Salcombe Yacht Club Three Creeks Challenge
by John Burn 18 Aug 09:49 PDT
16 August 2025
SYC has put on a lot of sailing so far this season, and after two busy weeks of regattas, if you thought there would be a forced rest day on Saturday, you were mistaken.
Numbers were down across all fleets—perhaps the 40-knot nor'easter being recorded at Prawle Point was deterrent enough for most, or maybe it was just tired bodies and legs? Who knows. What I do know is that the two Yawls and five Solos that did turn out had a truly memorable sail.
As the name suggests, the course set by RO Mike Hicks had to involve trips up all three creeks, but he was free to decide the punishing order in which sailors would take them on. Mike chose what you might call the "standard circuit," 4-6-8, but, to the dismay of a few, all to port. This meant three big gybes in the windiest sections of the course—unless, of course, you chickened out!
There was no Short Race, so first away were the five Solos in the Fast Handicap fleet. Tim Law sprang into action and quickly took the lead, only to sail himself straight into the active Fairway—soon followed by Martin Hodgson. They may or may not have been aware, but they had come to sail, so they completed the course regardless.
The two Yawls—John Burn with Ross Borne crewing in Y170, and Simon Dawes with Richard Elliott crewing in Y150—waited for their sequence and were soon on their way as well.
The beat to mark 4 was exceptionally windy. In fact, the only sections of the course offering any respite were the usual windless offenders—Halwell Woods and Snapes Point.
The wind direction was just right to allow a flat-out reach from Saltstone all the way to Bowcombe and back, with little to no relief for legs and arms.
Billy Jago won a close battle in the Solo fleet, with Yotter second and Roger Guess third. Remarkably, all five Solos remained in close contention throughout, demonstrating excellent heavy-weather boat handling.
In the Yawls, John and Ross were too slick for Simon and Richard, powering home with over a minute and a half to spare on corrected time.
A special thank-you goes to the race team and safety boat crews, as well as to Lucy for capturing some amazing photos and videos of the day.