Royal Thames Red Funnel Keelboats Weekend — 11 July '09

11 July –12 July

Dynamite wins the Cory Cup for Royal Thames, Supremacy wins the Alfred Golin and Elvis the David Howard. Zoe clean sweeps the XODs

Results all classes and both days of racing are here.

Finishing times and results for Sunday's racing are here.

Well done to all competitors who a) braved the conditions and b) found the start line.  With the breeze up around 18 - 20 knots on Saturday and HW at around 1400, your ever-considerate race committee decided that the Brambles Bank and Hill Head plateau would be no place for any self-respecting Cowes keelboat to be found, and so betook itself off to the more sheltered waters off the entrance to Wooton Creek. We have to go that far east, when the breeze has much in the way of south in it, to find the mile-and-a-half we need to set the course. Those who found us enjoyed - or at the very least experienced - some tough and testing windward/ leeward racing in bracing conditions. The decision to visit the area was vindicated when, as soon as the ebb set in, Hill head and its environs became untenable and racing for the Six Metres, racing their nationals with Royal Southern, had to be abandoned.

Sunday was much the same only moreso. Racing for the Sixes was abandoned at the outset - but even though the breeze was now in the low Twenties Wooton was smooth as a blanket.  Those tough little XODs were kept well inshore by using the short course 'Z' while the Darings, Etchells and both Dragons ventured out to sea almost as far as Mother Bank buoy.

Richard Cullen in the apositely-named Supremacy won the Alfred Golin Challenge Cup (again) for the best performance over the weekend in the Dragons while Elvis (D. Franks and G Sunderland) won the David Howard Challenge Cup with their clean sweep in the Etchells. Zoe (M. Pascall, Mr & Mrs D. Tabb) cleean-swept the XODs, joining the the Red Funnel series for the first time this year, and Dynamite, representing RTYC, has lifted the Cory Cup in the Daring class. Full results of the Cory Cup are here.