Salcombe Gin Yacht Club Regatta at Salcombe Yacht Club
by John Burn 15 Aug 16:35 BST
Competitors, spectators, family and friends all gathered in Cliff House for the final and overall prize-giving marking the end to a very successful 2022 Salcombe Gin Yacht Club Regatta.
The conditions this year can only be described as glorious with the sun shining and temperatures soaring; it made for a very special week on and off the water.
With the wind set in the NE pretty much all week the morning fleets received the better and more consistent breeze. As the sun warmed the land, the sea-breeze tried its best to set in every day but with no real conviction and at times leading to some interesting results in the afternoons.
As most of us know, it doesn't always pay to be in the lead when racing in Salcombe. You can quite often watch a substantial lead, you spent 90% of the race building, disappear in a mater of seconds as you sit in your own private hole, just meters from the finish line, whilst the rest of the fleet trickle passed you. Equally, you could have raced in Salcombe every week for the last 30+ years and still find yourself being caught out by the Fairway (C.C).
Frustrating? yes! Unfair? absolutely, but it is also one of the many joys about sailing in Salcombe. Remember, no matter how bad you think you might be doing, until you get that finishing bell, nothing is decided.
Inevitably though, over the week the cream did rise to the top which can be seen in the results across all the fleets; there are some very familiar names filling the top spots.
The Junior, Topper and Family Fleet, after a poor turn out last year, was back with a bang seeing 17 boats battling it out for victory in their respective fleets. It was the family team of George and Mark McLaren that won the Family fleet sailing exceptionally well winning 5 out of the 6 races.
Lewis Groves in his RS Tera Pro won the Junior Fleet winning a couple of races in the process.
Isabella Wilson at just 10 years old won the Topper Fleet, an amazing achievement and definitely one to watch for the future.
The Enterprise Fleet is always well represented and this year it was no different. Jane and Nick Scutt were victorious with a very consistent week counting 4 wins and a 2nd to take the top spot.
The Laser Radial/4.7 Fleet was won by regular club racer Andrew Groves. With 4 different competitors picking up a race win consistency was key, something Andrew does very well indeed.
The Merlin Rocket Fleet was dominated by John Meadowcroft and Rory Gifford. Both fresh from the Merlin champs (but not competing together) this pair teamed up to put on a pretty impressive display winning 4 of the 6 races.
The RS400 Fleet was won yet again by Figs Cain and Barney Dearsley. A slow start to the week from this pairing scoring a 4th gave the others a glimmer of hope. However they very quickly got up to speed winning their remaining 5 races.
The Yawl Gold Fleet also had 4 different race winners but ultimately it was won by Sue Proudfoot sailing with various crews for the week.
The Handicap Fleet had a very familiar name sitting at the top of the table. Tim Fells and Andy Hicks, sailing a Lark, comfortably took victory with their discard being a second this was a tough pairing for anyone to take on.
The National 12 Fleet was won by Tom and Isobel Stewart. Although they only managed two race wins, due to their consistency it was enough to pip the Camms who had 3 wins under their belt.
The Solo Fleet went down to the wire with the potential for 3 different sailors to take the honours on the last day. Tim Law was in the driving seat though and just needed to register above 4th to be guaranteed the win. However, Olly Tuner was also in with a chance and had given himself the best shot at victory by winning the last race. Tim found himself around 7th and with time running out it looked, for a moment, like Olly had done it. However, Tim wasnt going down without a fight and worked his way back up to 2nd to take a well deserved victory overall.
The Yawl Red fleet was won by Will Henderson and Jim Stone. They put on another impressive performance and were 7 points clear of second place.
The Yawl Blue Fleet was won by Andrew Wood and Tim Petit. Although they didn't manage to bag themselves a race win in the extremely competitive fleet it just proves that consistency is key in large fleets.
The Yawl Green Fleet was won by John and Deidre Bell. Although there was some very close racing they secured 3 race wins which was enough to mean they didnt need to race on the last day as their work was done.
A special thank you to our sponsor Salcombe Gin who yet again have shown us incredible support and generosity and we look forward to working with them again next time!
Thank you to all the volunteers and yacht club staff who helped make the week a success, without them, none of it would be possible. The race officers, safety boat crews and watch house staff do an amazing job every day to ensure we all have a great, safe week on the water as do The Salcombe Harbour Authority.
For full results please see www.salcombeyc.org.uk/page/2022
All SYC Regatta Photos can be found at lbcreate.pixieset.com/sailing