Medway Yacht Club Keelboat Regatta 2025
by Jamie Blair 20 Jun 23:40 PDT
14-15 June 2025
What a Blast! On the water and Shoreside!
The Medway Yacht Club Keelboat Regatta provides racing for Class 1, Class 2 (white sail Cruisers), Dragons and Sonatas.
The regatta was a two day event with an additional practice race on the Friday evening. The cruisers racing two races on the Saturday all within the River Medway and down river as far as the entrance at Queenborough. They Race under three rating systems: IRC, YTC and CH (Club Handicap). The Dragon and Sonatas raced windward/leeward courses. All fleets started from a committee vessel down river from the club to provide clear air and windward starts for all fleets.
Friday's practice race was won by Gandalf, an International Dragon closely followed by Naiad, a visiting Hunter Medina from Greenwich Yacht Club.
The Cruiser Class run a fun race on the Saturday from the club line and back circumnavigating the wreck of the Richard Montgomery located just outside the mouth of the River Medway.
Shoreside the club galley was on full production for meals Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday evening pushed the boat out with a live band and dancing.
Saturday saw winds from the SW and at a low end 15knots, gusting to over 30 knots.
Sunday brought a respite from the gusty stuff with around 13knots from the west.
Class 1
Class 1 consisted of 4 entries. Xray II was new to class 1 being a recently acquired X332 and was clearly going to take line honours.
Race 1 in a south westerly took the fleet from Darnett Fort start with up river beat leaving buoy 26 to port then off down river with spinnakers, passing Z2, South Kent turning at Grain Hard off Sheerness Port and back via Queenborough Spit, 13p, 12s, 18s to finish back up river at buoy 19.
Four boats and four good starts with little jostling around saw Xray II first at the windward mark followed in close order by Zephyros (Dehler 34), Countdown (Sigma 33) and Chips (Scampi 30). Spinnakers were fast up in anger for the long run, way down river turning into a reach for the last leg to Grain Hard buoy thus putting crews under some pressure for what was to follow later in race 2.
Xray took line honours followed within 10 minutes by Zephyros, Countdown and Chips. Corrected time on IRC gave Zephyros the win, Chips second, Countdown third and Xray 2 fourth.
Race 2: A start at Darnett gusting south westerly picking up to very gusty F5. A similar course beat to 26, 13, 18, 14, 26 and finish at 29.
Same start area, but much gustier causing multiple issues.
X-ray II suffered a mainsail tear but produced a spare from copious hold. The leg between 15 and 13 with the wind up at 25-30 knots saw a number of boats broaching. Chips had a full knock down when in close combat with Countdown. A broken spinnaker pole the result.
For the second downwind boats switched to goosewing to avoid further breakages and then to reef. On the beat back up river Countdown suffered an explosion of ball bearings as the main traveller failed and she retired.
Line honours for Zephyros followed by Xray II and Chips. Results for IRC corrected to Zephyros, Chips and Xray II.
Race 3: Sunday brought reduced wind strength and a westerly breeze. The committee vessel positioned further down the river near buoy 15. The course gave a beat up river to 19 then with spinnakers hoisted it was down river to Z2, 12 and 15, 19, 16 and 13, 15 and finish at 29.
Zephyros was not close to the line at the start so adrift from the other 3, with a borrowed spinnaker pole on Chips and a bridle for a main track on Countdown.
A long first beat via 12, 15 and 19 before a short loop under spinnaker down to 16 with near overlaps to round 16. Buoys 13 and 15 started the beat back to the finish at 29. By buoy 15 Zephyros had found a catch up wind shift that brought her back to the close racing of Countdown and Chips. Xray II was long gone! Great tight racing between the three with frequent tacking to try and stay advantaged by tide and covering each other cannily.
At the finish it Xray2, Zephyros, Countdown and Chips with Chips first on corrected time.
Overall winners for Class 1 were IRC Zephyros, YTC Chips and Club Handicap Xray II.
Class 2
Class 2 like Class 1 had three races in total over two days. A mixed fleet of 12 yachts, ranging from a 19ft to 33ft, some full crewed and some shorthanded.
Racing started in earnest on Saturday with 20 knots of breeze from the southwest and blue skies.
Race 1. A beat to 26 first then down river to Z2,13,12,18 and finish at 19. After a tightly fought race the race was won by First Knight, a First 25, another visiting yacht with over 40 year of regatta history.
Race 2. 25,14,15, W Bulwark, 26 and finish at 29. The wind increased to 25 knots with some big gusts meaning yachts that had flown spinnakers were reluctant to push their luck. Considering the wind strength the small boats proved to be brave and impressive sailors. Hotspur, (UFO 31) took first place on corrected time having led the race after pulling off a cheeky port tack flyer and leading until the final reach when they were overhauled by Toucan, (First 31.7).
