Regatta 1963

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St. Margaret's Hope Regatta 1963

Five Boats Capsize at Hope Regatta

The annual regatta of the South Ronaldsay and Burray Sailing Club took place in Water Sound on Wednesday afternoon, and 24 boats took part in the eight races sailed during the day. The course set gave a reach to a mark buoy off Burray Pier, another reach to a buoy off Hunda, and a beat to the home buoy off the Pier Head.

The arrangements for the regatta were ably carried out by the Commodore, Dr. Hooker and the secretary, Mr. John Dearness, who were helped by an able body of assistants.

The crews and official were hospitably entertained to tea in the Cromarty Hall on the completion of the centreboard race, when the needs of the "inner man" were amply provided for by an able body of ladies.

The outstanding performance of the day was undoubtedly the very fine show put up by Sirius (A Kirkpatrick, skipper and crew man John Down), who won no less than three cups during the day- The Snipe Cup, Centreboard Cup, and Allcomer's Cup- truly showing a fine piece of seamanship and splendid handling in pretty hard going conditions; in fact all the competitors who took part in the regatta under such severe conditions are to be congratulated on a very fine show. At least four or five boats went over during the day, but with five or six rescue boats standing by at various distances over the course the crews were soon rescued and boats towed home, none being the worse except for a good soaking.

Merlin Rocket

The first race was for Rockets (all from Kirkwall)- Corona (J Laird), First Attempt (D. Grieve), and Freya (R. Drever). Corona made a good start and led all the way round, finishing 35 seconds ahead of First Attempt, with Freya 3 minutes 11 seconds behind the leader.

Times were as follows:

Snipe

The next race was for the Snipes in which there were nine boats forward, one of which, however, had to retire with a broken rudder before the race started. Another boat, Tyro, had to give up on the first leg of the course with some sail trouble. The other seven - Sirius (A Kirkpatrick, Kirkwall), Viking (A Flett), Firewood (Sinclair Muir), Erma (J. Foubister), Sceptre (C. Bruce), La Rocca (R. Laird) and Kontiki (N. Johnston), all belonging to the Holm Club completed the course. Sirius and Viking went neck and neck for a time on the reach to the Burray mark with Sirius pulling away slightly to round the mark a few seconds ahead of Viking who was closely followed by Firewood. By the time the Hunda mark was reached however, it was seen that Sirius had increased her lead slightly, which she maintained to the finishing line with Viking a good second, 58 seconds behind.

Times were as follows:

Enterprise

The race for Enterprises followed when five boats were forward, all from across the Pentland Firth- Gnome (F. Williamson), Mairi (J. McLeish), Silkie (K. Swanson), Debora (J. Pearce), and Spirtle (C. Hillyer), the latter getting into difficulties and having to retire.

The boats finished as follows:

Catamaran

Four Cats were forward for this race- Spindrift (D. Thomson), Vega (Groat, Longhope), Gemini (J. Tait) and Venture (J. Taylor), Spindrift was an easy winner in this race, finishing 5 minutes 42 seconds ahead of Vega, who was closely followed a second later by Gemini.

Orkney Dinghies and Yawls

There were only two boats forward for this race- Pansy (Dr. Peace, Longhope) and Falcon (J. Rosie, Swona), Falcon got away to a good start, but was eventually overtaken by Pansy.

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Kirkwall Regatta 1963

Five Catamarans in Kirkwall Regatta

The annual regatta of Orkney Sailing Club was held in Kirkwall Bay on Saturday, when 26 boats took part in the various races throughout the day. The morning was fine, with a slight haze, and the wind was rather on the light side, making it much more favourable for the spectators, who viewed the races from the Pier Head and various points of vantage around the bay, than for the competitors.

Nevertheless, the boats were able to complete the programme of races without a hitch, although the boats in the Enterprise, Snipe and Merlin Rocket classes were able to complete only one round of the points course instead of the usual two, owing to lack of wind. The catamarans, however, who were first off, managed to complete a long course- Greenfield, Scargun and back to the pier, as well as the points course. Notwithstanding the lack of wind, which at times freshened a little, the competitors, after the hard going at Holm and St. Margaret's Hope Regattas earlier in the week, were perfectly satisfied with the conditions.

The race for Catamarans started shortly after 10am when five boats were forward- Spindrift (D. Thomson), Venture J. Taylor, Vega (D. Kirkpatrick), Gemini (J Tait) and Teal (J. Goar), Spindrift led at the finish by 42 seconds from Venture whilst Vega, who was third, was 4 minutes 8 seconds behind the leader.

The times were as follows.

Enterprise

The second race was for Enterprises, in which five boats took part - Silkie (K. Swanson), Gnome (F Williamson), Spirtle (C. Hillyer), Mairi (J. McLeish) and Debora (J. Pearce).

Silkie led all the way to finish 1 minute and 29 seconds ahead of Gnome, whilst third place went to Spirtle who finished 4 minutes 49 seconds behind Silkie.

Places and times:

Snipe

The third race was for Snipes, in which twelve boats were forward- Valhalla (H. McKenzie), Viking (A. Flett jr.) Fleetwing (D. Robertson), Tern (Dr. Taylor), Sirius (A. Kirkpatrick), Erma (J. Foubister), Sceptre (C. Bruce), Tyro (H. Johnston), Las Rocca (R. Laird), Firewood (S Muir), Kontiki (N. Johnston) and Water Music (A. Tulloch).

The race was eventually won by Valhalla, followed by Viking and Fleetwing, but owing to the boats finishing so close together, except for being able to get the first three places, it was impossible to get the various times of each competitor. The winners, however, were:

Merlin Rockets

Four boats took part in this race, which followed the Snipe Class Race- Corona (J. laird), Freya (A Drever), First Attempt (D. Grieve) and Tyste (R. Croy). This class being faster in light winds than the Snipes, eventually caught up with this class , both classes getting mixed up, especially at the Crowness mark and the finishing line.

Corona, however, proved the winner, with Freya a good second only 11 seconds behind, First Attempt in Third place. Times as follows:

On the completion of the Rocket race the crews and officials retired to the Ness Loft where an ample dinner was served by the ladies committee, whose efforts to provide for the needs of the "inner man" left nothing to be desired.

Catamarans: Croy Cup

The race started shortly after 2 pm while the course was the same as in the forenoon. This race was won by Spindrift, making her cup win of the day with Gemini a good second and Venture third.

Centreboard Race

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Holm Regatta 1963

Day of Thrills in 40 mph gale

Yachtsmen over the weekend were praying for a good breeze for Monday, the day of the Holm Regatta, but they did not bargain for the 25-30 mph gale gusting up to 40-50 mph which had the white horses storming across the bay. Nevertheless it was a day in which both the Snipes and Catamarans revelled.

In all four boats capsized and one had part of the deck torn up when a stay gave way. One had a mast broken, but there were no casualties in the crews all of whom enjoyed a boisterous days racing. Upwards of thirty boats turned up to compete in the various races, including our friend Dr Taylor all the way from Tayside with his Snipe Tern, and F. Williamson also from Tayside.

There were no less than four rescue boats on duty- Messers Sutherland of Rossland garage, Mr. J Wylie, Harbourmaster, Scapa, Mr. J. Rosie all the way from Swona and Mr. D. Eunson, Millhouse. In addition Mr. W. Laughton's speedboat Bluebird made several trips out in the choppy seas and handled very well.

Snipe

The first race was for Snipes, and only a short distance from the pier after crossing the line disaster struck Dr. Taylor's Snipe Tern. His tiller broke and, caught unawares by a sudden gust of wind the boat capsized. John Wylie in Rescue boat no. 1 was quickly on the scene and towed him to the pier.

The rest of the boats got off to a flying start and revelled in the sparkling breeze. What a glorious spectacle to the hundreds of spectators lining the front on the pier and various vantage points all along the front of the village, on barriers 1 and 2, on Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm!

The course set was a reach from the Pier towards Ness Pier, a beat across the bay to No. 2 Barrier, a reach to No. 1 Barrier and a run home.

Valhalla (H. McKenzie) quickly established a lead and with Viking (A. Flett) close on his heels an exciting battle ensued. A little further behind another tussle was being fought between Kontiki (N Johnston), Erma (J. Foubister) and Sceptre (C. Bruce). The winner was Valhalla with Viking second and Kontiki third.

Rocket Race and Enterprise Race

When the time came for the next race the wind had freshened even more, and of the four Rockets present only one, First Attempt (D. Grieve) sailed the complete course.

To ensure that maximum safety precautions were taken, the four Enterprises were set off at the same time, although they were not racing against one another, the Rockets came in well in front of the first Enterprise, which was Gnome (F. Williamson of Tayside), who established a three minute lead over his nearest rival Selkie (K. Swanson).

Catamarans

Making their first appearance at Holm, two Catamarans were forward for the next race. And they certainly showed their paces, streaking past the crowd on the pier like a couple of speedboats, leaving a cloud of spray in their wake. Gemini (J. Tait) quickly established a lead which he kept to the end over Venture (T. Linklater).

