(Dartmouth, England)- Regattas have flourished along the English south
coast since the early 1820s, with Dartmouth being recognized as a key
player on ‘the regatta circuit’ since 1822. The dramatic cliffs around
the mouth of the River Dart (The Range) form a beautiful natural theatre
with many vantage points from where the sailing races can be easily
seen. Since 1822, The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta has grown
extensively - it now offers an extraordinary mix of high-class
competitive sailing and rowing, with a plethora of diverse social events
and activities.Dartmouth Week is coordinated by the three sailing clubs on the River Dart - Dartmouth Yacht Club (DYC), Dittisham Sailing Club (DSC) and Royal Dart Yacht Club (RDYC) – with all three clubs being represented on The Joint Regatta Sailing Committee (JRSC). The combined expertise and resources of the three clubs enables us to organize an exciting and rewarding event for dinghies, yachts and keelboats.
Dartmouth
Week 2014 began with dinghy racing from 23rd to 26th August within the
River Dart. From the 28th to 31st August were four full days of racing,
for all classes of yachts and keelboats, in Start Bay. The Big winner in
IRC 2 Class this year? It was the spectacular J/35 BENGAL MAGIC sailed
by Jim Chalmers from Weymouth SC taking 1st overall. Third was Peter
Tyler’s J/105 NEILSON REDEYE.In the Sportsboat Class, Joe Woods sailed his J/70 RED to six straight bullets to win class by a country furlong. Second was Darren Roach’s J/80 JACKAROO with 12 pts net, followed by Nigel & Alison Banford’s J/70 HIPHOP in third with 16 pts net. Fourth was Jeff Knapman’s J/70 LIFEDGE and fifth was David Goulden’s J/80 JOE BLACK!
The
J/109 Class had 12 boats. Top dog was Ian Mackinnon’s TIGH SOLIUS II,
winner by just exactly 1.0 points! Second was Tony Dickin’s JUBILEE
followed by Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB in third. The balance of the top
five were Angus McPhie’s WAVE WARRIOR in 4th and David & Mary
McGough’s JUST SO in 5th.The J/24s also showed up “en masse” as a one-design class (within an IRC Class— more on this in moment). The 24s produced an infamous winner in the form of John Gorman on ITALIAN JOB. He was unashamedly followed by Hugh Conway’s JAXXXIVA in second and the exotic trio of Savage/ Rogers/ Greenhalgh in third (is that an accountancy firm or a bunch of whigs on the London High Court?!).
As if that weren’t enough J/Teams dusting off a number of classes, the “Small Non-IRC Yacht Class” was just about crushed by all of the aforementioned J/24s!! Three of the top five. Aaagh. Hard to believe they aren’t banned altogether!? Seriously, a 35 year old design should have at least a few zillion minutes of “age credit”, don’t you think?! Even the original had a porta-potty mounted on the port side and a sink to starboard with four bunks in just 24 feet of boat!? By definition, the J/24 is a cruiser and the J/70 a sporty-boat? Sailing photo credits- Mike Wynn-Powell For more Dartmouth Sailing Week sailing information
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