54 CLASSIC BOAT SEPTEMBER 2016SYH CLASSIC REGATTA 2016
built in 1974 and restored by Michael Wheeler. Welcome
too are the Spirit of Tradition boats, among them Flight
of Ufford, a Spirit 52 launched in 2007 and owned by
Sean McMillian of Spirit Yachts.
There was more wind for the second day of racing,
and for me a wonderful surprise. Taking part today was
another Gauntlet called Grey Seal, a larger 12 ton-
version of this offshore cruiser racer from the 1930s.
Grey Seal was sailed by Paul Nye and crew who, like us,
are more cruisers than racers, but for a few exciting
moments the race was our own as we went head to head.
It is rare for a Gauntlet owner to observe their boat
design under sail at such close quarters. Sadly, tidal and
time constraints meant Bardu had to depart the regatta
early and we left our new friends to fi nish alone. We
pointed Bardu’s bows into the southerly wind and tacked
down ‘the wallet’ to return on the fl ood tide to the
Blackwater.
The ‘fast class’ and overall winner of the regatta was
West Solent One Design Arrow, sailed by Phil Plumtree.
It’s a design, incidentally, created at Berthon in
Lymington, which is also the birthplace of the Gauntlet.
In second place overall was Mark Wincer in his
International One Design Whisper. A Tumlare, Zest, had
perhaps the most admirable result. Sailed by Jonathan
Thompson, she was the winner in the ‘slow class’ butalso third placed overall. She beat an 8-M; the next
overall position in the ‘slow class’ was 15th. As for the
seven Stellas, this hard-fought class was claimed by
Phillip Warings and Jeffrey Bowles in Stardust.
Of course all the boats could have won the Concours
d’Elegance, but the prize went to the centenarian
gaff-rigged cutter Lora. Now maintained by Robert
Townsend, she was built to a Pain Clarke design
and launched in 1911.
This is a competitive event and many crews arrive
looking to take home some silverware. Of course, not
all can win, but despite the cliché we found it really was
the taking part that had its own rewards. It was the
visual feast on the pontoons and on the water, it was
the sense of achievement and it was the enjoyment in
discussing the day’s racing at the bar or over a meal in
the marina’s striking red light ship LV87, which Suffolk
Yacht Harbour acquired in 1975.
So I’m planning to take part again next year, when
it’s scheduled for a weekend in mid-June. Next time I
hope to arrive in the company of two fellow boats from
Marconi Sailing Club on the Blackwater, the 1937
McGruer design Eriska and Dolly, a fi ne example of a
Vertue. And while I’ll be brushing up on setting the
spinnaker and getting my crew up to race speed, I’ll
look forward to the event’s relaxed atmosphere too.Above: Grey Seal
a 12-ton GauntletAbove, clockwise from top left: the trophies; Stellas Timoa, Lys of
Slaughden, L’Etoile, Stardust; dockside chat with Flight of Uff ord;
Whisper, an International OD was second overall