Thames A Rater Nationals at Upper Thames Sailing Club

by Mark Laity 7 Jun 2003 08:55 BST

24-28 May 2003

Photos © Mark Laity Vagabond(13), built in 1907 won the Queen's Cup, the most sought after trophy, at the Thames A Rater nationals at Upper Thames SC this year Carina on its way to winning the overall Thames Championship at the Rater nationals at Upper Thames SC

A commanding performance by the 1907-built Vagabond saw it take the Queen’s Cup during the Thames A Rater national championships at Bourne End, while the 1903-built Carina celebrated its centenary with victory in the Thames Championship Trophy.

The championships, hosted by Upper Thames SC, see 8 races sailed over 4 days. The 5th day is dedicated to the prestigious Queen’s Cup (presented by Queen Victoria in 1893), a one-off, nine mile race. The three-crew river yachts date from the early 1900s, but their massive sail areas and modern rigs make them unbeatable on the river.

The regatta was sailed in generally light breezes. Favourite was the newly-restored Carina, sailed by Ossie Stewart, which had the massive advantage of a 5% handicap allowance. Carina showed some good pace, but on Day 1 it was Martin Hunter’s Spindrift, 2002’s leading boat, who won the Clayton-Jackson Cup.

On Day 2 the fleet split quickly with Paul Browning in Osprey followed closely by Miles Palmer in Vagabond leading by some margin in the morning. In the afternoon Vagabond and Spindrift led, with Vagabond passing Spindrift right at the end to take line honours. Carina was well back, but her generous handicap saw her win the Scamp Cup, beating Vagabond in the afternoon by 2 seconds.

Day 3 saw glorious weather and a shift of wind direction, which in the morning played to the local knowledge of Terry Palmer and Kingfisher. In the afternoon Julian Smith in Atlantis and Spindrift led, with a gybing dual in the last 50m that saw Atlantis take the Commodores’ Cup.

By Day 4 the winds died further and roll tacking up the bank was the order of the day. The afternoon race was dominated by Spindrift and Vagabond. As the pair approached the leeward (and finishing) mark Spindrift gybed to protect the inside just as the shorten course flag was raised, enabling Vagabond to harden up and drive over Spindrift to win the Wokefield Cup by a metre.

However the Championship was won overall by the handicap-assisted Carina, followed by the unlucky Spindrift, and Vagabond. Nevertheless, for Rater sailors the gruelling Queen’s Cup is most sought after. In very light airs, Carina and Vagabond led the fleet away, although early on several boats, including Jonathan Smith in Scamp, Atlantis, Osprey and Spindrift fought it out.

However, the regular duelling partners of Spindrift and Vagabond reached the windward mark first and for two laps Spindrift continually covered the ever-pressing Vagabond. Then Spindrift’s main halyard broke. With extraordinary speed Spindrift’s crew rolled her onto the bank, made repairs and got going, but once Vagabond was through Palmer seemed to find another gear. By the time he reached the next home mark the rest of the fleet were not even in sight of the Bourne End crowd, and Vagabond eventually lapped all but five of the fleet, winning by 20 minutes! Spindrift won a tough battle to take second at the line, only to be overhauled on handicap by Carina.

Results:

Clayton-Jackson Cup

1st Spindrift, Martin Hunter, Chris Downham, Jeremy Kearns
2nd Osprey, Paul Browning, Justin Dunn, Graham Bartholomew
3rd Carina, Ossie Stewart, Hywel Bowen-Perkins, Jamie Stewart

Scamp Cup

1st Carina, Ossie Stewart, Hywel Bowen-Perkins, Jamie Stewart

Commodores’ Cup

1st Atlantis, Julian Smith, Ted Cocker, Michael Lanzer

Wokefield Challenge Cup

1st Vagabond, Miles Palmer, Paul Armitage, Mark Laity

Dunn Cup(1st wooden boat without handicap)

1st Vagabond, Miles Palmer, Adrian Hart, Mark Laity

Thames Championship Cup

1st Carina, Ossie Stewart, Hywel Bowen-Perkins, Jamie Stewart
2nd Spindrift, Martin Hunter, Chris Downham, Jeremy Kearns
3rd Vagabond, Miles Palmer, Paul Armitage, Mark Laity

Queens Cup

1st Vagabond, Miles Palmer, Paul Armitage, Mark Laity
2nd Carina, Ossie Stewart, Hywel Bowen-Perkins, Jamie Stewart
3rd Spindrift, Martin Hunter, Chris Downham, Jeremy Kearns

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat Type	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	Pts
1st	Thames Chapionship Trophy	5	Carina	Ossie Stewart	Hywel Perkins	Jamie Stewart	Thames SC
2nd		14	Spindrift	Martin Hunter	Chris Downham	Jeremy Kearns	Thames SC
3rd		13	Vagabond	Miles Palmer	Paul Armitage	Mark Laity	Thames SC
4th	Queen's Cup	13	Vagabond	Miles Palmer	Paul Armitage	Mark Laity	Thames SC
5th	Clayton-Jackson Cup	14	Spindrift	Martin Hunter	Chris Downham	Jeremy Kearns	Thames SC
6th	Scamp Cup	5	Carina	Ossie Stewart	Hywel Perkins	Jamie Stewart	Thames SC
7th	Commodores' Cup	15	Atlantis	Julian Smith	Ted Cocker	Michael Lanzer	Thames SC
8th	Wokefield Cup	13	Vagabond	Miles Palmer	Paul Armitage	Mark Laity	Thames SC
9th	Dunn Cup (1st wooden boat without handicap)	13	Vagabond	Miles Palmer	Paul Armitage	Mark Laity	Thames SC