King Charles III Cup at Merthyr Tydfil Sailing Club
by Mark Govier 10 May 2023 16:55 NZST
8 May 2023
For many years at Merthyr Tydfil Sailing Club we have competed for the Prince of Wales Trophy, but for the Coronation we upgraded this to become the King Charles III Cup.
We opened the competition to visitors, who came not only to race, but to view the newly refurbished clubhouse and facilities, all set in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. Merthyr Tydfil Sailing Club welcomed visitors from Cardiff Bay Yacht Club and Sully Sailing Club.
Whilst the weather on arrival was somewhat damp, we were worried that the cloud level may drop and obscure the course, we could not complain about the wind which was about ten to fifteen knots from due south, i.e. straight up the valley giving us about the best conditions we could hope for. Though this did drop slightly during the series of three races competed for by boats ranging from a Dart 16 to a Topper Taz.
All three races were held over the same "butterfly" course. 1, 6, OM, 8, 10, Line (dead upwind, reach, broad reach, gybe, broad reach, reach, beat back through the line.
All three starts were well fought by the whole fleet with some good close racing up that first beat on each of the races. What more can we say though; today was Martin Roots' day. In the first and second race Martin (Cardiff Bay YC, Supernova 1307) was away, planing off into the distance on each of the reaches. But this was a great example of a handicap race and not dominated by the three Supernovas, underlying those results shown below are some close corrected times; and Nigel Vick (Sully Sailing Club) in his Topper was sailing consistently, taking advantage of the conditions and secured two second places.
Carmel Royston (Cardiff Bay YC, Laser Radial 119330) was also doing very well in her Laser Radial with two third places but edging out Nigel to third place in the last race to gain a second. Mark Govier (Merthyr Tydfil SC, Comet 460) was consistently fourth in each race and overall, securing the spot as best placed local boat. Thomas Bevan (Merthyr Tydfil SC, Topper Taz) entering and very much enjoying his first open competition sailed all three races and secured "first junior" prize.
Thanks to all the organisers and helpers on the day; especially for the prize-giving tea and cakes. This may just become an annual event...
Overall Results:
| Pos | Class | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | Rating | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Supernova | 1307 | Martin Roots | | Cardiff Bay YC | 1077 | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | TOPPER | 20989 | Nigel Vick | | Sully SC | 1369 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 4 |
| 3rd | LASER RADIAL/ ILCA 6 | 119330 | Carmel Royston | | Cardiff Bay YC | 1150 | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4th | Comet | 460 | Mark Govier | | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1210 | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5th | Supernova | 698 | Charles Felgate | | Cardiff Bay YC | 1077 | ‑8 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 6th | Comet | 694 | Alun Bevan | | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1210 | 5 | ‑7 | 7 | 12 |
| 7th | LASER/ ILCA 7 | 174576 | Robin Wilkinson | | Sully SC | 1101 | ‑6 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 8th | Supernova | 715 | Steve Denyer | | Cardiff Bay YC | 1077 | 7 | 8 | ‑9 | 15 |
| 9th | LASER/ ILCA 7 | 181333 | Andrew Brazier | | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1101 | 9 | ‑10 | 8 | 17 |
| 10th | MIRROR (S/H) | 48991 | Andrew Williams | | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1380 | 10 | 9 | (RET) | 19 |
| 11th | Lark | 151 | Paul Stevenson | David Walton | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1073 | (RET) | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| 12th | Dart 16 | 1965 | Paul Hales | Ian Charles | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 905 | ‑12 | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| 13th | Topper Taz | 2 | Thomas Bevan | | Merthyr Tydfil SC | 1550 | 11 | ‑13 | 12 | 23 |