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Busy Open racing programme at Ullswater Yacht Club in 2023

by Sue Giles 19 Feb 2023 17:49 GMT
Birkett start in 2022 © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Ullswater Yacht Club launches into 2023 with a packed sailing programme for club members and seven major open events for visiting racers.

The opens include the 61st Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy, the traditional April opener the Daffodil Regatta and the Flying Fifteen Northern Championships.

The award-winning Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy will be held, as usual, on the first full weekend of July - 1 & 2. There will also be a warm welcome for visiting competitors at six other opens held throughout the sailing season.

Daffodil Regatta preparations at UYC - photo © Sue Giles
Daffodil Regatta preparations at UYC - photo © Sue Giles

The competitive year for opens kicks off on April 22 & 23 with UYC's traditional Daffodil Regatta which accepts all classes with separate starts for a Windward/Leeward Fleet including VX Ones and Musto Skiffs, and a Handicap Fleet for double/single handers and cruisers, including newcomers, the OK fleet. There'll be daffodils galore at the prize-giving as UYC joins in Ullswater's spring celebrations featuring Wordsworth's famous poem.

Daffodil Regatta entries are through the UYC website: ullswateryachtclub.org/event/759113

The Daffodil Regatta is followed by six more opens - a travellers' event for the D-Zero fleet, May 13 & 14; the Birkett, July 1 & 2; Flying Fifteen Northerns July 15 & 16; Ullswater Ultimate Regatta on August 12 & 13; ILCA/Laser Borders Travellers Open, September 2; and Windward/Leeward Weekend and Tempest Northerns on October 14 & 15.

The Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy is UYC's most prestigious event, winning the Cumbria Tourism Event of the Year in 2016 and voted number eight in the world's top 50 regattas by Yachts & Yachting Magazine. Two ACH races cover the length of Cumbria's most beautiful lake with one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Ample space for camping and campervans and on-site catering and entertainment all weekend makes the Birkett a true Festival of Sailing. Entry is via the Birkett website: www.ullswaterycbirkett.org

RYA NW travellers at UYC in 2022 - photo © Phil Burrage
RYA NW travellers at UYC in 2022 - photo © Phil Burrage

And the club's thriving fleet of young sailors are looking forward to the RYA NW Junior & Youth Junior Travellers event on July 8 & 9.

Visitors are also welcome at the club's annual Open Holiday Week, a mixture of leisure sailing, racing, training, coaching and courses, with family fun on and off the water, from Monday to Friday, August 7-11.

August is also the month for a four-day visit by the Wayfarer fleet (August 18-21), making the most of UYC's beautiful location as the perfect base for leisure sailing. And the members of the OGA, the Association for Gaff Rig Sailing, will be celebrating their 60th Anniversary with a Small Boats Rally from August 25-28.

The busy season rounds off with the Open Winter Series from November 5 to December 17 - handicap racing over seven Sundays with three races per day.

All the open events offer the usual UYC hospitality with excellent food, camping on site, and great racing in lovely surroundings.

For more details contact Edmund Clarke on or visit the UYC website www.ullswateryachtclub.org

This year's UYC open events:

  • April 22 & 23. Daffodil Regatta
  • May 13 & 14. D-Zero Travellers
  • July 1 & 2. Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy
  • July 8 & 9. RYA NW Junior & Youth Travellers Event
  • July 15 & 16. Flying Fifteen Northerns
  • August 7-11. Open Holiday Week
  • August 12 & 13. Ullswater Ultimate
  • August 18-21. Wayfarers Visit
  • August 25-28. Association for Gaff Rig Sailing (OGA) 60th Anniversary Small Boats Rally
  • Sept 2. ILCA/Laser Lakeland & Borders Event
  • Oct 14 & 15. Windward/Leeward Weekend and Tempest Northerns
  • Sundays Nov 5-Dec 17. Open Winter Series

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