Teams from across the country converged on the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, hosts of the latest edition of Torbay Royal Regatta, for three scheduled days of racing and socialising (plus an additional day’s racing for the RS21 nationals).
With the last of the Summer’s heatwaves lingering, Tor Bay once again served up two days of champagne sailing, although all racing was cancelled on the third day due to a 25+ knot Easterly and some mighty waves.
Fortunately for the RS21s, racing resumed on day four, as both wind and waves moderating sufficiently to enable the race team to deliver another three races for their memorable first visit to Tor Bay.
Based at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club‘s historic clubhouse overlooking Torquay harbour, the Torbay Royal Regatta is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the country, and as usual, competitors enjoyed intense competition. As ever, the venue lived up to its reputation of being one of the finest sailing locations in the country.
On the White Course, Lyn McGarey and team in Papillon II (Royal Torbay YC) were dominant in the IRC fleet, although second overall BadaBing (Nathaniel Hanley, Plym YC) and third overall Stan The Boat (Toby Gorman, Cowes Corinthian YC) both had their podium moments. Unusually, Race 3 saw Papillon and BadaBing deliver identical corrected times, to share the points.
On days 1 and 2, the predicted gradient breeze filled in from the East, before shifting around to the South East, and averaging between 8 and 10 knots. The race teams on both courses were kept on the toes, as the swinging breeze was unpredictable, and accompanied by some pretty impressive shifts.
The Impala 28s were also holding their National Championship over the weekend, and in a competitive fleet, consistency was the name of the game. Flynn Luxton and his team on Hound Dog put together a series of results which never saw them out of the top three and were convincing and well-deserved champions. Runners up were Stuart Higgins and his team on Atalanta (Flushing SC), who squeaked home ahead of team Magic (Daryl Conyers, Plym YC) by a single point. Daryl was left ruing an OCS in what turned out to be the final race of the series.
The YTC Cruiser Class was the third fleet racing on the White Course, and after putting in a dominant performance of five wins out of six, James Churchill and his team on Blues (Brixham YC) were well deserved winners. The runner up spot was taken by Nigel Smyth and his team on Dizzy Di (MHYC) who in turn were three points ahead of local boat Fidelitas (Davina Schwarz).
The Yellow Course was the home of with the RS 21s and J24s National Championships, Sportsboats, and SB20’s using the event as an early warm-up for the 2027 Worlds, being hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club next Spetember.
Despite losing the third day of their championship, the RS2s managed to complete 10 races, in a fiercely competitive fleet. After the closest of racing over the entire event, with the lead changing hands several times, Tom Hewitson and team on Tiga Tiga (Hayling Island SC) took the title by two points over team Dark & Stormy (Liam Willis, Royal Lymington YC). Joining them on the podium was a scratch team led by Chris Webber from Paignton SC, in Saucy Sue. This was a remarkable achievement, as this was the first time the crew had ever raced an RS21!
Racing in the J/24s was equally tight and hugely competitive. Four teams from Saltash SC finished in the top five places, with MaJic (James Torr) taking the title by two points from Just for Play (Shane Hewlet), after leadership in the series fluctuated between the two of them. Lorna Graham (Easy Tiger, RYA) took third place, just another three points behind.
The SB20 fleet was totally dominated by reigning World champion John Pollard and his newly formed team on Xcellent (Royal Torbay YC), who won all seven races. The battle for second was very tight between Isaac Marsh’s Espiritu Oceanico (Humpydong YC, Brisbane) and Phil Rumbelow in Doris Reloaded (Royal Torbay YC). It came down to a tense last race which saw Espiritu finish one place ahead of Doris, meaning that Espiritu edged the runner’s up spot by one point.
In the Sportsboat handicap fleet, Giles Chipperfield in his J/70 Escape (Lymington Town SC) was almost as dominant as Xcellent, winning six of the seven races. The fight for second and third was hard fought with Stephen Bowdler’s Melges 24 Minnie the Moocher (Mayflower SC) and Paddy Bettesworth’s J70 Bewitched (Royal Torbay YC) with both being neck and neck throughout the series. Both ended up with identical net scores, but Minnie took the second overall on countback.
Off the water, competitors enjoyed the Royal Torbay’s legendary hospitality, with everyone royally entertained. Following prize-giving, competitors were generous in their praise for the club, the volunteers, its organisation and race management. The volunteers’ hard work beyond the scenes is all worthwhile when sailors tell us, “the racing was great”, “many thanks to RTYC for a great regatta”, and “excellent racing and glorious weather, see you next year”.
The Addison Gold Cup, awarded to the Champion of Champions, went to John Pollard and Team Xcellent, whilst the Benita Bowl, for the boat with a predominantly female crew, was awarded to Davine Schwartz and her team on Fidelitas.
In 2027, Torbay Royal Regatta will take place on 20 – 22 August.
Full results can be found HERE
