What a wonderful week. It was my first trip away with Classic Sailing Club and I can say for sure it won't be my last. I'm hooked. As a new member of the club I wasn't sure what to expect of the week and how I'd fit in with the others aboard Caressa or with the members of the British Classic Yacht Club. However, it didn't take long before I felt right at home aboard this beautiful classic yacht and around this interesting and diverse group of people.
Everyone attending the regatta was extremely welcome of each yacht and it didn't take any effort to spark up conversations with the owners and crew of the other boats. It was really enjoyable to share our love of these classics with each other and to get the chance to look around all the different types of classic yachts attending the regatta.
The week was a great mix of competition, socializing and relaxation. Most days took the form of a race in the morning and either informal dinners with other yacht crews in the evening or a formal dinner with the whole regatta at one of the local Yacht Clubs. With everyone having the mutual love of sailing and classic yachts their was never a shortage of conversations or camaraderie.
Sailing and Social Highlights
My sailing highlight of the week would have to be, the last race on Saturday, where we experienced pretty much all the seasons within the space of four hours. We started the race in calm seas with medium to light winds but, as we rounded the first can in second place, the heavens opened and we were caught in the middle of a tropical style thunder storm with torrential rain and almost no visibility. After a good soaking and some choppy sailing, the clouds cleared leaving us completely becalmed and hunting to find even the lightest breath of wind. I'm please to say we found the wind and saw off two other boats to the line, with Caressa's red, white and blue spinnaker gracefully flying in the light breeze. A truly memorable sailing experience.
My social highlight of the week started at around 5pm on Saturday and didn't finish until the very early hours of the morning. After the race (and torrential rain) the sun came out in full force for the rest of the afternoon, which we spent lazing on deck with a few cool glasses of wine. This got all on board nicely relaxed for the evening ahead, which was a dinner and prize giving held in a marque on the lawn of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club (RCYC). The food was great and the wine flowed as speeches (including an hilarous one by Griff Rhys Jones) and various prizes were awarded for the racing and other extracurricular activities which had taken place throughout the regatta week. As the evening progressed we moved on into the RCYC's bar and then back down to the marina for a night cap aboard new friends' classic yachts.
Mark Holdstock. Founder Member
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