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Model Yacht Racing Trophy at Royal Southern Yacht Club

by Phil Riley
29 May 2012

Model Yacht Racing at the Royal Southern

Equipe Foxers win

Yacht racing, as participants and observers know, can be the cruellest of sports. What appears to be a nailed on certainty of victory can be snatched away in seconds amid the lottery of light winds, and it makes no difference whether you are aboard a Volvo 70, 36-foot cruiser-racer or 49er dinghy – or in control of a one metre long radio-controlled model Laser. So it was at the model yacht racing event held on Tuesday evening (29th May) as part of the Royal Southern Yacht Club's 175 Regatta, sponsored by Brewin Dolphin.

After fighting their way through the round robins to the four-yacht final, Team Tokoloshe was half a leg ahead of the opposition down the final run to the finish when the already light breeze petered out in the middle of the course. Frantic wiggling of control levers by the team member standing on the Royal Southern pontoon was to no avail. The smallest zephyr appeared at the top end of the lagoon course in front of the Club House, and the other three mini-yachts surged past the hapless Tokoloshe, with the Equipe Foxers team snatching victory just ahead of Shira & The Sailing Secs and The Frustrated Team.

‘Anyone could have won that race – but it was still pretty good to win it,' laughed Darren Baker of Equipe Foxers, representing the Foxer fleet from the nearby Hamble River Sailing Club. Darren revealed that the experienced hands on the control sticks in the final belonged to Malcolm Donald, who only came out of hospital last week after major surgery.

‘He should really have been at home in bed recovering,' said Darren. ‘But he's an experienced model yacht racer and wanted to come down and have some fun at the Southern.'

Steve Hinton-Lever and Paul Lovejoy completed the Equipe Foxer line-up, with Team Waterline and The Fluttering Flags the other teams taking part in the highly enjoyable mini-regatta. The model yachts themselves were generously loaned by Nigel Seary of toy importer Peterkin UK Ltd of Leicester to Weymouth-based Mark and Sue Deverill, who travelled from Dorset with the yachts to manage the event alongside the chief race officer and expert commentator, Tony Lovell.

175 Regatta - the largest gathering of competitive yacht racing ever run under the Royal Southern Yacht Club burgee

The Royal Southern Yacht Club 175 Regatta sponsored by Brewin Dolphin and supported by Gaastra Pro Gear, Mount Gay Rum, Barbados Tourism Authority, Piper-Heidsieck and Swarovski Optik, comprises a 16-day racing festival which commenced with registration on Friday, May 25th and, with an occasional reserve day built in, will work its way through to the overall prizegiving on Sunday, June 10th.

The 175 Regatta, incorporates the Club's regular May and June Summer Series Regattas, includes activity ashore and afloat, encompasses all classes of day boats, keelboats and ocean racing boats that regularly support the Club and even introduces some spectator-friendly model boat racing.

During this packed schedule, the Royal Southern Yacht Club is hosting 35+ classes and over 500 sailors to participate in what will be the largest gathering of competitive yacht racing ever run under its burgee.

The June Summer Series Regatta takes place June 9-10th.

www.royal.southern.co.uk

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