Exe Sails and Covers Starcross Steamer 2023

by Ben Cutler-Sharp 31 Jan 12:12 GMT 29 January 2023

78 boats were greeted by a beautiful morning at Starcross Yacht Club without a breath of wind for the annual pursuit race. Patience prevailed however and after a delay of an hour and ten minutes, the fleet eagerly took to the water in lovely sunshine and a building breeze.

With the delay and a narrow tidal window, the race was shortened to 2 hours with the slowest class; the Laser 4.7s of junior sailors Polly Scott and Charlie Pickering setting off first with the faster boats setting off later in accordance to their respective handicaps.

Starcross Steamer 2023 - photo © Heather Davies

Last year's winner Angus Cook sailing with Mandy Henderson in the Firefly set off a few minutes later and then took to the front and led the Lasers around the rest of the first lap.

By the time Angus and Mandy got round to the start line to complete their first lap, all bar the fast boats had set off, including the 15 strong Phantom fleet and the 9 Merlin Rockets. As the second lap unfolded OK sailor Charlie Cumbley slowly reeled in and overtook Angus and Mandy.

Starcross Steamer 2023 - photo © Heather Davies

As the third lap got under way the faster boats were beginning to overtake and work their way through the fleet in the building breeze. Even with two downwind legs the singlehanders seemed to edge through.

Getting into the final few legs however it was the B14 of locals Russ Gibbs and Lucy Loughton who used the strengthening wind and strong pace to buck the trend and pull through the fleet, to create a nail biting finish.

Starcross Steamer 2023 - photo © Garnett Showell

At the end it was Charlie who managed to hold off Russ and Lucy by a matter of a few boat lengths. Not far behind them was Peter Barton from Lymington Town SC in his RS Aero 9, followed by Simon Hawkes (Wimbleball/Starcross YC) and Alex Carr (Torpoint Mosquito SC) in their Phantoms.

A big thank you to all the competitors, all the volunteers who gave their time and Exe Sails and Covers for the prizes and safety boat!

The next leg of the Southwest Winter Series, supported by Allen & Admiral Trailers, is the Exmoor Beastie on the 26th of March. The 2024 edition of the Steamer is provisionally scheduled for the 4th of February 2024.

Starcross Steamer 2023 - photo © Garnett Showell

Overall Results:

