Plym Yacht Club Dart Sails & Covers Friday Series 1 Review
by Plym Yacht Club 6 Jun 17:32 BST
Plym Yacht Club Fridays kicked off with a wide range of directions and strengths for the Dart Sails & Covers Series 1. 22 boats across the two fleets of IRC and YTC meant that in classic Plym style there was something for everyone. Ranging from a Squib to a Corby 35, the fleet continues to be the most diverse in Plymouth, and an assortment of courses keeps all entertained each Friday evening.
Whilst many clubs in the country are struggling with numbers on the water, it is pleasing to see PYC retaining good competitive boats on a Friday night, with a huge split between designs and classes providing competition across a wide range of experiences, but also an excellent gateway to racing. The youth team of Anthony Godwin's Etchells 22 Dire Straits has injected further diversity into the fleet, and Nathan Hanley's recently purchased Badabing has allowed him to expand his racing horizons too, bringing further sailors and experience into the fold. It was also pleasing to be joined by the 2 J/80s of UPYC on a Friday evening.
The Friday nights have been mostly unscathed from the unseasonal weather that has plagued the UK, with only one race lost to no wind. This gave crews the chance to witness the famous paddle steamer Waverly come into Plymouth Sound. In the 11 strong YTC fleet, Bootneck, the Squib of John Lewis won the YTC fleet comfortably, counting straight wins. The rest of the pack were quite close together, with a scoring penalty for a near miss in Race 2 bumping Janie Smallridge's Albin Ballad Duchess down to 3rd place by 1.2 points, narrowly behind the Impala of Kevin Palfreeman.
There are clearly no slouches in the IRC fleet, with 8 of the 11 boats scoring top 3 results over the series. Highlights included an impressive domination of race 6 by Mark Lewers' Dangerous When Wet saw him sailing around by himself for most of it, while Badabing had a bowman at the top of its mast for the whole second half of the race. Fittingly, the Dart Sails & Covers branded Formula 28 Stitch went on to win IRC comfortably, ahead of the J/24 of Mark Lewers. A strong first series for the RS21 of Stephen Brian - crewed exclusively by PYC Cadets - meant he leapfrogged Badabing the Humphreys 30, and the J/92S of Ann & Keith Whitfield, who finished tied on 19 points each.
After racing Plym Yacht Club is open to all, with sailing supper and beer available while racers discuss the evenings on-the-water shenanigans, while bottle prizes and branded Dart Sails & Covers prizes are awarded weekly. Series 2 of Fridays starts next week, and the enthusiasm is clearly infectious as we are expecting a Cork 1720 and another Laser 28 to join the ranks. A week later is the PYC Regatta is set for the 20/21 June, and entries are open for both. For more information or to get involved in Plymouth's biggest yacht racing night reach out on social media.
Full results can be found here.