10th Anniversary Matt Trophy at Thames Estuary Yacht Club
by Jay Denny 30 Oct 2019 09:31 GMT
12 October 2019
10th Anniversary Matt Trophy © Tina Dear
The Matt Trophy 2019 10th Anniversary race was scheduled for a late September start. Unfortunately the day proved too windy for the young sailors and the race had to be postponed. However, it was rescheduled for the 12th October when light winds allowed the contest to go ahead.
Thirty-one boats from Thames Estuary, Thorpe Bay and Essex Yacht Clubs jostled around the line to start the race. The boats headed up to the first mark beating against the wind with the Lasers, 420, Topaz and RS Fevas rounding the mark first. Then it was a broad reach down to the second mark, followed by a run to the third, which allowed the RS Fevas and 420 to fly their asymmetric spinnakers producing a burst of relative speed in the force 1 breeze. This proved decisive for the race leaders Pippa Minton and Isabella Rainbow in the 420 and Hannah Cole and Lydia Stevenson in the leading RS who rounded the third mark to head for home closely followed by Luke Chapman in his Laser Radial.
The 420 crossed the line first in a time of 40.46 minutes, closely followed by the RS and Laser in times of 42.01 and 42.15 respectively with many boats close behind. The final boat, an Optimist, crossed the line in 1 hour 53 minutes and 39 seconds the thirtieth of the fleet.
Once all the boats had landed the contestants gathered in the TEYC clubhouse for a hot drink and burger eagerly awaiting the announcement of the PY corrected results. Finally, Chris and Tina Dear announced a win for Hannah and Lydia in the RS on corrected time with Pippa and Isabella in the 420 coming second and Luke Third. All five winning sailors were from Thorpe Bay Yacht Club but everybody had a fabulous time and did exceptionally well in the challenging light winds. After the prize giving and social everyone headed home thinking about how well they will do in next year's race. Race Report by, Thames Estuary Yacht Club
Find out more at www.matthewdearfoundation.co.uk/The-Matt-Trophy---2-0-1-9.html