Henri Lloyd Weymouth Regatta 2007
The Henri-Lloyd Weymouth Regatta, which took place from 10th to 12th August, was memorable for fine weather and gentle breezes. Unlike most events this summer, sun cream was essential.It had the same format as previous years, with a long-distance race for most classes on Friday, followed by two races on Saturday and Sunday, except the Non-Spinnaker Class which had just one race each day. Nick Sharp won the IRC1 Class, Terry Ridyard won IRC2 and Nick Massey PY1. A visitor, Chris Hawks from Poole, won PY2, Jim Chalmers won the Squibs and Mike Street won the J/24s. The Non-Spi, or Gentlemen’s, Class was won very appropriately by Guy Temple.
A list of all the trophy winners can be seen by following the link from the YCW web site and full results are at http://www.halsraceresults.com/crs/crs.aspx?DSKey=277.
All classes had good racing, but PY1 was outstanding. Ten MGC27s took part, all in the PY1 class, making for superb level competition. Why, or why, can’t we do the same with the Sigmas? There are exciting plans afoot for next year. The Sailing Academy is teaming up with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to run a Maritime Festival in July and the regatta will be part of it. The idea is to use the limelight that will be on the area in the run-up to the Olympics to build a major event, showcasing all types of maritime activity both on and off the water. Sailing will be run by a joint team from YCW and The Academy, with YCW taking the lead on keelboats and the Academy on dinghies. There will also be gig racing and lots of shore-side activities, such as music on the beach, harbour-side arts shows and food with a maritime theme. Watch out for further information in club newsletters as the plans get firmed up.Since the Academy will be in Olympic lock-out mode from mid July onwards during 2010, 2011 and 2012, the festival will be run earlier in the year. Next year it will last four days and be from Thursday 10 July to Sunday 13 July. We hope to build it up over the pre-Olympic period into a week-long event that will have sufficient momentum by 2012 to carry it through the post-Olympic years.
Peter Hopford Chairman Yacht Clubs of Weymouth Regatta Organising Committee.