Race 3 on Sunday with a much kinder 10 - 15 knots which suited everyone, the whole fleet was compact from start to finish, with a favourable tide on the final stretch, this was champagne sailing and super fun. Aquila (Elan 333) struck out and was first on elapsed and corrected time.
Competitive winner of the Class 2 Medway Regatta YTC handicap was First Knight with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd, Petite Fleur came second with a 2nd, 3rd, 6th and Hotspur came third with 6th, 1st and 5th.
Despite the eclectic nature of the Class 2 yachts, it proved to be popular with some excellent boat on boat racing around the cans.
International Dragon Class
For this year the Medway Keelboat Regatta was part of the British Dragon Association's East Coast Windward Leeward Series with the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham and Aldeburgh Yacht Club.
A beautiful weekend's sailing was had by six boats Vendesi, OCD, Suti, Gandalf, Taniwha, and Hands Off (from Burnham).
Saturday's four races were set in Pinup Reach between buoy 23 and 25, using the same committee boat as the Class1 and 2 cruisers.
With a steady south westerly wind increasing during the day with gusts up to 30 knot the conditions really tested the crews with mishaps frequent. Gandalf was totally the master of the day and sailed serenely away to take line honours in three of the four races.
Sunday saw much more benign conditions with a steady 10-15 knot westerly. The course was set in Long Reach, again using the same committee boat as the Class1 and 2 cruisers.
Blue skies and the steady wind saw Taniwha have a great day and took line honours in both races.
Overall Results: 1st Gandalf 2nd Suti 3rd Taniwha 4th Hands Off 5th OCD 6th Vendesi,
Sonata Class
The Sonata class enjoyed four fantastic windward leeward courses on the Saturday of the regatta. Four boats had competitive starts, upwind legs and downwind kite runs each taking turns of being first and last at various stages.
Winds increased throughout the day and saw all boats make headsail changes from No.1's to No.2's.
Despite the fierce competition Watersong managed to take the lead in all 4 races winning them the Proton Cup for day 1 of the Regatta.
The winds decreased for Day 2 of the event and unfortunately so did the entries. But you've got to be in it to win it.... Despite being bruised and traumatised from the strong winds of day 1 Red Dwarf made a return this time starting and sailing with the Dragon fleet. Red Dwarf convincingly won all races of the day and took home the Cinder Plate.
The four boats from the Sonata fleet enjoyed fantastic courses, good winds, and as always to be expected from this class - tight racing and many stories in the bar afterwards.
The Montgomery Race
Some might say that a beached second world war munitions ship 'SS Richard Montgomery" that still retains deep in its ruined cargo hold an unknown quantity of its original 1,400 tonnes of high explosive may not be the ideal target for the MYC Annual Day Cruise. Lesser sailors might be nervous that salvage experts claim those masts still standing proud out of the water at the wreck site could fall onto the cargo and detonate it.
But for at least the last twenty years or more, the Cruiser Class has managed to miss those very same masts that form the turning marks on the furthest point on the cruise. Come what may, gentle summer day or blowing hard, the MYC fleet slips the club pontoon and heads out into the Medway.
Last Saturday fourteen yachts braved winds blowing a good strong Force 6 for most of the day, gusting 29 knots at times. It was probably the first time a Cornish Shrimper has beaten the lean fast race machine that is a Pogo 36, but then 'Blue Shrimp' did have a key advantage over Lamaris leaving a full three hours before the club suggested departure time of 10.00.
The day was not without drama, with White Spirit running aground near the Queenborough Spit, and Blue Moon suffering a broken boom. Fellow cruisers were impressed that the Skipper of Solar Eclipse slipped back to the Medway in stealth mode, despite being hailed by VTS a number of times. A sudden gybe in the strong winds by Doraway triggered a crash gybe on Scapa, but as they say in newspapers 'not many dead'.
Well done to all those that boats took part, including Maid of Ditchling, Alona, Arabesque, Meridian Lady, Guinevere, Manmooth, and Martinque. The winner of the coveted Montgomery Trophy will be announced at the Cruiser Class Laying Up supper. To be eligible, you must have taken part, attend the supper, and have made suitable tributes to our legendary class captains.
A huge thanks to the Race Committee, headed by our Vice Commodore, Philip Clarabut, his team on board the Committee Vessel and those in RIBs laying marks etc and of course to all the competitors. The bon viveur and camaraderie on the water and first rate food and entertainment onshore made it a memorable weekend.
The prize-giving was held after the racing at the clubhouse near Upnor Castle overlooking Chatham Dockyard with all celebrating the winners, enjoying the banter of windy race stories along with a hog roast.
Results can be viewed on the Sailwave Locker at www.sailwave.com/results/medway