River Cruiser Weekend at Norfolk Broads Yacht Club
by Kevin Rhead 10 Jul 2023 12:09 BST
1-2 July 2023
River Cruiser Class Weekend at Norfolk Broads YC © Trish Barnes
Twenty-two river cruisers had entered the weekend for NBYC's first Open RCC event. The handicap split was put at 1, putting twelve yachts in the A fleet and ten in the B fleet.
With a strong and blustery westerly wind, the decision facing all competitors was whether to reef or not! Conditions throughout the weekend continued in a similar vein, with at times some very large gusts coming through, which caused issues for some, rig failures for others and Viking taking on a great deal of water, which resulted in the safety boat having to attend as they appeared to be sinking! The challenging conditions meant that in all races, the results were littered with DNC, DNF and RTD's.
Over the course of the two days, in the A fleet, a battle emerged between Moonshadow and Melinda, which was decided on the last race after both had finished on six points. In the B fleet, a similar battle ensued between Jessie May and Goldfish, which again came down to the results of the last race after both yachts finished on four points. Overall, the trophy went to Sally Dugdale on Jessie May, ahead of her brother Paul Howes on Melinda.
On the Saturday evening, the RCC held their annual dinner which was attended by seventy two people with Ruth Knight and her husband James attending as guests of the Class. An excellent meal was provided by the catering team at the club and the evening was enjoyed by all.
Many thanks to Trish Barnes for taking photos of the weekend.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Type | Helm | Hcap | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| Class: 'RCC B' Mancuna Trophy |
|---|
| 1 | 262 | Jessie May | RRC B | Sally Dugdale | 0.9500 | 2 | (3) | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 9 | Goldfish | RRC B | Elysia Ferrier‑Hanger | 0.8800 | 1 | 1 | (2) | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 227 | Wanderer | RRC B | Paul Barker | 0.9300 | 3 | (5) | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 24 | Pippa | RRC B | Geoff Angell | 0.9300 | 4 | 4 | (5) | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 429 | Pickle | RRC B | Phil Montague | 0.8400 | (6) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| 6 | 7 | Forester | RRC B | Will Bentall | 0.9200 | 7 | (DNC) | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| 7 | 4 | Swallow | RRC B | Richard Lord | 0.9000 | 5 | 7 | (RET) | 7 | 19 |
| 8 | 403 | May | | Kevin Rhead | 0.9000 | (8) | 8 | 6 | 8 | 22 |
| 9 | 240 | Avocet | RRC B | Robert Branford | 0.8400 | (DNF) | 2 | DNC | DNC | 24 |
| 10 | 113 | Viking | RCC | Damien McKay | 0.9980 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 33 |
| Class: 'RCC A' Lady Caroline Trophy |
|---|
| 1 | 217 | Melinda | RRC A | P D Howes | 1100 | 3 | 1 | (6) | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 369 | Moonshadow | RRC A | Mandy Hovey | 1500 | 1 | 3 | 2 | (7) | 6 |
| 3 | 177 | Breeze | RCC | Matthew Ellis | 1400 | (4) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | 323 | Starlight Lady | RRC A | Nick Matthews | 1.1300 | (5) | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 | 18 | Vagabond | RRC A | Mike Collins | 0.9900 | 2 | (DNF) | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 6 | 300 | Matilda | RRC A | Anthony Landamore | 0.9900 | (6) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | 419 | Skylark | RRC A | Len Funnell | 1100 | (DNC) | DNC | 7 | 1 | 22 |
| 8 | 30 | Zingara | RRC A | Richie Dugdale | 1300 | 7 | (DNC) | 9 | 8 | 24 |
| 9 | 22 | MoonRaker | RRC A | P Jeckells | 1200 | (DNS) | 6 | 8 | DNC | 28 |
| 10 | 52 | Maidie | RRC A | Mike Barnes | 1.1400 | 8 | (RET) | DNC | DNC | 36 |
| 11 | 410 | India | RRC A | Tim Frary | 1.3000 | 9 | (RET) | DNC | DNC | 37 |
| 11= | 250 | Storm | RRC A | Matthew Thwaites | 1.1600 | (DNF) | DNF | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| 11= | 373 | Meggie | RRC A | Mark Tansley | 1.1600 | (DNS) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| RCC A & B combined Coronation Trophy |
|---|
| 1 | 262 | Jessie May | RRC B | Sally Dugdale | 0.9500 | Overall winner |