Yet again the weather Gods smiled on us and we had another regatta blessed with good weather. Even Sunday, which initially looked as if it was going to be cool and wet, turned out to be a glorious sailing day. It was also good to see a few boats, such as Catspaw, which are not regularly seen at YSC events.

The wind was lightish on Saturday, but at least off the marsh so we did not have to contend with the windshadow from the trees halfway up Cantley Reach. A simple two lap course was set with many predicting that Zingara would win even before the briefing had been held! George duly obliged, leading the fleet home ahead of Pixie and Dryad.

Sunday dawned cool, grey and looking as if it might rain, but by the time the first race set off the sky was clearing and the sun came out. With a fresher wind than the previous day, competitors were able to enjoy a good sail well above Langley Forest, round a loop and then back to Cantley. It was probably a little fresher than Zingara would have liked, pushing them down to fourth place with Melody coming home first ahead of Shruff and Henrietta. This meant there was everything to play for in the afternoon with six boats all in with a realistic chance of taking the overall prize.

For the last race we reverted to the same course as Saturday, up and down Cantley Reach. This initially appeared to be mostly a reach both ways, but in the event some fluky wind shifts made things rather less simple with some boats being able to hold reaches that earlier competitors had had to tack. Shruff managed another second place, but it was not enough to hold off Pixie, who won the race and therefore also the regatta.

Many thanks to the Reedcutter for their great welcome and an enjoyable supper on Saturday night, to the Wolf Brewery for their support and to Chris Duke and Joe Farrow for successfully running a regatta for the first time.

RESULTS

Buckenham Trophy (Saturday pm)   1. Zingara George Williams   2. Pixie Adrian Lincoln   3. Dryad David M Walker   4. Anne Kelvin Halifax   5. Shruff Simon Miles   6. Henrietta Pete Charlton   7. Catspaw B Wilkins   8. Insh'allah Trevor Potter   9. Modwena Matt Anderson   10. Puck Andy Garnham   11. Pandora III P J Smith   12. Wisp Denis Kilner   13. Lucky Breeze David Walker

Commodore's Trophy (Sunday am)   1. Melody Mark Wells   2. Shruff   3. Henrietta   4. Zingara   5. Anne   6. Catspaw   7. Modwena Arthur Wells   8. Dryad   9. Pixie   10. Puck   11. Wisp   12. Insh'allah   13. Golden Moon Duncan Ellis   14. Lucky Breeze

Portaferry Sailing Club Shield (Sunday pm)   1. Pixie   2. Shruff   3. Anne   4. Catspaw   5. Zingara  6. Henrietta   7. Melody   8. Dryad   9. Wisp   10. Modwena Matt Anderson   11. Puck   12. Golden Moon   13. Lucky Breeze

Nelson Trophy (open) (Overall - best 2 of 3)   1. Pixie   2. Shruff   3. Zingara   4. Anne   5. Melody   6. Henrietta   7. Catspaw   8. Dryad   9. Modwena   10. Insh'allah   11. Wisp   12. Puck   13. Golden Moon   14. Lucky Breeze