30th River Exe Regatta at Topsham Sailing Club
by Paul Kelley 22 Jul 2023 20:42 BST
8-9 July 2023
River Exe Regatta 2023 © Heather Davies
Topsham Sailing Club hosted the 30th River Exe Regatta over the weekend of July 8th and 9th and once again Tozers Solicitors, Exe Sails & Canvas and Wilkinson Grant Estate Agents, kindly and very generously supporting the regatta again as the main sponsors. We were also pleased to welcome Exmouth Marina this year as a sponsor. Without the support of all our sponsors we could not run these events and we are hugely grateful to them all for their kind help and continued support this year.
Money raised by the regatta helps the participating clubs to invest in sailing training and safety courses and fund training programmes for younger sailors and this continues to go from strength-to-strength. Promoting sailing and encouraging adults and juniors to take up sailing and indeed, other water-sports and including fishing is one of the, if not primary initiatives of the regatta committee.
Although Topsham.S.C hosted and formally chaired the regatta, it was Starcross Y.C. that oversaw the race organisation and actual racing over the weekend. This year saw a total of 62 dinghies taking part in the regatta over the two days of racing, which were separated into four fleets - Fast Handicap, Slow Handicap, Junior and Multihull. Because of the tidal restrictions, racing started early in the morning at 10.00. The OOD waisted no time in getting the racing started on time in a very light southerly breeze, with many of the competitors battling against the fast flooding tide and some struggling to make across the start line. However, the wind very kindly increased in strength enough for three rounds to be completed.
The racing proved very close amongst the leaders in all fleets but by the finish, the Fast Handicap Fleet was won by Tim Coombes and James Beer sailing their Hornet 2077, with Nigel Scudder and Keith Hills sailing their Hornet 2160 taking second and Oli Greenslade sailing his Phantom 1497 taking third place.Simon Greenslade won the Slow Handicap race in his Solo 6033, with Liam McGrath sailing his K1 73 into second. Third in race one was Paul Kelley in his Solo 6059.
The Junior Fleet was won by Theo Whiter sailing his Laser Radial rig very expertly, with Tom Solly sailing his RS Tera Sport in second place and Rowan Greeves and Emma Kazor in their RS Feva 8 finishing in third place. The Multihull Fleet race one being won by Ben Cutlet-Sharp and Kez Cutler-Sharp in their Hurricane 429, with Rupert Greeves and Caleb Greeves in Hurricane 380 in second and Jeremy Lees and Julia Green in Hurricane 276 taking third place.
Race two started in a much stronger breeze and a now ebbing tide. Unfortunately halfway through the race the heavens opened, with everyone getting pretty drenched - not forgetting the safety boat crews. The Fast Handicap was won by Richard (Figgy) Cain and Barny Dearsly sailing their Rs400 411. Second place was Dave Lee and Angela Bridges in Merlin 3799, with Oli Greenslade sailing his Phantom 1497. The Slow Fleet race was won by Paul Bartlett sailing his RS Areo 3438. In second place was Mike Bagge sailing his Laser Radial, with third place being taken by Chris Tilbrook and Stephen Scriven in their Lark 1949. The Junior Fleet race was won by Henry Reed and Ollie Wilson in their RS Feva, with Martin Falle in second place in his Topper from Fergus Stockman in his Topper taking third place. The multihull race was won by Rupert and Caleb Greeves, with Jeremy Lees and Julia Green in second place from Robert Ponting and Eloise Smith.
Saturday nights Regatta Party was hosted by Lymsptone Sailing Club and what a fantastic evening and party they laid on for all the regatta sponsors, competitors and their families. The party was accompanied with live music provided by a fantastic band called "Reckless". There was excellent food and hydration a plenty and with good music too, everyone enjoyed a really enjoyable evening, superbly organised and laid on by Lympstone Sailing Club and their members.
Sunday morning dawned with a light to moderate southerly breeze. The Race Officer and his excellent team once again made sure the racing started on time at 1030, with all the fleets getting away cleanly off the start line. The course was a simple 'P' course configuration for the monohull racing, with the multihull fleet sailing upwind/downwind course. During the race, the wind did become rather patchy in strength, which made things very challenging and possibly frustrating at times.
