Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race prizes awarded

by Talbot Wilson on 29 Jun 2009
Sailors and guests were certainly in a ‘sailabratory’ spirit last night as His Excellency the Governor of Bermuda Sir Richard Gozney and Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Commodore David Skinner presented three-deep trophies for each of the four classes, nineteen fleet, special or regional prizes and four seamanship/sportsmanship Awards of Merit.

About two hundred of the guests arrived at the Royal Naval Dockyard after a harbour cruise aboard the excursion boat Elizabeth. But they couldn’t see much of Hamilton’s waterfront or the usually scenic islands along the way because of a tank filling downpour and driving wind. Everyone was forced inside of the main salon of the vessel, yet spirits were still high when the rain subsided as Elizabeth approached the dock.

Ray Cullum, Marketing Director for the race, said the windy squall during the cruise to the Dockyard was nature’s way of letting all the non-sailors get a taste of the conditions that sailors had experienced on the ocean.

The prize giving was held in the main foyer at the historic Commissioners House at Dockyard. The house is now one of Bermuda’s main museums that tells the story of Bermuda’s colorful four hundred year history much of which focuses on sailing… from pirating privateers and tall ships to modern cruising and racing yachts of all kinds and sizes.

The prizes that these sailors took home were well deserved for excellent performance in a very tough race. Chris Culver, skipper of Cetacea the winner of Class A, the Iboattrack Marion to Bermuda Team Trophy, and the Sail Magazine Bermuda Ocean Cruising Yacht Trophy and the R H A D C 'Past Commodores' Trophy for the best performance by an electronically navigated yacht said, 'Winning is a bonus… Arriving was the challenge.

The big winner of the 2009 race had to be Martin Jacobson’s Crescendo. Jacobson took home the Kaplan Memorial Min Ron III Trophy for first place in class B, The Blue Water Sailing Club Board of Govenors Trophy for the first yacht to finish, The Beverly 'Polaris' Trophy for best performance by a celestially navigated yacht, the Navigatot’s Trophy to the Navigator, Jeremy Whitty, of the first celestially navigated yacht, and the Gosling’s Rum Founders Trophy for the monohull yacht with the best overall corrected time.

The Robert N. Bavier, Jr. Seamanship – Sportsmanship Trophy may be awarded at the discretion of the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Racing Association Board of Trustees in recognition of truly outstanding seamanship or sportsmanship, independent of a yacht's finishing position. There was no Bavier Trophy awarded this year.

However, Tom Farquhar, Chairman of the MBCYRA, presented Awards of Merit to Craig Slater skipper of Phantom, Philip Clorite skipper of Lucky Dog, David Risch skipper of Corsair, and George Denny skipper of Restive. These four crews suspended racing and diverted in response to an emergency flare they sighted. They took time from the race searching for its source, a single handed sailor later rescued by a cruise ship.

Skies cleared during the ceremony and once all of the prizes were awarded and photos taken with the perpetual trophies, sailors, guests and the many volunteers who make this race possible enjoyed a gala banquet in the Keep, the parade ground below the Commissioner’s House. The party spirit continued with dancing after dinner and the starlight harbour cruise back to the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

The next Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race will be held in June 2011 with the exact date to be announced following meetings in Marion.

Race and activity information for the 2009 Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race is on-line at http://www.marionbermuda.com.