Chris Potter reports from the Suffolk Yacht Harbour Classic Regatta 2019
“This is a very special regatta!” I heard this many times over the weekend of this year’s Suffolk Yacht Harbour Classic Regatta, not the least from Sean McMillan the boss of Spirit Yachts, who, as anyone who has seen a Spirit Yacht will realise, knows a bit about “special”.
Gwenhyfar had sailed from Guernsey to race
So, what makes the SHY Classic so special? Undoubtedly the main factor is the sheer dynamism and enthusiasm of Jonathan Dyke, the MD of SYH, himself the owner of a beautiful classic yacht, the 1938 Robert Clarke designed Cereste. Jonathan and his lovely wife Scilla, make every single visitor welcome, the entry fee is extremely modest and includes 2 nights berthing in the SYH marina. Oh, I forgot to mention the weather, amazingly it is invariably ideal, with, as this year and for the previous three years, shorts and tee shirts all weekend!
The format of the regatta is always the same; yachts and visitors arrive on the Friday and meet up with old friends for informal get-togethers in the Haven Ports Yacht Club lightship; the Saturday sees two races held back-to-back, usually out in Dovercourt bay, but held in the rivers Stour and Orwell if the weather is too severe. There is entertainment and food on Saturday evening, followed by one longer race on the Sunday, culminating in the prize presentation before everyone heads home.
Yawl Cygnet, sailed by Simon Harding
The racing is divided into three classes, fast handicap, slow handicap and Stellas. On the Saturday the first race, started off Beacon Hill Buoy, was held in light airs and had to be shortened; by the afternoon the wind had picked up giving excellent sailing and some wonderful spinnaker reaches. For the Sunday racing the wind had built to 12 to 15 knots giving excellent sailing conditions.
Slow class winner Jonathan Thompson
The fast Class overall was won by Mark Wincer in his consistently fast International One Design, Whisper, with Sean McMillan’ Spirit, Flight of Ufford in second place. Special mention must be made of Gwenhyfar, the Spirit 63 ketch which had sailed from Guernsey to take part and finished fifth.
The slow class was dominated by Jonathan Thompson’s Tumlare, Zest, with three firsts, followed by BCYC Secretary Rufus Gilday in his Spissgatter, Venya, making up for last year’s dismasting and seeming to have found extra urge this year!
In the Stellas there was a repeat of the “needle match” of two years ago between Richard Matthews in Scorpio and Andrew Gilmour in Timoa, Andy won this year with two firsts to one; Philip Wareing’s Stardust being in third place all weekend.
Once again, a wonderful weekend with some “special memories”!
Main photo: Clive Church’s Holamn Sterling Rhumba in front of the International One Design Whisper, sailed by Mark Wincer who won overall.
Peter Dyson’s Centaur was one of several Stellas racing
Malwyn is a 1950 Maurice Griffiths Solani sloop sailed by Justin Miller
Rhumba with the Stella Timoa, sailed by Andrew Gilmour, who won his class, and the second race and came second overall
