Regatta Season at Overy Staithe Sailing Club
by Jennie Clark 26 Aug 04:14 NZST
19-25 August 2024
A very busy week in the club's calendar kicked off on Monday 19 August with the Mirror fleet racing for the Timmy Roy Trophy. The race was held on the evening tide and Race Officers Jeremy Neville-Elliott and Camilla Warner were hard pressed to get 3 races in with the evening light fading so early now.
The forecast high winds thankfully didn't materialise and the fleet enjoyed 3 races out in the lagoon sailing home with red sails in the twilight! The trophy was presented by Linda, Timmy Roy's wife with three generations of the Roy family sailing or watching.
Finishing Positions: (top three)
1st Alex Scoles and Sam Lamont
2nd Vince and Fiona Phillips
3rd Ben and Jacob Goakes
On Tuesday evening the fleet sailed for the Wilson Stephens Trophy for helms and crews under 17. With a thriving junior scene it was, as expected, a good turnout with 13 juniors out on the water. Race officers for the event were Sam and Richard Mason, and they set a course which saw them finishing on the club line, in view of parents and spectators.
The Ladies Race was also held on Tuesday evening.
Ladies Race Finishing Positions: (top three)
1st Lucy Lamont (Laser 4.7)
2nd Sophia Hodges (Laser 4.7)
3rd Issy Hargreaves (Laser 4.7)
Junior Race Finishing Positions: (top three)
1st Max Freemantle (Laser Radial)
2nd James Lamont (Topper)
3rd Fred Fellows/Hugo Hodges (Topper)
Wednesday saw the fleet switch from early evening racing to early morning racing, with the Elizabeth Mowbray Trophy raced for with a 7am start. It was a bright sunny morning with a deceptively gusty wind. Thrills and spills galore, with the high tide covering the marsh and making navigation a tad more tricky than normal.
Finishing Positions: (top three)
1st Lucy Lamont (Laser Radial)
2nd Alex Scoles (Europe)
3rd Spike Turner (OK)
Thursday's race was due to be an open event, the start of 4 days of regatta sailing however the combination of very high tides and 40mph gusty winds saw a hardy group of would be sailors watching the gusts scudding out across the creek whilst they drank coffee. Those present watched an RS Aero, towed out to the lagoon, racing across on what must have been some hair-raising reaches! Racing was abandoned for the day.
Friday was a repeat of Thursday although with bigger winds and bigger waves. The Aero was replaced by a Laser which managed to launch, cross the creek, capsize and return to the hard in remarkably quick time. Team Aero went out in the motorboat and came back looking like the proverbial drowned rats. After various discussions and ooohs and aaahs about the wind the hardy few went home.
Saturday finally saw the first day of our open regatta races take place. These are always huge fun with front of the fleet racers joined by 'oh I managed to get round the course' newcomers, all of whom join in the racing with a sense of fun. There's a bit of a dash for the RO team from starting racing in the committee boat to finishing racing on the quay line. The newly painted 'finish diamond' was much appreciated by all as was the new hooter. The wind was light and it was a pretty damp morning but nevertheless 43 boats came to the start line and enjoyed a decent race.
Sunday was day two of the 'regatta' event and once again we had a good turnout across all ages of sailors and boats with 46 boats on the water spread across 7 fleets. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the committee boat moored off Warpole and set a course to mark A for the first leg followed by D, F, C and a quay line finish.
Trophy winners were:
Stella Trophy (Clinkers) Julie Carroll and Ruth McEwan
Evans Challenge Cup (Europes) Alex Scoles
Captain Rix Trophy (OK's) Peter Turner
Storer Trophy (Laser full rig) Ash Deakin
Maclean Trophy (Laser Radials and 4.7) Lucy Lamont
The Green Trophy (Mirrors) R and C Shannon
Stratton Cup (Handicap) Magnus Jackson
Laflin (Juniors U17) Theo Adams
Laflin (Juniors U14) Fred Fellows
Lorimer Trophy (Clinkers) Julie Carroll and Ruth McEwan
Earle Cup (OK's) Peter Turner
Douglas Carruthers Bowl Jane Heath