FR7020 - Fowey River class 70th anniversary

Fowey River class 70th anniversary © Chris Price

Fowey River class 70th anniversary © Marcus Lewis

FR7020 was run by the Port of Fowey Race Organising Committee (POFOC) (Royal Fowey Yacht Club and Fowey Gallants Sailing Club) and supported by Fowey River Gallery.

Held over the three days, 15-17 August, this event was a replacement for the class championships and Royal Fowey Regatta (originally due to start the same week). In recognition of the restrictions in place, it was decided early on that none of the regular trophies would be presented this year. A single-handed sub-division was brought in to allow those without crew to compete in a fair competition.

The format was set to give a different style of racing each of the three days and 29 boats took part.

Fowey River class 70th anniversary - photo © Marcus Lewis

Saturday was the long-distance race. This was more a reference to time than distance and in the event the course set to get most of the fleet back in about two hours. The fleet assembled outside the harbour for a committee boat start. John Burford was principal race officer for the event and started proceedings on time. The course being H mark, Cannis, E mark, all to port and back to finish. During the sequence however, the AP was raised due to shifting breeze which was clocking left from WSW to SSW.

The new course was a beat straight to Cannis and the fleet set off in very light air for a slow crawl to the mark. Those who went well left and hung on were rewarded with a huge lead at Cannis. Those going right found themselves in much lighter wind and really fighting to make the mark. From rounding the mark it was downwind to E and then a reach to the finish.

Fowey River class 70th anniversary - photo © Marcus Lewis

A few places were traded but groups of boats were spread out over a long distance. Trevor Kennedy in 'Saffron' Fr49 rounded Cannis first and held a good lead from there all the way to the finish - a great result and also single-handed. Terry and Bren Cole in 'Gabbiano' Fr70 took second and Alan Hall in 'Swift' Fr67 was third overtaking Phil Russ and Julie Yardley in 'Hedgehog' Fr47 on the downhill parts, who were fourth.

Sunday was in-harbour racing. Three back-to-back races were programmed. The course was a simple windward-leeward but with no gate. This course is typical of regular club racing in Fowey. With a mainly north easterly breeze a line was set from the yacht club to a laid mark and a windward mark up near Pont to give a reasonably square line and a beat. From here it was downwind to Whitehouse and back, three laps. Conditions were challenging again and light breeze was in for the day.

The top three sailors in the event all had a reasonably steady day. Philip and Sian Henson in 'Zethar' Fr68 won each of the three races. Terry Cole in Fr70 had a couple of thirds and David and Alison Rundle in 'Kittiwake' Fr63 had a 2,3,4. David Gamble (another single-hander) in 'Victory' Fr39 finished 2,4,2. Andrew and Mandi Dellow in 'Iota' Fr51 led the first two and a half laps of race three only to find a hole and end 6th. Overnight, with a discard, the leaderboard was Fr68, Fr70, Fr63, Fr39, Fr67.

Fowey River class 70th anniversary - photo © Chris Price

Monday's plan was for four short windward leeward races out of harbour. With half the regatta still to race the results were certainly nowhere near decided. The day was again dominated by light breeze starting with a south easterly flow. During the first race sequence the AP went up as the breeze clocked right and the course rotated. Next time saw the fleet away and the Hensons kept up their performance from the day before by winning. This put them firmly in as favourites with four firsts and a discard of five points and three races to go. In second place Andy and Suzy Matthews in 'Kingfisher' Fr53 put down their mark for the day - they would go on to finish second in all four races.

With short races the start is super critical and the first windward mark very congested and so there were opportunities for big gains and losses in each race. Each race ended with a different winner. The second race was won by Fr63, race three by Fr70. The last race was sailed in the strongest breeze of the event as it picked up with the rain that came in. There was a general recall and the restart took place with an India flag in place which caught a few out. The race was won by one of the oldest boats in the event, Robert Bird in 'Marie' Fr10.

Fowey River class 70th anniversary - photo © Marcus Lewis

The final standings ended without change from the overnight positions for top three with Philip and Sian Henson Fr68 taking first place followed by Fr70 and Fr63. A good day for Andy and Suzy Matthews Fr53 took them from outside the top ten to fourth and Fr10 was fifth. David Gamble F39 finished 6th overall and top single-hander.

The event was somewhat different to normal years activities with no formal dinners or prize-giving but after the events of the year to date it was a bonus no-one expected.

A book celebrating 70 years of the Fowey River "70 Colourful Years" is available from Fowey River Gallery, nearly 200 pages A5 softback, priced £10 plus £2.50 p&p. email:

Overall Results: