155th Annual Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club Regatta - Overall
by Adam Saltonstall 20 Aug 2012 14:35 BST
11-18 August 2012
With Team GB's success on the water still ringing in the ears of many up and down the country, the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club's annual regatta was perfectly timed to follow in Ben Ainslie and co's example to 'Sail for Gold'. Over the course of the week 32 boats enjoyed fantastic sailing in Bridlington Bay for the club's 155th annual regatta, across 4 different classes and in 3 special handicap races.
The cadets' race and ladies' race started the proceedings on Saturday. William Jones retained the Margaret and George Rose Bowl as the leading under-21 helm on Porkers in the cadets' race, whilst Linda Dyson laid claim yet again to the House of Fraser Rose Bowl (for an incredible 7th year in a row!) Saturday also provided The Commodore and his flag officers with the first opportunity to cast their watchful eye over the fleet, with Robin Smythe's refurbished YOD, Jesta, impressing as they won the Norman Cooke Cup for the smartest yacht.
Sunday saw racing proper begin, with 29 boats competing across 4 classes, the PY class, were Cruisers compete on handicapped times, the clubs oldest class – The Yorkshire One Designs – which are located exclusively in Bridlington and boast a history of over 114years! The remaining 2 classes, The National Squib class and Contessa 26 class are both popular classes nationally for One Design racing with the Squibs offering a cheaper and more accessible option, requiring only 2 persons to sail them competitively, whilst the Contessa 26s allow more comfortable sailing, with cabin and bunking room.
The largest cruiser class to compete in Regatta week for a number of years saw visiting yacht Hippie Chick enjoy close racing on the water with Starchick and Endeavour. The 3 boats took a share of the 'wins across the line' but it was Daisy Dog which won 7 of the 10 races, whilst Starchick and Sundance won the remaining 3 races. Daisy Dog, owned and helmed by Steve Travis, won the Voluta Cup for the overall series, with Starchick, owned by Bob Wallace and Mike Kaye, winning the 1922 Roland Winn cup for winning the coastal race to Scarborough and back.
In the National Squib Class, 5 boats competed for a number of trophies available for various achievements over the course of the week. Porkers, owned and sailed by Tony Saltonstall and Neil Orum, won 5 of the first 6 races to win the North of England Championships. However, true to the saying "It's a game of 2 halves", Ghost, sailed by Gerard Dyson and Adam Saltonstall won the final the following 4 races of the week, leaving the 2 boats tied on points meaning that the result between the 2 boats in the final race would decide the overall winner of the Regatta series! At 5pm on Friday the race got underway and it was last year's winner, Ghost, which emerged successful, winning the final race with visiting squib, Grey Matter, owned by Bob Smales of the Humber Yawl YC, moving Porkers down to 3rd. Ghost won the Fairy Cup for the winner of the series overall and the Talurit Trophy for the second half of the week.
9 Yorkshire One Designs competing for the Regatta series, including 4 of the original 8 114-year-old YODs, and the more recent addition, Patience, Y16, which was built and added to the fleet to mark the turn of the Millennium. Day one got off to a flying start for Neil Pavely's Iolanthe, Y6, which won the first 2 races of the series. However it was Tim Rix and Mark Egglestone's Blackie, Y1, crewed by Tim's son Robbie, which took the rest of the week, and the club, by storm as they won the remaining 9 races. This set of results not only landed them The Royal Prince's Parade Cup for the YOD series, but also possibly the most coveted trophy for the week. The Commodore's Rose Bowl is awarded for the best performance by any yacht in any class, based solely on the number of races won in each fleet, and Blackie's achievements could not be bettered by any other boat. And the silverware didn't stop their for Blackie as able-crewman Robbie also won the Simon Nettleton Trophy for the best performance by an RYYC cadet, as voted for by competitors across the week.
The 4th and final class of the week, the Contessa 26s was hotly contested by 6 boats, with Contessa Juliet and Tessador, owned by Jeff Preece and Keith Richardson respectively, sharing the spoils over the week. Tessador won 6 of the 9 races over the week, leaving them as the overall winner of the series in their long-over-due return to racing following a 2-year absence, whilst Contessa Juliet won the 3 remaining races, including the coastal race to Scarborough.
The final day of Regatta week saw 15 boats compete in the Guy Shackles race, where all boats entered for racing are invited to take part in one mass start and race around one of the club's pre-set bay races. The competitive nature of the sailors was apparent as 3 boats were over-eager at the start, being recalled to restart. Ghost, Porkers and Starchick set the early pace with Hippie Chick making a late charge on the 2nd leg of the course. Hippie Chick eventually crossed the line 1st, chased by Ghost, Porkers and Starchick. On corrected time however it was Ghost which added to her silverware, with Porkers 2nd, Hippie Chick 3rd, True Blue 4th and First Fling 5th.
A huge thank you on behalf of the Flag Officers to all of our sponsors, including ERYC, KPMG and Lloyds TSB, amongst others. Next year's Regatta will start on Saturday 3rd August 2013. Anyone interested in taking part, including any visiting yachts from any other club, are encouraged to contact the club office on 01262 672041 or through www.ryyc.org.uk at the earliest opportunity. Anyone who has been 'inspired' by the Olympics and/or interested in general membership should also contact the club in the same way.