Rear Admiral's Cup
The Rear Admiral's Cup series of races competed for by the three yacht clubs of Weymouth was considered a great success in its first year. The trophy was duly presented by the instigator of the new event Rear Admiral John Croydon to the Rear Commodore (Sailing) of the Royal Dorset Yacht Club, Diana Gill, after sailing on Sunday 30 November at WSC.
The final scores in the event were: RDYC 71 points, WSC 89 points and CCSC 110 points. The result was not finally settled until the last race. Next year the series will be repeated, hopefully with the final event being the Cherbourg race, and with the handicapping being under the Portsmouth Yardstick system, rather than the IRC system as this year. This will render more yachts eligible for selection for the club teams. I think everyone who took part enjoyed the event very much and it raised a good spirit of sporting competitivness between the clubs
John writes in his introduction to the event: "For a long time I realised there was no competive event between the four yacht clubs of Weymouth and I thought this was a great pity. The Rear Admiral's Cup competition is modelled on the old Admiral's Cup, which was very popular in the 6os and 70s. This was for international teams of three yachts and was held every other year in conjunction with the assembly of yachts that had gathered for Cowes week and the Fastnet race. The format was for four short races around Cowes week inshore courses, followed by a short (about 100 miles !) offshore race. The series ended with all the yachts taking part in the Fastnet race. Points for the competition were weighted depending on the length of the race. The whole event was very popular and attracted wide interest, particularly when Prime Minister Ted Heath in Morning Cloud captained the winning UK team one year. Interest wained, however, and it was abandoned in the late 70s.
