Gaastra August Regatta - Great sailing for the fortunate few

by Phil Riley on 2 Sep 2014 In the early 1970s British economist EF Schumacher's influential book Small Is Beautiful created a stir by arguing that bigger was often not better.

It's a view that neatly describes the Royal Southern Yacht Club's Gaastra August Regatta which, despite having a relatively small fleet, served up great sailing for the fortunate few who were able to take part.

Big or small, however, for some it was a return to the scene of previous triumphs, not least Mike Wallis and his J/109 Jahmali. Racing in the most competitive class in the whole regatta - IRC 2 - Jahmali also won by the narrowest margin, a single point.

A delighted Wallis said: 'I think I said at the beginning of the series back in May it was like Barbados out there and it's like it again - I don't know what the Royal Southern is doing but every weekend we have these Summer Regatta events the weather seems to come out to play. It's fantastic.

'I'm having I think the best season I've ever had. I don't know what it is but about every two years I keep saying I'm having the best season I've ever had, but this one has beaten all of them.

'We're having a fantastic time and somebody is smiling on us,' added Wallis, who also won the Barbados-like May event, followed by successive podium finishes in June and July, all capped off by class and overall victory in the recent Royal Southern-hosted J-Cup 2014.

Jahmali finished on six points with a 2-2-1-1 scoreline, a point head of Roger Phillips' J/109 Designstar2 with Ivan Trotman's smart looking J/88 JoJo in third.

Smart work by race officers and more than obliging weather, which saw the welcome return of summer, allowed a full programme of races across both black and white groups. Saturday saw the breeze up to around 20 knots, while Sunday's lighter airs saw courses shortened in the regatta's final races.

Wins were shared around the J/70 class which went to Andrew Barraclough's Jenga 8 with four bullets, ahead of Bob Pearson's Thumper and Paul Molesworth's JustNow, each with a victory apiece.

It was a contest too in the J/80s, though one dominated by Mike Lewis' Jester with six straight wins ahead of Andrew Wishart's Seafire and Charles Bonfield's Jammy, who were separated on countback.

Successive wins - five - in the SB20 class saw Scott Graham's Chill Pill victorious ahead of Whyaduck (Tom Clay) and Striptease (Rebecca Anthony).

The XOD's fourth race of the regatta was also for the Bursledon Regatta Trophy - Stanley Steele Challenge Cup which was won by Keith Hughes' Nannett. The class was won by Andy Hamlett's Satu, which won the other five races.

A two-boat IRC 3 saw David and Libby Greenhalgh's J/92 J'ronimo claim the honours ahead of Dudley Stock's X-302 Xtract.

Daniel and Suzie Anthony's GS39 Malaika took four wins on the way to winning IRC 1 ahead of James Wilkie's Lancelot II and Lucy Reynolds' Rocket Dog 2, both First 40s.

Jo and Sarah Assael's Bad Toad, John Rutherford's Apparition and Steph Merry's Midnight Cowboy all raced unopposed in class, albeit on combined start lines, winning IRC 4, Cruiser Class and 1720 respectively.

Speaking after racing, PRO Stuart Childerley said: 'It was a small fleet but everyone should have enjoyed the racing. If you have like-for-like boats you can have great racing with just two or three boats, and everyone knows what they need to do in relative performance against the other boats, so there is no need for them to think 'small fleet, it's not worth it'. It IS worth it - every second counts and they've got to keep going and keep pushing on.

'It's good training and you've got to keep looking at yourself in terms of boat handling, crew work, communication and race strategy because if you don't use the opportunity to just be out there and sailing in a smaller fleet you're going to get lost among more boats and it's even harder.

'Use the opportunity to improve the basic aspects of getting round the course in the shortest distance and the quickest time.'

The Royal Southern's Summer Series finishes with the AVEVA September Regatta taking place over the weekend 20-21 September, including the Royal Southern's participation in 'Bart's Bash' which will be run as part of the first race on Sunday 21st September.