Port of Plymouth Regatta

by Elaine O’Flaherty 3 Aug 2012 15:50 BST 21-29 July 2012

The annual Port of Plymouth Regatta promised 'Something for Everyone' and delivered just that in the excellent sailing waters of Plymouth Sound. The regatta, sponsored by the Cattewater Harbour Commission, spanned eight days with a full weekend of yacht racing, followed by evening racing for yachts and dinghies and a second full weekend of dinghy racing. Also offered were a white sail race for the less competitive, a Rookie series for youngsters who have little racing experience and two races for the Classic Boats.

The regatta made a fine start On Saturday 21st July, which, in stark contrast to the previous weeks dawned with light breezes, variable winds and a slight dose of mist to challenge Dave Curno, the Race Officer. However the six races provided close competition in all five fleets. The IRC fleet was dominated by Wave Warrior, sailed by Angus McPhie, who won four of the races to take the overall trophy. The racing in the PY A fleet was closely fought but finally Peter Brooke-Houghton was the overall winner in Out of the Blue.

Competition was also very tight in the PY B class, where Eddie Harper's two wins on the first day in his Squib Quicksilver were enough to secure him the overall prize. Adrian Bennett took an early lead in his J24 Skilled Services winning three first places, while Joburg sailed by Phil Hooper led the Trapper fleet from the start. On Saturday the regatta incorporated the RYA Sail for Gold day, with a white sail race which attracted 13 entries, and was won by Eric Bates in Rumpleteazer.

As sailors returned to the race HQ at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club on Saturday they were greeted by Glen Ray and his Caribbean Steel Drums, and later enjoyed music by Swamp Ash. The weekend concluded with the presentation of daily and overall prizes, sailing suppers and the free prize draws sponsored by Hempel.

The regatta continued throughout the week with a complete contrast of racing and venue in a separate mini series. The yachts and dinghies visited various local clubs, which offered an opportunity to try river racing as well as the open waters of the Sound.

The Dinghy series took place the on the second weekend in fairly blustery conditions, however Race Officer Keith Kendall managed seven competitive races for the five classes. Keith also provided an extra day of racing to offer 10 races for the Laser 5000's, who came to Plymouth for their European championships. The Asymmetric class was dominated by Henry Marshall, who won six of the seven races, while four first and three seconds in the Enterprise class ensured victory for Rob Beaton.

The Fast Handicap was a very mixed class with 12 different boat types, and was won by the International Canoe sailed by Chris Hampe, followed in second place by a Fireball and in third by a Tasar. Slow Handicap was another mixed fleet where four Feva's competed with six other boats, but four wins secured the trophy for Kim Vasey in a Solo. Second place went to the first of the Feva's, and 3rd to a Lightning.

The Laser Radials had their own class which was won by James Torr, and Mark Reynell secured the overall prise in the Laser 5000's with six wins from the 10 races.

The second weekend of the regatta included the Plymouth Classic Boat Rally and the Barbican Jazz and Blues Festival. The magnificent classic boats were in full sail on the Sunday, when they raced a course which took them around the Breakwater. Another evening of live music and prizegiving ended the regatta on a high note.

Weekend overall results - IRC

1st Wave Warrior (Angus McPhie)
2nd Purple Haze (Adrian Bishop)
3rd Joie de Vivre (Adam James)

Weekend overall results - Yacht PY A

1st Out of the Blue (Peter Brooke-Houghton)
2nd Alice (Chris Davison)
3rd Fundamental (Sean Koehler)

Weekend overall results - Yacht PY B

1st Quicksilver (Eddie Harper)
2nd Top Dog (Tom Weatherby)
3rd Calvados (Keith Woodgate)

Weekend overall results - Trapper

1st Joburg (Phil Hooper)
2nd Pearl (Stuart Jones)
3rd Spy Trapper (Kieron Kennedy)

Weekend overall results - J24

1st Skilled Services (Adrian Bennett)
2nd Hijack (Mark Lewers)
3rd Jawbreaker (David Cooper)

Weekend overall results - White sail Race

1st Rumpleteazer (Eric Bates)
2ndBoots (Steven Dart)
3rd Chi Mai (John Derrick)

The team prize was won by Saltash Sailing Club, with Plym Yacht Club coming second, and the Yacht of the Regatta was awarded to Adrian Bennett in Skilled Services.

Weekend overall results - Asymmetric dinghies

1st Buzz (Henry Marshall)
2nd RS400 Keiron Kennedy
3rd RS400 Ken Pearce

Weekend overall results - Enterprise

1st Egg n Spoon (Rob Beaton)
2nd No Nails (Billy Bartlett)
3rd Different Shade (Peter Ganderton)

Weekend overall results - Fast Handicap

1st Monkey (Chris Hampe)
2nd Klass Fireball (Dan Ellis)
3rd Dances with Waves (Steve Mitchell)

Weekend overall results - Slow handicap

1st Hannah (Kim Vasey)
2nd Feva 1458 (Jamiie Butterworth)
3rd Blue Moon (Hugh Spencer)

Weekend overall results - Laser Radials

1st James Torr
2nd Lovely Day (Max Horrill)
3rd Pifle, (Peter Barton)

Weekend overall results - Laser 5000

1st Rex (Mark Reynell)
2nd Army (Taff Owens)
3rd Thomas Sauvel