Pos	Class	Sail No	Helm / Crew	Club	Pts
1	OK	6	Charlie Cumbley	Teign Corinthian YC	1
2	B14	762	Russell Gibbs / Lucy	Starcross YC	2
3	RS Aero 9	3597	Peter Barton	Lymington Town YC	3
4	Phantom	1473	Simon Hawkes	Wimbleball SC Starcros	4
5	Phantom	1271	Alex Carr	Torpoint Mosquito SC	5
6	OK	77	Gavin Poulloin	Weymouth SC	6
7	Solo	5546	Olly Turner	Salcombe /Starcross YC	7
8	OK	2104	Charlie Maunder	Highcliffe SC	8
9	Osprey	1234	Terry Curtis / Peter 0 Greig	Weymouth SC	9
10	RS400	411	Richard Cain / Barney Dearsly	Starcross YC	10
11	RS Aero 7	2550	Chris Jones	Sutton Bingham SC	11
12	Laser Radial	176836	Michael Bagge	Starcross YC	12
13	Phantom	1118	Nik Lye	Torpoint Mosquito SC	13
14	2000	22171	Jon Nuttall / Amelia Nuttall	Tenby SC	14
15	Laser Radial	214134	Ellie Hutchings	Roadford Lake SC	15
16	Solo	5926	John Steels	Starcross YC	16
17	Solo	6033	Simon Greenslade	Starcross YC	17
18	Fireball	15083	Chris Gill / Adam Broughton	Portishead Y&SC	18
19	Merlin Rocket	3746	James Wells / Anna Aylward	RYA	19
20	Firefly	3695	Angus Cook / Mandy Henderson	NYDC/Castaways	20
21	Phantom	1496	Rob Cook	Northampton SC	21
22	Phantom	1472	Jon Rickard	Hooe Point SC	22
23	Phantom	1484	Paul Birbeck	Wimbleball SC	23
24	Blaze	807	Nick Ripley	Paignton SC	24
25	Phantom	1469	Chris Biglin	Chase SC	25
26	International Canoe	340	Chris Hampe	Hooe Point SC	26
27	Fireball	14785	Simon Lomas‑Clarke / Rob Daniels	Teign Corinthian YC	27
28	RS400	1356	Peter Vincent Chris Bishop	Llandegfedd SC	28
29	RS Aero 7	1181	Mark Ripley	Paignton SC	29
30	Enterprise	22901	Paul Young / Oliver Mason	Midland SC	30
31	Scorpion	2014	AJ Eaton / Joshua Eaton	Starcross YC	31
32	Hornet	2154	Dick Garry / Sam Woolner	Starcross YC	32
33	Phantom	1446	Richard Cumberbatch	Lyme Regis SC	33
34	Fireball	14789	Hannah Showell / Jamie Beer	Starcross YC	34
35	RS800	1166	Ralph Singleton / Ian Mairs	Restronguet SC	35
36	RS Aero 9	3438	Paul Bartlett	Starcross YC	36
37	RS Aero 7	2154	John Tanner	Chelmarsh Sc	37
38	Laser	177584	Rich Babbage	Starcross YC	38
39	D‑Zero	357	Dave Bartlett	Starcross YC	39
40	RS200	1373	Helen Scott / Dougal Scott	Starcross YC	40
41	Merlin Rocket	3779	Dave Lee / Angela Bridges	Starcross YC	41
42	Merlin wood	3553	Andrew Paley / Harriet Paley	Starcross YC	42
43	Albacore	8209	Cameron Moss / Jake Stow	Lyme Regis SC	43
44	Tasar	104	Pete Bell Tim Simmons	Castle Cove SC	44
45	Supernova	1147	Nick Clarance	Starcross /Shaldon SC	45
46	Phantom	1259	Stephen McDonald	Starcross YC	46
47	RS Aero 9	3328	Klaus Harris	Swanage YC	47
48	Solo	5808	Tim Martin	Teign Corinthian YC	48
49	RS200	1114	Jayne Johnson / Jess	Starcross YC	49
50	RS Aero 7	1601	Jacob Chambers	Wimbleball SC	50
51	Merlin Rocket	3721	Nick Turner / Carly Gurr	Starcross YC	51
52	Laser	208190	Nigel Mckay	Starcross YC	52
53	Solo	6030	Adrian Griffin	Salcombe YC	53
54	Osprey	1356	Mark Pollard Martin Walbank	Starcross YC	54
55	RS200	361	Grant Boorer / Johnathan Carr	Starcross YC	55
56	Phantom	1342	Mark Spruce	Lee On Solent SC	56
57	Merlin Rocket	3785	Robin Charles / Mason	Starcross YC	57
58	Phantom	1199	Stephen Crowder	Torpoint Mosquito SC	58
59	Merlin Rocket	3772	Dan Heaton / Dan I Ford	Mountbatten SC	59
60	GP 14	14014	Andy Wadsworth / Held Allen	Brixham YC	60
61	MRX	3622	Mark Candelas / Julie Cronshaw	Wembley SC	61
62	Laser 4 7	1168934	Polly Scott	Starcross YC	62
63	Laser 4.7	1	Charlie Pickering	Sidmouth SC	63
64	RS400	698	Daryl Geary / Paul Craft	Starcross YC	64
65	RS200	400	Jack Solly / Hew Beare	Starcross YC	65
66	Phantom	1404	Stuart Hall	Torpoint Mosquito SC	66
67	Merlin Rocket	3813	Steve Harling / Eleanor Thomas	Starcross YC	67
68	29er	2336	Kirsty / Felix	Starcross YC	68
69	B14	789	Crispin Taylor / Jamie	Starcross YC	NF]
69	RS400	1287	James Bowman Mike Beach	Starcross YC	NF]
69	Merlin Rocket	37	Vyv Game / Mike Tuckett	Starcross YC	NF]
69	Merlin Rocket	3797	Mark Elkington / Sarah Roberts	Starcross YC	ET]
69	Phantom	1220	Matt Blakeston	Hooe Point SC	NF]
69	Phantom	1487	Nick Orman	Castle Cove SC	NF]
69	Phantom	1497	Oli Greenslade	Starcross YC	NF]
69	Finn	534	Andy Bartram	Starcross YC	NF]
69	Supernova	1164	Liam Mcgrath	Starcross YC	NF]
69	Solo	4400	Martin Crane	Starcross YC	NF]
70	RS Aero 7	3328	Klaus Harris	Swanage SC	DNC