76th Edinburgh Cup at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club - Day 1
by Emma York 10 Jul 19:57 NZST
7-12 July 2024
The 76th Edinburgh Cup hosted by the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club (SCYC) in Abersoch, sponsored by The Warren Resort & Spa, got underway on Tuesday 9th July.
After a three-hour postponement due to non-favourable racing conditions, the Dragon fleet of 30 boats from all across Great Britain, Ireland and visitors from Portugal and Japan got underway for race one.
A big ebb tide and South-westerly breeze resulted in a general recall of the first start. As the fleet got away cleanly for the second time Dragons split left and right initially with many choosing a hard beat into the Abersoch shore to benefit from the tide.
This paid off for Graham Bailey in Bluebottle GBR 192 as he was first to the windward mark with a nice lead on a pack of five Dragons. As spinnakers were hoisted in the light air the downwind leg saw a 50/50 split of those choosing to stay out on the right of the course while others hoped to gain from a reaching angle.
As the wind eased further the Dragons made their way up the final beat. This for many was where gains were made and it was Bluebottle that crossed the line, receiving the first Edinburgh Cup race win. Places changed many times as teams looked to every advantage and wind pocket to advance over the course.
Claiming fourth place and top Corinthian of the day, helm of Furious GBR 777 Owen Pay said; "Today was hard. Hard keeping the boat going, keeping concentration, keeping the boat moving, and just looking out for those little increases, a puff of one knot that made all the difference."
It is the second time Denis Bergin and his Sir Ossis of the River IRL 161 team have travelled to Abersoch for the Edinburgh Cup. In admittedly tough conditions, he commented on his fifth place; "Today was trying, light, hard going in the boats, hard to keep the boat tramping along. We got a good start, stayed out to get clear air and managed to stay ahead of the big pack and that helps. We hope we have more wind tomorrow and the rest of the week too. We hope for stronger winds."
Race 1 Results@
1 Bluebottle GBR 192 Graham Bailey, Julia Bailey, Will Bedford, Killian Boag
2 Jerboa GBR 831 Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, Mark Hart, Jake Hardman, Ffion Wood
3 Alfie GBR 815 Lawrie Smith, Goncalo Ribeiro, Ruairidh Scott, Martin Wrigley
4 Furious GBR 777 Owen Pay, Chris Brittain, Tom Hicks
5 Sir Ossis of the River IRL 161 Deni Bergin, Joey Bergin, Rory Byrne
6 Ran GBR 430 Crispin Blythe, Charlotte Jones, Neil Pavley, Hugh Blythe
7 Sleeping Beauty GBR 704 Peter Marchant, Andy Biddle, Pete Richards
8 Louise GBR 833 Grant Gordon, Luke Patience, Elliot Hansen, Faye Chatterton
9 Flotation GBR 790 Richard Davies, Martin Payne, Emma York
10 The Knucker GBR 808 James Budd, Geoff Edwards, Christopher Thorn
Race two and three are scheduled to run as planned on Wednesday 10th July 2025 with a first race warning signal of 1055.
Full race results can be viewed at www.britishdragons.org/76th-edinburgh-cup-results