Colne Yacht Club Coronation Cup Regatta
by John Paxman 6 Jul 2023 09:29 BST
30 June 2023
A big congratulations and well done to everyone involved in what turned out to be a very windy Coronation Cup.
After picking up their free drinks' tokens, 12 yachts braved the wind on Friday night for the Coronation Cup Pursuit Race. As the weekend was to be raced under the RYA YTC handicap it was interesting to see the difference in start times.
The brave little Catsnip set off first into the wind followed by Tabasco, three Sonatas and then Zinghy II. A good five minutes later came Aijay and the Dehlers shortly followed by Tigger, then Ostara. During the race personal battles were developing all around the course with boats swapping positions and winning them back again. Unfortunately, as the race progressed Ostara broke a track slider on the mainsail and had to pull out; fortunately, they were able to attach a new slider, ready for the main event, before most of us got back to the bar! With three minutes to go the fleet had bunched up and Tabasco, Zingy II and Radiance were jockeying for the win. When the final horn went it was Radiance who took the win, followed closely by Tabasco, then Zingy II.
Once we had dried out and got back to the club, we were able to enjoy a few drinks and Jacqui's excellent curry and rice whilst discussing how windy it had been and how well the YTC handicap had worked. Commodore, Adrian Gibbons, invited Mark White the sponsor from BUFA to hand out the prizes with much applause from the competitors. After which everyone went home content but very tired after a fantastic evening of racing.
Saturday morning ten yachts had turned out including the West Mersea yacht Mojito. The wind seemed to have dropped a little but there was still a reduced sail area on most yachts and seven boats had opted for the white sail fleet. Two races were sailed back-to-back on similar courses with one boat registering a 30 knt gust just off the Mersea shore.
With the time limit per race being 90 minutes, race one was shortened and when the results were calculated, Zingy..er had won with Mojito coming second and Tabasco third. In the white sail fleet, MK4 placed first, followed by Radiance then Flyer.
Race two had slight adjustments in the course and also had to be shortened which saw first place be taken by Mojito, second by Zingy..er and Ostara third. Ostara also took first place in the white sail fleet with second and third being taken by MK4 and Flyer respectively.
The fleet returned ashore earlier than planned, so the prize-giving was pulled forward to give the sailors a chance to rest before the evening events which included the Pimm's Bar, Jacqui's fantastic lasagne for dinner and finishing off with dancing to Contraband. A big shout out to all the hospitality staff for their sterling work on the night.
As Sunday morning dawned the wind had increased but the sun was out. Two crews met at Victoria Cafe for breakfast and discussed their antics from the previous night, one of which managed to fit a pub crawl in before coming back to the club to party.
At 10:30 the horn went, the fleet shot off of the West line and headed for No17, leaving two boats sitting on the Mersea shore mud. At 17 Mojito popped up her asymmetric spinnaker and led the way, fighting against the incoming tide towards Inner Bench. Once again the course was shortened leaving Mojito to take the win, Zingy..er second and Radiance third. In the white sail fleet it was first for Radiance, second for Ostara, and third for Flyer.
The final race started shortly after race three had finished. Unfortunately, one boat was too busy eating their sandwiches to realise that the start sequence had begun, making them a minute late at the start. Now fighting the ebb tide the fleet headed to No17 then out to No9, back to No17 then to the finish. The final race saw again a win for Mojito, with Zingy..er in second and third place for Radiance. White sail fleet results were a first for Radiance, second for Ostara, and Mayhem in third place.
A lot of tired happy sailors met back at the club, some of which had just competed in their first ever three day event. Mark White from BUFA once again dished out the prizes in front of an appreciative crowd and special thanks were given to the Race Officials, Peter Coupland and Adrian Gibbons, who managed the racing in what could be said were extreme conditions.
Congratulations go to Mojito for winning the Coronation Cup and Radiance for winning the white sail fleet.
A special thank you came from Toby and the crew of Mojito to everyone at CYC for hosting a great event. See you next year?