After a long race, sailing in a challenging breeze the Fast Handicap fleet was won by Dave Lee and Angela Bridges sailing their Merlin, with Richard Cain and Barny Dearsly in their RS400 taking second place from Richard Garry and Sam Woolner (CO Exe Sails & Covers and regatta sponsor), finishing third in Hornet 2154. The Slow Fleets third race was once again won by Paul Bartlett in his Aero from Robert Jones sailing his Blaze 831 from Paul Jacobs in his Solo 6003. The Junior Fleet racing was once again keenly contested. Winner of race three was Martin Falle sailing his Topper 5.3, with Henry Reed and Ollie Wilson in their RS Feva XL finishing in second from Tom Solly in his RS Feva in third. The multihull racing was again keenly fort with Ben Cutler-Sharp and Kez taking line hounors in their Hurricane 429 from John Donovan and Nigel Hingston in Hurricane 454 who in turn beat Rupert and Cabel Greeves who finished in third place.
Race 4 was possibly the most challenging of the four race series. Initially the wind was a good 10-12 knots, again for the south and agin the strength was up and down, dependant on which part of the course area you were in. Again the racing was hard fought through out the four fleets. Unfortunately, dark black clouds loomed and on the last round the heavens opened and truly this time. In fact, the ferocity of the rain was like no one had ever experienced. It was literally like standing under a power shower. The waves disappeared, with the water being completely flattened as a result.
The Fast Fleet race was won by Richard Cain and Barny Dearsly in their RS400, with Richard Garry and Same Woolner finishing in second from Dave Lee and Angela Bridges in third. The Slow Fleet was once again won by Paul Bartlett in his RS Aero from Simon Greenslade in his Solo in second, with Mike Bagge sailing his Laser Radial finishing third. The Junior Fleet race was won Martin Falle sailing his Topper, with Henry Reed and Ollie Wilson sailing their RS Feva XL into second place from Tom Jolly sailing his RS Feva Sport taking third. The Multihull Fleet race was again won by Ben and Kez Cutlet-Sharp from Rupert and Caleb Greeves, with John Donovan and Nigel Hingston taking third place at the gun.
The prize-giving was held at Starcross Yacht Club, with prizes being presented by Tozers and Exe Sails & Covers, with the company of Starcross Yacht Club's Commodore. Prizes were awarded to the first five boats in each fleet. After the prize-giving, the sponsors and competitors all enjoyed a most excellent regatta tea, with very many thanks to all those involved over the weekend behind the galley for looking after everyone so well. Thanks must go to the safety boat crews for their sterling efforts!
The overall results after four races and one discard are as follows below. The overall Exe Regatta Trophy was won by Paul Bartlett.
Overall Results:
Fast Handicap Fleet
1st - RS400 411 Richard Cain and Barny Dearsly
2nd - Merlin Rocket 3739 Dave Lee and Angela Bridges
3rd - Hornet 2077 Tim Coombes and James Beer
4th - Hornet 2160 Nigel Scudder and Keith Hills
5th - Hornet 2154 Richard Garry and Sam Woolner
Slow Handicap Fleet
1st - RS Aero 3438 Paul Bartlett
2nd - Solo 6033 Simon Greenslade
3rd - Laser Radial 176836 Mike Bagge
4th - Lark 1949 Chris Tillbrook and Stephen Scriven
5th - K1 37 Liam McGrath
Junior Fleet
1st - Topper 34561 Martin Falle
2nd - RS Feva XL 8352 Henry Reed and Ollie Wilson
3rd - RS Tera 3900 Tom Solly
4th - Laser Radial 16771 Theo Whiter
5th - Topper 44868 Fergus Stockman
Multihull Fleet
1st - Hurricane 429 Ben and Kez Cutler-Sharp
2nd - Hurricane 276 Jeremy Lees and Julia Green
3rd - Hurricane 380 Rupert and Caleb Greeves
4th - Hurricane 346 Robin Ponting and Eloise Smith
5th - Hurricane 454 John Donovan and Nigel Hingston
There are always very many people involved in organising the regatta, far to many to mention in person, less I forget someone but undoubtedly, with out any of those involved, in what ever capacity, the regatta would certainly not have been possible or indeed, have been such a resounding success once again. A massive thank you to everyone who helped and supported the regatta this year. We must also mention and thank Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club for their very kind help and support too.
Lastly, we must, once again, express are most sincere gratitude to all the Exe Regatta sponsors, who without their very kind generosity and keenness to be involved with and to support the regatta, we would have undoubtedly been unable to provide such a successful regatta, both on and off the water and as a result, the Regatta Committee and all those taking part are most profoundly indebted to them and we very much look forward to their continued support next year.