Yachting World Dayboat Open And Regatta at Gravesend Sailing Club

By John Davies-Mullan

Another year and another great GSC Regatta and DB Open held and true whole club event run by members. A two day event where we welcomed the return of Phoenix (636) and Zenith (643) after many years not sailing.

A strong attendance overall with 10 DBs, 3 from Thornbury Sailing Club – Attilla (573), Proud Mary (533), 2023 Winner Avocet (565) – and good to see Mike Hewitt (crewing in Attilla) coming up from the south coast for fun! Very much appreciated.

Saturday 6th

Visitors arrived and, with an 1100hrs briefing and planned 1200hrs race start, plenty of support from membership as usual to help un-hitch and get visitors ready. Tea and brunch was served and then we all stood back and watched the weather come in. It was blowing a hooley to say the least with heavy gusts getting to F6 & F7. Our OOD (Roy Turner) and Chief Safety (Peter Fletcher), in agreement with helms, made the right decision to postpone and then cancel race 1. Even Dave Allen (Attilla) said he wouldn’t go sailing in that..!

So, with time on our hands, the bar was opened and the usual comparison, conversation, and contemplation, of other set-ups and rigs ensued. All the while, our social team made a fantastic effort to bring dinner forward to a late lunch. Great fun had with good food and good company throughout the afternoon.

Sunday 7th

With an 1100hrs briefing and planned 1230hrs race start, we launched as soon as we could. In mixed conditions with a westerly fairing more consistent and gusting to F6, our OOD set a superb course of 3 marks (a right angled triangle) with a laid mark on the other (Essex) side of Thames Reach, meaning competitors had to cross the shipping channel. We were set for 2 fantastic races, of 3 laps each, back to back.

Race 1

Phoenix (636), Avocet (565), and Attilla (573) led the fleet round in a great ding-dong between them with very close racing and swapping of positions. In mid-field was also close seeing swapping of positions between several boats. Fantastic racing throughout the fleet all the way to the end. Phoenix (636) coming out on top.

Race 2

A few of race 1’s mid-field boats started very well especially with Ozone Friendly (535) and Chrystal Dawn (610) having great starts, closely followed and within the first lap passed by Phoenix (636) and Attilla (573). Through buckets of horizontal rain on occasion, we again saw a great ding-dong that ensued throughout the fleet and swapping of positions, with Phoenix (636) coming out on top again.

After racing, our social team had laid on a feast for our prize giving afternoon tea where Geoff Honey & Rob Turpie (Phoenix) lifted the GSC DB Open Cup (it came home!), following years out of sailing, and 2nd and 3rd places walking away with their engraved GSC prize tumblers respectively.

All in all another huge success of an open. A special thank you to our visitors from TSC and especially to Tim Parkinson (Avocet) for his kind words at our prize giving on why he coming back year on year to go sailing at GSC’s DB Open. A special thanks to the sailing committee, social committee, OOD, Safety Crews, onshore support, and membership in general, as well as, Penny and Steve Davies (Widgeon) for accommodating visitors. A true whole club event.

Visitors would have heard me say before (and I’ll say it again), sailing at Gravesend offers a very different sailing experience. We go sailing on one the busiest shipping channels in the World, with a multitude of sailing considerations and conditions you might never come across in many sailing areas across the country. I would always recommend helms do not come to us for a “sailing holiday”, but, should come very much for a different sailing / racing experience. You’d be very welcome at our 2025 open.

Note: Attilla (573) and Ozone Friendly (535) disqualified in race 1 for not passing within the outer mark of the start / finish line on lap 1.