Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 © Simon Bullingham

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 © Simon Bullingham

Twelve YWDB's made the trip to Salcombe again this year to take part in the fun of Salcombe Town Regatta. Whilst two of the leading helms were sprightly grandparents, the 'various' crews (aged 8 to 17) rotated each day giving great experience to younger sailors and ensuring that family harmony was retained (by the kids not sailing with their own parents, any more than was absolutely required).

Race 1, started with a trip up to Blackstone followed by a sail through "The Bag" to Gerston. The main group split around Ditch End and those that opted to punch the tide earlier with more breeze, ended up with a substantial lead over those who hugged the Eastern shoreline for longer trying to stay out of the tide.

Mike Hewitt led with James Hewitt in second place and Georgie Bullingham crewed by Mark finished an excellent third place. Georgie and Matt Straker were the only non Blewett-Hewitt's to podium all week!

Being Salcombe, the winning tactic the previous day, of heading out early towards Snapes point was a complete failure and the fleet again split again but this time with those stuck below Snapes having a pretty miserable time. Mike Hewitt managed to stay ahead of both brother Andrew and father Pete in race 2, ensuring the not uncommon result of a Hewitt 1-2-3.

After the race there was an excellent YWDB Class meal in Salcombe YC for all the crews. Several of the parents showed off their newly purchased Toms Trunks. This both embarrassed that the younger crew and ensured they will never wear them again! A few of the helms (and some of the crews) appeared a little rusty the next day on their way to the start of race 3.

The third race started with a beat to Blackstone and included a lovely trip down to Southpool creek. The whole fleet arrived at this mark at exactly the same time but as with all things Dayboat, the rounding was managed with courtesy, politeness and a distinct lack of drama. The transition from lightweight Aero's to more substantial (and comfortable) YWDB's took a bit of adjustment but Antony and Marcia Lynall were in the leading pack round Southpool and finished the regatta with two 5th places. The race was very close and competitive and there were numerous changes in places throughout.

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 - photo © Simon Bullingham

Whilst Mike Hewitt was winning on the water, he was also coaching winners off the water. The now legendary ice cream eating competition is a firm fixture in the YWDB calendar and this year a few new entries submitted to the brutal training regime of their coach and mentor, to end up on the podium. Congratulations to Max, Stan, Margaret, Lexie and Hattie (and thanks to Salcombe Dairy)!

Sailing on the Thursday was thankfully cancelled due to strong gusty winds and so the bulk of the class (who were already soaked) headed to Bantham to enjoy the famous "swoosh". It is always a difficult call to cancel a day's racing when the forecast breeze is strong and potentially manageable, but the gusts advertised are extremely hefty. In this instance, cancelling racing was absolutely the right decision. Thanks must go to the race officer for appearing at the boat park on his moped in the pouring rain (extremely wet and very early) preventing boats from needlessly launching!

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 - photo © Simon Bullingham

The third race was a gusty affair and the final beat to the club finish line was challenging for the lighter weight crews. Colin Blewett sailed a great race to stay ahead of Mike and Andy Hewitt. Simon Bullingham edged ahead of Matt Straker but lost out to team Lynall on the finish line.

For the fourth and final race the class joined the rest of the regatta fleet in a pursuit race.

The racing all week was very close but Mike Hewitt's consistency had the regatta wrapped up with a race to spare. Second and Third places however were still up for grabs going into the final race.

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 - photo © Simon Bullingham

Simon Bullingham managed to lead the race round both Blackstone and Southpool before inevitably being overtaken by the Blewett-Hewitt axis. He managed to stay ahead of Matt and Cora Straker for most of the race. Matt however got an extremely lucky puff of breeze at Blackstone and managed to squeak ahead just before the finish.

Geneveive Bullingham, the only junior to helm a race, finished a creditable 8th in the fourth and final race.

Colin Blewett finished 2nd overall with his two daughters crewing. Thankfully they both managing a first and fourth place each. This may result in an unresolved crew selection dilemma for the National championships in Falmouth 2025, but happily having equal results avoided any potential domestic issues, this time round.

Yachting World Dayboats at the Salcombe Town Regatta 2024 - photo © Simon Bullingham

The Salcombe Town regatta is great fun and a brilliant way to introduce the younger generations to good quality fun racing. Thanks must go to Ian "Scud" Stewart and all the crew at Salcombe YC who know how to run a faultless regatta and are not afraid to make the sensible, tough decisions. A lot of people put in a great deal of work to make the week a success, from the safety boat crews, the organising and race committee to those serving in the kitchen and behind the bar. It was all very much appreciated by the participants.

Thanks also to the sponsors Salcombe Rigging Services who supported the event, Salcombe Brewery for providing the beer at the briefing and Yeoward's the safety boat fuel. This ensured that all the thousands of pounds of race fees all went to support local charities.

Overall Results: