X-332 Celavie repeats Class 2 win at Torbay Royal Regatta


After taking all the prizes in the 1999 regatta, Roger and Sally Lean were keen to defend them this year. So, with last year's sails and the addition of a new Banks 1/2oz Runner we set off in the first of the five-race series with a variable 5-10 knots of wind. We were definitely not with it at the start and Poole hot-shot Jim McGregor in his Elan 333 Flair III port-tacked the rest of the class and went on to beat us by over four minutes on corrected time. We came third behind a Freemantle 8!

In the afternoon we were all wiser, but a late wind shift meant that the set course favoured the bow-sprit J-92 who romped away and we had to be content with second.

The second day of racing brought a fresh breeze and out came Celavie's secret weapon - a maximum size, powerful Blade No.3 (the sail used exclusively last year to beat all-comers!). Every other boat hoisted a heavy No.1 or No.2, but it was Celavie who stormed away with a combination of good boat-speed, local knowledge (sail to Brixham and then tack for the mark!) and conservative tactics to win by over five minutes on corrected time.

The knives were out for race four, but our plan to arrive seconds late at the committee boat worked and we were able to tack first and claim the favoured right-hand side once more. This time, however, our opponents were gunning for us and we had to initiate a succession of tacks (which slowed the boats with overlapping sails more than us with the No.3) to gain a 20-second cushion at the top mark. The course this time sent us round a triangle and sausage and the first reach saw Flair III right on our tail by the gybe mark. With superior crew work, Flair III sneaked inside us and took the lead. Being two reaches, it gave the asymmetric boats a chance to catch up. After we had dropped our spinnaker early to clear a tangle of halyards, we rounded the leeward mark in fifth. We knew we had superior boat-speed in the increasing breeze, but the boats ahead started to cover and hold us back. Time to be aggressive. After a succession of dummy and short tacks combined with an acute knowledge of the rules we were again first to the top mark. In the ensuing two runs and beats we extended our lead to win by a little under a minute on corrected time. At the end of day two, Celavie was looking good for Class, Team and Best X-332 prizes, and for the overall Addison Gold Cup. However, in Class 1, Maverick II, a new IMX 40, was also doing a good job and was only one point ahead of us going into the last race.

Day three and the finale, one race and all to play for. To win the Gold Cup we had to score at least one point less than Maverick. It was 25-30 knots from the East and the Committee decided on a Coastal race around the bay from the Harbour Wall start. Again, our competitors chose to fly overlapping sails, and despite the big seas we opted for our No.3. After a beat up the shore into a large Channel sea, Celavie rounded ahead at the first turning mark (a large rock!) and hoisted the Banks 0.75 AP spinnaker and set off for Brixham at 12-14 knots! By the leeward mark, we had left all but the bowsprit boats many minutes behind. A long fetch back to Torquay increased our lead and by the time we reached the windward rock, we had a lead of over eight minutes on the next boat. However, the leg to Brixham became more of a reach and the J-92 and J-80, Richardson's SEAT and J-**** were only a minute behind us on the water! We worked really hard on the last round, pumping down every wave, maximising everything. At the end everyone was exhausted after four hours of racing and with the J boats seemingly too close at the end, we went ashore apprehensively.

The good news was that we had won by four seconds; the bad news was that Maverick had also won, but by only six seconds. Maverick had taken her class and the Addison Gold Cup. The consolation was that she was in our team so Roger and Sally came away from the Regatta with enough bootie to fill their car!!

Donald Wilks, Banks Sails, onboard Celavie

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