the first few days followed by strong winds for the second half of the week in this year's revised format Fowey Week.
The week kicked off on Saturday 15th August with a championship for the Fowey River class. The 29 strong fleet enjoyed three days of racing in light airs with a mixed format of a long distance race and back to back races in the harbour and in Fowey Bay. RO John Burford did a great job of keeping the pace up despite the conditions to ensure that all the series races were completed - a fitting celebration for the Fowey River Class's 70th anniversary year.
Fowey's keelboats, the Troys, were scheduled to compete in their championship on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th but Storm Ellen had other ideas. Instead their racing was confined to just the Tuesday but they enjoyed a great day with four races completed. Ian Armstrong dominated in 'Red Beryl' winning three out of the four, with 'Iolite' finishing 2nd overall and 'Jet' in 3rd place.
Storm Ellen continue to rage on Thursday and Friday, disrupting the racing scheduled for the dinghy and cruiser classes. The Port of Fowey Race Organising Committee (POFROC) responded flexibly by putting together a revised format of racing for the classes and extending the week by a day so racing could be provided on the Sunday.
By Saturday 22nd, the winds had abated enough for the cruiser fleet to have two lively races back to back in Fowey Bay with in harbour starts and finishes providing close fleet racing. The dinghies then raced on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday 23rd, POFROC held a long distance race in Fowey and St Austell Bay for the cruiser fleet.
Next year Fowey Royal Regatta will take place from August 15th to 21st 2021. Visit www.pofroc.org.uk or email for details.