Sussex Yacht Club Royal Escape Race Overall

To mark the Silver Jubilee of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, Linda Morgan of the. Old Ship Hotel proposed that SYC organise a yacht race from Brighton to Shoreham to celebrate the escape of Charles II from Brighton to Fécamp in 1649. This has been held regularly since and the 25th Race was held on 25th May 2001.

The skippers of the 89 boats registered were briefed at a reception for crews at the Old Ship Hotel, Brighton on Thursday evening by the Commodore of SYC, Richard Jackson, assisted by Rod Patching. Because the race was due to start at low water, boats could not sail from Southwick and most competitors spent the night at Brighton Marina.

Following the trauma of the 2000 race the Commodore placed most emphasis on security especially the need for signing on, signing off and boat identification. He also presented the latest weather forecast of a NE wind of about Force 4. He felt confident that he could promise that the weather would not be worse than in 2000.

On Friday morning the fleet assembled off Brighton beach watched by a large crowd. In the absence of HMS Pursuer the committee boat was a large wooden ketch SY Rosita. The signal for starting the race was the flag breaking from the committee boat but skippers were helped by a starting cannon preceded by warning shots five and four minutes before, by a radio countdown and by a RNLI maroon released from the Old Ship Hotel by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove. At 0800 the IRC Fleet of larger and faster boats set off for the BMYC1 buoy in a NE3 wind. At 0815 the second cannon signalled the start for the main PY fleet.

After watching the start of the race from the roof of the Old Ship Hotel, local dignitaries headed by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Harry Steer, were entertained to a champagne breakfast at the Old Ship Hotel hosted by Cliff Jenkins, Director, of the Sussex Yacht Club.

For the long leg from Brighton Marina to the Greenwich Meridian light vessel there was a following wind sometimes rising to Force 5 and for most boats this was an exercise in spinnaker management. Some flew spinnakers for the whole leg but for some who took a different course to allow for tidal drift and other effects, frequent changes were required.

The final leg was a broad reach and the first boat to arrive, Moose on the Loose, took only ten minutes longer than the shortest crossing ever previously achieved in a Royal Escape Race. By 1830 BST the wind was falling and in the harbour had died completely but one third of the fleet had arrived.

By 2200 the falling wind and fast falling tide meant that some boats were stopped within a mile of the finishing line. The majority opted to motor for the last few minutes but a few brave purists waited for the tide and wind to change and finished between 0400 and 0500 keeping the Finish Monitoring Team led by Frank Kay on duty. The official SYC Dinner was held at the Hotel Normandy on Saturday evening and was attended by 137 participants and guests. The Commodore Richard Jackson welcomed all present and thanked the French officials who had helped to make this event a success. He went on the give the results and remind all present that the prizes would be given at the dinner at the Old Ship Hotel on 8th June. The Deputy Mayor, Mme Syrat, welcomed the English visitors to Fécamp.

The President of the Société de Regattes de Fécamp, Jean-Paul Desjardins, presented the Line Honours Cup to Moose on the Loose. Duncan Money in accepting the Cup, congratulated SYC on the excellent organisation of the Race both in 2000 when conditions were so bad and in 2001 and the SRF for their support The Family trophy was won by Ascent from Newhaven and Alan Salvidge was given a voucher for shopping in Fécamp by Dany Prévot.

After the dinner most of the guests adjourned to the clubhouse of SRF for disco dancing until the early hours. At midday on Sunday they re-appeared for a wine and cheese party hosted by the Friends of the Royal Escape.

The final act will be the Gala Dinner at the Old Ship Hotel on Friday 8th June when prizes will be presented to the winners in the various classes, listed on the next page

Overall Results:

In addition, Moose on the Loose came within 10 minutes of the course record.

One of the first yachts to return to the Brighton Marina on Sunday evening, was 2nd place Freebird. Robert Hope, Royal Escape race committee member for the SYC met up with the skipper, Mike Tierney, enjoying a cup of tea at the Brighton Marina Yacht Club building on the harbour arm. Mike attributed the success of the first three yachts from the Brighton Marina, who sailed a similar course, to tactics such as taking a different course from the fleet, which enabled them to use their spinnakers in the early stages plus exceptional navigation from Dr Lee Gibson, to reduce the total elapsed time.

The cups and prizes will be presented at the Prize Giving Dinner and Dance at the Old Ship Hotel on Friday 8th June. The Mayor of Brighton and Hove City will be in attendance and the cheque will be presented to the nominated charities.

The Charities

The Jubilee Sailing Trust

The Jubilee Sailing Trust is dedicated to bringing together able bodied and physically disabled people through the medium of tall ship sailing. It was established in 1978 and for the last 16 years has operated the ‘Lord Nelson’, which is the world’s first square rigged sailing ship to be specially designed and built to enable men and women of all physical disabilities to share the challenge of crewing tall ships at sea.

Sussex Sailability is a newly formed group, formed in conjunction with the recent successful lottery grant to the Sussex Yacht Club. Four dinghies, suitable for disabled use have been purchased and the group is already up and running. An expanded programme is under way to introduce disabled people from all over Sussex to dinghy sailing and to encourage them, after training, to join local clubs and continue with this activity, which can be undertaken by people with a wide variety of disabilities, on an equal footing with the able-bodied.

More Information:

• Sussex Yacht Club