Centreboard Race

Another mishap occurred in this race. The Rocket Tyste (D. Kemp) and one of the Enterprises got too close together. Their masts entangled and Tyste capsized. The strong wind was blowing them in towards the pier but they quickly got it righted. Full of water it was very difficult to control, and it capsized again, this time so near the pier that the mast caught on one of the moored boats and snapped about half way up. This was perhaps the most thrilling race of the day to watch, with the honours pretty evenly divided between a Snipe, Valhalla (H. McKenzie) which came first, a Rocket, First Attempt (D. Grieve), another Snipe, Kontiki (N. Johnston) third and Gnome (F. Williamson) an Enterprise which came in fourth.

After the race came a break in the proceedings with a well earned feast for crews and officials who were entertained to tea in the community centre by Mrs. D. Laughton and her band of helpers.

Next race was the second for the catamarans, and it was a repeat of the first race with Gemini (J. Tait) coming in well in front of Venture (T. Linklater).

The last race was the Allcomers and for this the wind had, if anything, freshened. Only seven boats were forward for the race- six Snipes and one Rocket.

Kontiki (N. Johnston), in a good position was hit by a sudden gust of wind. A stay broke, taking with it a piece of deck, so that he was forced to retire. Viking (A Flett) then seized the lead and in best form gradually drew away from the rest of the field, storming home a clear winner by 45 seconds from his nearest rival Valhalla (H. McKenzie). The Rocket First Attempt (D. Grieve) was third with Firewood (S. Muir) fourth, Erma (J. Foubister) fifth and Waterman (A. Tulloch) sixth.

A. Flett, by winning this race, now keeps the cup first presented for the Allcomers race in 1953. He won it in 1954 and 1955.

During the day the village was packed with cars and and visitors, many of whom declared it was the best days racing they had ever seen. Teas were served in the Community Centre from 5 pm onwards.

Prizes Presented

The prizes were presented in the Community Centre in the evening. Commodore A. Flett welcomed the visitors and thanked all those who had helped to make the day such a success. he introduced the Regatta Queen, Miss Christine Scott, who very gracefully presented the prizes to the winning skippers.

There followed a very enjoyable dance, music for which was provided by Mr. Eddie Peace and his band.

First Race- Snipe

Second Race- Merlin Rockets

Third Race- Enterprise

Fourth Race- Catamarans

Fifth Race- Centreboards

Sixth Race- Catamarans

Seventh Race- Allcomers

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Longhope Regatta 1963

Large Crowd at Longhope Regatta

Catamarans

Merlin Rockets

Snipe

Enterprise

Allcomers- Designed Boats

Allcomers- Designed Boats

Allcomers- Catamarans

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Kemp Cup 1963

The first race held in Kirkwall Bay during regatta week was sailed on Friday morning at 11am for the Kemp Cup in which four Rockets, four Enterprises and six Snipes took part. The course was greatly extended for this race, the boats having to go round mark anchored off Thieve's Holm, thence around Scargun buoy and back to the pier buoy, after which they had to complete the points course - Greenfield buoy, Crowness buoy, and back to the finishing line off the Pier Head. The entries were as follows:-

Rockets- First Attempt (D Grieve), Corona (J. Laird), Tyste (R. Croy) and Freya (R Drever). Enterprises- Gnome (F. Williamson), Spirtle (C. Hillyer), Debora (J. Pearce), Mairi (J. McLeish). Snipe- Valhalla (H. McKenzie), Erma (J. Foubister), Tern (Dr. Taylor), Tyro (H. Johnston), La Rocca (R. Laird) and Firewood (S. Muir).

All the boats got away to a good start, but after they had proceeded on the first leg of the course for a short distance it was impossible to say which boat actually had the lead. After the Thieve's Holm mark had been rounded, however, it was seen that the Enterprise Gnome was in the lead, which she held throughout the race to finish 1 minute 10 seconds ahead of Valhalla, who was second, with First Attempt following 34 seconds later for third place. The results and times were as follows:-

The picture below shows Frank and Sheila Williamson, winners of the Kemp Cup Trophy.

Errol Bruce Cup

The race for this cup, confined to catamarans, which was intended to be sailed for on Friday morning, was cancelled until 8 in the evening to allow those interested in the inter-county football and hockey matches to witness these games.

Five catamarans were forward when the starting signal was given at 8pm- Vega (D. Kirkpatrick), Venture (J. Taylor), Spindrift (D. Thomson), Teal (T Linklater) and Gemini (J. Tait). The course set was around Thieve's Holm, Scargun,, back to the Pier mark then around the usual points races course- Greenfield, Crowness and home.

The Vega, Spindrift and Venture were well ahead after rounding Thieve's Holm in that order. Teal and Gemini were well behind. Gemini eventually retiring after completing the long course. At the finish the final three boats were separated by seconds only. Vega was first by 15 seconds, while Venture managed to pip Spindrift almost on the finishing line for second place, by one second.

Times were as follows: