2012 Setley Cup and Seahorse Trophy at Setley Pond, Lymington

2012 Setley Cup © Laura Wade

(l to r) 2012 Setley Cup winner Annabelle Hutchinson, PRO Stuart Jardine, Seahorse Trophy winner Emma Bennett © Ann Brunskill

In the narrowest of weather windows on an otherwise dreadful day, the 2012 Setley Cup was contested on a much larger than normal Setley Pond near Lymington. After weeks of heavy rain, the car park was well underwater and the banks were unusually steep and slippery. The conditions clearly didn't put off the competitors with a huge turnout of nearly 50 boats together with a large crowd of spectators.

The Setley Cup is a New Forest area Boxing Day tradition that has been going many decades. The rules are simple; any model boat less than 66cm in length, up to 0.5 metres squared of sail and no stored power, radio control or moveable ballast. The boats are launched by children under 16. Two fleets race; the monohulls for the Setley Cup and multihulls for the Seahorse Trophy. Five races with one discard would decide the winners.

Designs ranged from semi-professional carbon fibre hulls and rigs, to Christmas Day specials including turkey foil & wrapping paper sails, plastic bottle hulls and everything in-between.

Racing started close to 11am with the monohulls off first, followed a few minutes later by the multihulls. Conditions started with a fair breeze and the promise of far more to come. As predicted, the wind increased exponentially through the series, often flattening the fleet and stretching the capacity of the McEwen rescue service.

Twenty-three monohulls contested the Setley Cup, with 10 boats finishing 3 or more races – an excellent performance in the gusty conditions. Annabelle Hutchinson's 'Skittle Boat' dominated, notching up 3 wins to take the trophy by a comfortable margin from Sean Jardine's 'Planet' which was tied on points with George Dunsdon's 'Robber'.

24 multihulls entered, racing for the Seahorse Trophy, although conditions quickly decimated the fleet with a number turn-turtled and some crossing the flooded car-park, bewildering the New Forest ponies. Emma Bennett's 'Wild Cat' flew on starboard tack to take the trophy with 2 firsts and a 2nd, while Alex Walters' 'Maxicat' thumped the fleet on port tack with 2 firsts, but proved unable to finish a single race on starboard, therefore only finishing 5th. Second and third places overall were taken by Daisy Baker's 'Tri Tube' and Sam Jardine's 'Tri Ketch' respectively with strings of consistent results.

Many thanks to all the supporters, families, helpers, boat builders and especially the young helmsmen who gladly waded into the pond well over their boots. Special thanks to PRO Stuart Jardine and Jane Pitt-Pitts and the umpires; David & Ann Brunskill, Rick Walters, Chris Baldwick, John Evans and Ado Jardine. An extra-special thanks must be given to the rescue team of Luke and Emma McEwen, who put in a sterling effort in the rowboat, returning a huge number of stranded boats to their helms after each race.

Many thanks also to Solent Radio Controlled Model Boat Club who pay an annual rental to the Forestry Commission for continued use of the pond as a model boat venue, allowing the Setley Cup to go ahead each year. More photos can also be found on the Solent Radio Controlled Model Boat Club website.

Overall Results: