Port of Plymouth Regatta
by Clare Gilbert 11 Aug 2010 10:39 BST
24 July - 1 August 2010
This year’s Port of Plymouth Regatta, which finished on August 1st after nine days of activities offshore and onshore, has been hailed a success by organisers and sponsors.
David Wines, Regatta Organiser, said: “The racing throughout was top quality and very competitive. First class race management, better courses, and the introduction of White Sail races, have generated a lot of positive feedback and will definitely allow us to build on the popularity of the event.”
Racing got underway with a full weekend of closely fought yacht racing sponsored by Westways and the Mayflower Marina, with PRO, Mike Pearson, setting excellent courses north of Plymouth Breakwater on the Saturday, and south of it on the Sunday.
The IRC fleet was dominated by John McLaren’s Maridadi, which despite the best efforts of Roy Morgan’s Sir Ducktion, ran out a very convincing winner with six firsts from seven races.
Tight racing in the PY fleet resulted in several protests, all of which were settled amicably by arbitration, leaving Stuart Woodger’s Magnum Evolution Locust the winner ahead of Jeff Foster’s Dehler 29 Persuasion. Competition was equally tight in the one design classes.
The Squib Class saw a great battle between Charlie and Babs Thomson who took an early series lead in Archimedes, and the eventual winners, on countback, David Wines and Tony Proctor in White Magic. In the Devon Yawl Class, a first for the Regatta,Tim Petitt’s Mistletoe won all three races and sailed on Sunday to be the overall series winner. Meanwhile in the J24 fleet, Stig McDonald and George Kerr’s Jam 2, had a terrific battle with Adrian Bennet’s Djinn before clinching overall victory by a single point. Things were far more clear cut in the Trapper 300 Class where Phil Hooper’s Joburg swept the board to win all seven races and the Yacht of the Regatta award. The Yacht Team Trophy was won by West Hoe Sailing Club.
Entrants in the Raymarine sponsored White Sail Races, enjoyed two excellent races over a course which took them out of the Sound to marks off Rame Head and the River Yealm. The winner of both races and the two race series was Ian Dunbar Rees’ Serendipity, with Peter Sim’s Aquilon second, and John Elder’s Stargazer third. The second Saturday of the Regatta saw the yachts competing in the Plymouth Yacht Haven Champagne Race, a coastal race for IRC and PY yachts sailed over a 26 mile coastal course which this year took them down the coast to the Ranneys Buoy off Looe.
In the IRC Class Roy Morgan in Sir Ducktion completed the course in four and a half hours to win the champagne, while Jeff Foster, who finished an hour later in Persuasion, took the honours in the PY Class. Shoreside the location of the Regatta HQ at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club, with a superb view over the Sound, proved a great hit, as did the BBQs which greeted competitors when they came ashore, the daily prize giving and champagne draw, and the live music from “Stone the Crows” and “Faux Furs”.
Once again the main sponsor of the Regatta was the Cattewater Harbour Commission. Captain Tim Charlesworth, the Cattewater Harbour Master, who presented the prizes to the class winners said:“Cattewater Harbour Commissioners are very pleased to be the main sponsor for this event. Sailing in Plymouth is a tradition which we are proud to support and very much hope the event goes from strength to strength in the years to come. The Regatta Committee and volunteers should all be congratulated on providing superb racing afloat and excellent entertainment ashore. The yacht racing in the first part of the week was reported to be of a high standard, and whilst the weather and lack of wind put a slight damper on the dinghy events overall the Regatta was a resounding success.”
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Plymouth’s first female Lord Mayor who was elected in May this year, presented the Yacht of the Regatta award. Other sponsors of the event this year were Plymouth City Council, Sutton Harbour Group, Mountbatten Watersports and Activity Centre, Ullman Sails, Mayflower Marina, Westways, Plymouth Yacht Haven and Raymarine.
For full results see the Port of Plymouth Regatta website.