News

RSYC Racing – Ocean Globe Race 2023 – Sunday 10 September

What a fabulous sight – 14 boats left Ocean Village, for the Royal Yacht Squadron, crossing the start line to compete in the 2023 Ocean Globe Race. The RSYC race committee boat, The Hound,  followed the yachts out of the marina, in support of ‘Maiden’, the British entry in this exciting event. The boats will be following the same route as the clipper ships and the inaugural 1973 Whitbred Round the World Race, in similar affordable yachts. If you know your history, you will know that ‘Maiden’ was skippered by Tracy Edwards, with an all female crew, in 1989/90. This Sunday ‘Maiden’ returned to the start line with a team of 12 young women from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. We can’t wait to follow her progress.  You can follow the race: youtube.com/oceangloberace  facebook.com/oceanglobe race  instagram.com/oceangloberace

Cricket – Bramble Bank – Sunrise Saturday 02 September 2023

As the tide goes out, the game begins. What a fabulous, fun, event. A game of cricket on the Bramble Bank, not the player’s usual lush green bowling pitch. The first match is said to have been played in the 1950s at the request of pioneering British boat maker Uffa Fox. The RSYC Rib took a trip out to support this event, along with other local yacht clubs.

Island Double 2023

Watching the weather forecasts leading up to the event usually gives rise to some apprehension. Will there be sufficient breeze but not too much? The direction is secondary but we really don’t want to revert to the Plan B course in the Solent because of too much or not enough.

The early sky was a kaleidoscope of cloud formations, layers and colours, being about 6 octas with patches of blue. An increasing westerly breeze was likely but with the prospect of heavy showers.

Starting off Cowes, we had a very light southerly drifting out of the Medina. Good fortune was with us and we were able to get the three classes away without mishap or delay. The Class 2 start was particularly close given the zephyrs and ebbing tide.

We then repaired to The Duke of York – as is our custom – for the much needed Full English! We were then able to follow the fleet on AIS and were excited to see the leaders were achieving 8-10 knots across Freshwater Bay – we had a race !

Back out on station at the Royal London YC buoy from 1330 we were ready to welcome back the early finishers. After six and a half hours of racing, Xinska made a fine sight as she took line honours again. The fleet all duly arrived in an orderly manner and were all done by 1713hrs.

We all felt rewarded for our efforts and somewhat gleeful at missing the various deluges happening all around us! The team thank all the competitors for what turned out to be a super sailing day. My gratitude goes to The Girls – Ginny, Jan, Julia and Sue who kept me in order (and amused) for a grand day out!

Neil Cox – Race Officer

Cowes Week 2023

A real mixed bag of weather was experienced during the annual Cowes Week Regatta for 2023. RSYC members and race management team enjoyed taking part in this, by far the biggest Solent regatta of the year.

The large race management team contributed to running 4 days of the 7 day long racing schedule. Chief Race Officer, Mike Garvey, and his team were on the Hound and Dave Martin and his team were pin-end boat called Sabrina, which was again graciously supplied by Dave this year.  We had two RIBs laying the windward-leeward courses each day; one borrowed from the Royal Southern.

Day 1, saw the team start the racing for Etchells, Dragons, Darings, J70s and SB20s. On subsequent days, the team managed racing for J70s and SB20s. The competitive fleets made for some impressive starts after general recalls for the first race each day.

Based on the Hill Head plateau, the south westerly winds were over 20 knots each day, making committee vessel and pin end tasks quite a physical challenge, but the whole team showed great resilience. The J70 and SB20 competitors were grateful to RSYC for hosting the racing. Thanks were also received from the Cowes Week regatta director.

Regatta 2023

In June we held the RSYC Regatta. As well as a series of Yacht Races organised by Guy and Zoë Darby, won by Sailfish, a host of activities on and off the water at Gins Clubhouse were enthusiastically enjoyed by everyone!

Led by the Flag Officers, our Sailing Secretary Lisa and Ginny, members of all ages and their guest enjoyed tender, paddleboard, and kayak racing with James Maltby kindly providing support boat cover.  Ashore there was a crabbing contest, find the Pirate Treasure Hunt, Guess the number of sea creatures, Giant Jenga, Swing Ball, Boules, Quoits, Pirate Skittles and Knot Tying.  When the racers returned an impromptu tug of war was organised by Rear Commodore Sailing, Bill Roper, with many of the crews joining in.

We had fantastic weather and a delicious barbeque followed by Paella in the evening accompanied by live music.  The Regatta finished on Sunday with a Duck Race which raised £250 for the RSYC Trust.

Beaulieu and Summer Series Racing