The DB Regatta, sometimes referred to as “The Booze Cruise” due to the copious and alcoholic nature of the various prizes, is arranged as a one-day, two-race series over cans, then islands courses.
Thirteen boats, including two visiting from ABC, motored out to the Sunday morning start in clear but calm conditions, fearing the worst: the robust SW’ly of the previous weeks had finally switched off. However, Race Officer, Ian Cusack, aboard Committee Boat (read Committee Junk) Dalliance, grabbed the first sniff of a breeze, and released both Divisions in a combined Race 1 start into a light E’ly. Very light.
As always in light airs, a couple of boats were caught on the hop, squawking on VHF “Have we started?!”, but most managed away reasonably cleanly, given the conditions. The first beat was then an exercise in patience, as the breeze dropped to a zephyr, the sun bore down, and a weak ebb tide developed on the bow. Shockwave did well here – the pile of gear they had offloaded onto the dock, paying dividends by its absence!
After 30 minutes, Atmosphere finally led Cloud round the top mark, just as the wind swung to the South, giving the chasing fleet a ‘leg-up’ – some compensation for those caught hopping at the start. Then followed an old-style ‘triangle-sausage-triangle’… traditional in all but the variable wind direction that finally filled in fresh from the Southwest.
Not surprisingly, fast cat Atmosphere took convincing line-honours in 1 hr 38 min, with the last boat finishing an hour behind. All very close on handicap though, and everything to play for, as the Race Committee re-set the start line for Race 2, routing 15 nm in a figure-8 course around Hei Ling Chau and Peng Chau.
A tight combined start sent the fleet off to the Southwest, with the wind now occasionally piping up to 12 kts – a refreshing change from earlier. Champagne sailing conditions really: flat calm seas, clear skies and uncharacteristically good viz, with a reliable breeze that still varied enough between the islands to offer a few tactical options and challenges.
Rounding Peng Chau and Datum Rock, then back to the finish off Discovery Bay, the fleet looked compact – perhaps a day for the smaller yachts? And so it proved, as Division B (PN <1000) boats took the top placings, as follows:
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Click here for the full DB Regatta Results (Word doc) or here (PDF).
An interesting twist, almost invisible in these results, was the fact that Rosemary, Skellum and Thea were mostly crewed by ab-initio students, enjoying their fourth day on the water! Well done the tyros – have you now developed a taste for yacht racing?
Congratulations for their respective first places in Division A go to Authority (Race 1), Thea (Race 2) and Cloud (Overall), and to Skellum (Race 2, Division B and Combined). But Overall Division B and Combined winners of the DB Regatta (and the lion’s share of the booze) are Nigel Easterbrook and Colin Batchelor (and Pink) of Shockwave. Well sailed guys, and cheers!
Despite competition from a number of boats, the Toilet Seat was awarded to the Race Officer for a change, for mis-reading Course 2 in the Sailing Instructions. FYI, “siu” (as in Siu Kau Yi Chau) means little or smaller, in Chinese.
Once again, our thanks to the Race Committee (Jim Fernie, Ian Cusack, Mark MacDonald, Dave Wilson, Mike Delaney and Miles Winter) and the many helpers who helped arrange and run a very slick event.
Thanks also to photographers Pink Yeung and Sue Fernie. If there are any more good pics out there, please send them to info@dbyc.net (or post a disc in the DBYC mailbox at the Marina Club) so we can add them here.
Vistit the Photo Gallery for more pictures here.
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