Shrimper 19 Open Championship 2023 at Mylor Yacht Club

Shrimper 19 Open Championship at Mylor © Brian Phipps

The 4th Shrimper 19 Open Championships, hosted by Mylor Yacht Club, near Falmouth, Cornwall, attracted its biggest entry to date with several sailing teams from out of the county, together with many local sailors for the three-day event.

An excellent Race Team, led by Steve Nicholls, applied a variety of race course styles from windward leeward to regatta style around the cans racing, stretching the course across the beautiful Carrick Roads.

Day 1 proved challenging with light and fickle winds and strong spring tides testing even the best of the sailing teams. Stuart and Sandy Sly in Jackdaw made an early statement with a finish well head from the rest of the fleet. A "pint and a pasty" evening at the Mylor Yacht Club followed for all competitors, with an expectation of a little more breeze on day two supported by a potential sea breeze!

Day 2 got under way in light breeze again, and a challenging tide across the start line. With the 25 strong fleet under way and close battles being fought across the fleet, the race 2-line honours were finally taken by Shrimper Ysella with other leading boats close on their heels.

Race 3 saw the same close quarter racing with Shrimper Topaz in the mix at the front of the fleet. The race was finally won by Stuart and Sandy with other leading contenders close by.

Race 4, the 3rd race of the day proved an unexpected upset with the leading boats sailing into a huge gradient / sea-breeze hole while the boats further back in the fleet picked up the new breeze and filled the top slots, Ruth and Tim Taylor in Drake crossing the finishing line 1st.

The evening was spent out on the Yacht Club terrace overlooking the Marina while the BBQ sizzled away with more than enough to eat and the club bar quenching the sailors thirst.

Day 3 and two races to go brought its own individual duels. The two leading boats Jackdaw and Ysella were on equal points with Jackdaw leading on number of first places. With everything to play for across the fleet, including the "Personal Handicap Results" introduced this year to acknowledge those boats who perform beyond their regular finishing results, the heat was on.

Race 5 with some solid breeze was won by Brian Phipps and Paul Chatfield in Ysella, meaning Shrimper Ysella and Jackdaw would be going head to head for the Championship trophy in the final race of the event! The wind steadied to manageable strength for all the sailing teams and after a tough battle the final win went to Jackdaw with Ysella just 14 seconds behind.

Final results and prize-giving went ahead at the yacht club accompanied by a "Cornish Cream Tea" with many thanks to the events keys sponsors, Falmouth Black Rock Gin, Navionics, Windsport, and Mylor Yacht Harbour.

Next year, the 2024 Shrimper 19 Open Championships will be taking place between Friday 30 Aug and Sunday 1 September. Mylor Yacht Club along with Windsport plan to provide and attractive visitors package to Shrimper owners out of the county interested in joining us in 2024 with additional support to explore the Fal estuary or join in some of local racing including "Falmouth Sailing Week".

2023 Prize Winners:

1st place overall and The Mary Rose Trophy: Stuart and Sandi Sly in Jackdaw (626)
2nd overall: Brian Phipps and Paul Chatfield in Ysella (298)
3rd overall: John Montgomery and Paul Helmsley in Topaz (619)

Personal Handicaps:
1st Steve Przybylski and Roeland Vroon in Dawn of Polruan (889)
2nd Nick Hews in Julia Neal (392)
3rd Andy Noble in Moondance (816)

The Windsport Midfleet trophy: Richard Salisbury in Sparrow (1078)
First Inboard Trophy: Clive Henderson in Carla Louise (727)
First Lady Helm: Ruth Taylor in Drake (86)
First single handed: Ian Wood in Thistle (49)

And finally the Shrimper Open Special Award went to Neil Philpott who not only had loaned his boat but stopped racing to assist in a medical emergency with a fellow Shrimper before carrying on the race!