Isle of Man Yacht Club Centenary Regatta
The IOMYC held its centenary regatta over the weekend of 12-13 June with racing for both dinghies and cruisers.
Nine cruisers enjoyed a 2-hour pursuit race each day run by race officer Phil Scott.
Handicaps are applied at the staggered start and the idea is to catch up with the slower boats ahead and, at the finish time, whichever is leading is the winner. It worked particularly well in Saturday’s strong NW wind allowing the cruising yachts to almost hold their own against the racier versions. Sunday the patchy SW breeze gave the lighter yachts a better chance. Cruiser captain Mike Stanton’s Sigma 33, Sorcery, improved from next-to-last to first over the two races!
Top three overall were: 1st Cheetah Cub (Reflex 38) Robin Wootton, 2nd Rapscallion (Ruffian 23) Pete Ashurst, 3rd Quackers (Quarter ton) James Walker.
The strong and blustery NW wind on Saturday led to cancellation of the three scheduled dinghy races. So, to make up, five half-hour races were smartly run back-to-back on Sunday morning by race officers Pete Hinds and Russell Armstrong.
Eighteen dinghies took part in the improving weather and, after a gloomy start, the weather cheered up nicely for some pleasant sailing and for the monster BBQ afterwards. It is very pleasing to see the improvement in the youngsters who form the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, sailing their six new RS Tera dinghies.
Greg Kelly managed to finish second overall, winning one and Izzy Sharpe another of the five races.
Top eight overall: 1st Mick Kneale & crew (Nat.18) 8 pts, 2nd Greg Kelly (RS Tera Sport) 21 pts, 3rd Simon Pressly (Laser) 22 pts, 4th Dave Batchelor (RS200) 23 pts, 5th Andrew Dean (RS200) 30 pts, 6th Hannah Howitt (RS Tera Pro) 34 pts, 7th Izzy Sharpe (RS Tera Pro) 39 pts, 8th Ffinlo Wright (RS Tera Sport) 45 pts.
Many thanks go to the safety-boat drivers, race officers, catering volunteers and BBQ stokers for their good will and hard work. The club is celebrating its centenary and trying to get as many people sailing as possible, especially through the junior training section. With the Tera kids now doing so well, things are looking good for the next hundred years.
The next major sailing events at Port St Mary include the Youth Championship over the weekend of 3-4 July followed by the National 18′ Class championship, kindly sponsored yet again by IOMA and Nigel Wood. This takes place the last week of July - Monday 26th to Saturday 31st. The IOMYC hosts this event every four years and the entry for 2010 is already at the level it was in 2006.
This is always a fantastic week with boats and their crews coming from Ireland Scotland and England.
