Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2015

Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2015 © Holly Hancock

Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2015 © Holly Hancock

Monday of Horning Sailing Club's Regatta Week began with brilliant sunshine and a fresh breeze which provided lively conditions for those taking part. The morning dinghy races saw the river turn to a sea of colour, with over 44 boats taking part.

The Allcomers B and C fleets were some of the strongest of the day, with some 13 Lasers and 17 Toppers participating in the mixed fleet. In the Lasers, Anna Bunn pulled away at the start and led until the final buoy when she was overtaken by James Galloway at the finish. William Pank and Jack Copping had a close battle in their Toppers, each taking two wins and two second places during the day.

As the keelboat races began the conditions were breezier but this did not impact upon turnouts, with some six Rebels, ten Yeomans, eleven Yare & Bures and ten Cruisers taking part in races. In the Yeoman Fleet Toby Fields crewed by Daniel Blackwell made a promising start with two wins and a second place despite taking a penalty in the first race. Peter Brown showed similar form in the Rebels with two wins and a third place in Rebel Rothay. As the winds increased during the day there were several retirements with the final races of the day being more a matter of who had survived the conditions to continue racing.

The evening trophy races saw four intrepid teams enter for the Junior Delves Trophy, which was eventually won by Edward Wildman and William Pank sailing a Feva. The Officers Race was won by Paul Clarke sailing Yeoman Two C Sons from Dick Angier also sailing his Yeoman Thistledoo.

Similar to Monday, Tuesday's sailing began bright and breezy with good turnouts again during the morning races. As the wind seemed to increase for every start it provided for exciting spectating and several capsizes, whilst one Yare & Bure had a very quick man overboard practice on their start line. Given the conditions, by the end of the day both the Rebel and Yare & Bure fleets had called for compulsory reefs.

With the line run by Snowflake Sailing Club several one-race trophies were sailed for during the day, these included the Lysander Trophy for Yare & Bures, which was won by Simon Means sailing Painted Jezebel, who went on to take a further two wins during the day. The Avis Tankards for Cruisers was sailed for by a mixed fleet of eight cruisers, and was won by Paul Howes sailing Melinda.

By the evening races the weather had become overcast and the wind lessened, with Sarah Clarke taking the Allcomers 1st Trophy sailing a Yeoman, and Michael Cullum and Lucy Drew taking the Miras Tankards scratch race in a Javelin after a close battle with the Reedlings of Robert Hancock and Stuart Bailey.

With the winds slightly dropping, Wednesday's racing at Horning was somewhat more uneventful than in previous days. With the line run by NBYC, the morning dinghy races began with a general recall in the Topper fleet, but on the second attempt all got away without incident. During the course of the day the long line on a reaching start provided a challenge for competitors, with several over the line at various points.

As the day progressed, once again the winds increased and the weather became overcast, with several boats opting to reef, before the breeze dropped for the evening series. One result of the conditions was that racing was extremely close across several fleets. The lunchtime Allcomers B fleet saw the majority of the mixed fleet of dinghies finish within 20 yards of each other, and was won by Mike and Jenny Harris sailing their RS Vision.

Similarly, it was close in the lunchtime Cruiser race, with just two seconds separating first and second-placed Cygnet sailed by Mike Reilly and Melinda by Paul Howes respectively on corrected time. The evening trophy races were for the Braithwaite Cup for Services & Ex-Services, won by Simon Means sailing Yare & Bure Painted Jezebel, whilst the Allcomers Junior race for the Junior Trophy saw a mixed fleet of Toppers, a Feva, Rebels and a Reedling take part, with a close battle between the Reedling sailed by Ezra Bailey crewed by brother Joel and Rebel helmed by Joe Brown, with Ezra taking line honours but Joe the trophy on corrected time by just 9 seconds.

Thursday's sailing for the Horning Town Open Regatta was some of the closest seen all week. With the prevailing south westerly breeze, it was a beat up the River and run back down, and gusty at times. With several trophies to be won, competition was intense across the fleets. It was a good day for Anna Bunn sailing her Laser with two wins in the Allcomers B fleet. The lunchtime Cruiser race was eventful, with a motor cruiser becoming mixed in the melée, resulting in four boats over the line and a general recall.

On the restart Melinda's mainsheet, helmed by Paul Howes, became entangled in John Burton's Buccaneer resulting in Melinda being over the line. However, Melinda recovered well from this to win the race and the Crystal Salver. Turnouts were consistently up across the fleets, and included eight Yeomans, seven Rebels and thirteen Yares & Bures over the course of the day. Racing was extremely close in the Mixed One Design Fleet with four Rebels finishing within ten seconds of each other.

Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2015 - photo © Holly Hancock

One of the highlights of the year for many was the evening Allcomers Junior race for the Second Water Babies Challenge Cup where keelboats are helmed by under 18s, crewed by under 21s. This year it was sailed for in a mixture of Rebels, Yare & Bures and a Reedling. Charlotte Hammond and Jonas Osborn made a good start to lead from start to finish sailing Lucky Rebel, whilst Ezra Bailey crewed by brother Joel came in second sailing Reedling Jaws, ahead of Joe Brown and Alex Storey sailing Rebel Rothay.

The Horning Challenge Cup awarded for outstanding performance in the opinion of the Regatta Day President was awarded to 9-year-old Molly Barnham sailing her Optimist.

It was rather more sedate for the final day of Horning Sailing Club's Regatta Week, with far lighter winds than previously in the week. The conditions also gave rise to some of the closest racing, with no one boat dominating every race or fleet throughout the week. Dick Angier sailing his Yeoman recovered well from a damaged mast requiring a hasty replacement earlier in the week to achieve some good results, whilst Henry Whipp and Jack Pritchard had a good day in the competitive Allcomers B fleet.

The final race of the week, the Junior Allcomers dinghy race, saw almost twenty boats take part, varying from Optimists to Teras and Lasers to Enterprises, starting with a general recall after the majority of the fleet drifted over the line. Eventually, it was won by Josh Means sailing an Optimist. Meanwhile, at the other end of the fleet, a battle ensued as to who would achieve the accolade of final boat to finish with the 'end of Horning Week' cannon. After a prolonged race, this went to Jack Copping.

More photographs taken by Colin Galloway can be seen at: www.norfolkeventsphotography.co.uk/galleries/horning-regatta-week-2015

Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2015 - photo © Holly Hancock

Regatta Weekend Results:

Single Race Trophies:

Series Trophies: