Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S600 LEADERBOARD

61st Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy at Ullswater Yacht Club

by Ullswater Yacht Club 6 Jul 2023 05:29 PDT 1-2 July 2023

With an impressive display of boat handling in conditions that defeated many, brothers Matty and James Lyons sailing a 49er, won the 61st Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy at Ullswater Yacht Club on July 1st & 2nd.

The iconic long-distance event was established by the club in honour of Lord Norman Birkett who died in 1962, two days after making a successful speech in the House of Lords preventing Ullswater from becoming a reservoir, which would have restricted public access.

It has become more than just a race but a Festival of Sailing attracting entries in a wide range of different dinghies, keelboats and cruisers from all over the country.

The club's Commodore, Kathryn Hall, welcomed the 208 entries from the race box balcony as a moderate breeze that threatened considerably more, blew across the lawn. Sean Brooks the Principal Race Officer set a 12mile course to Norfolk Island, back to Pooley Bridge and then finishing in front of the club. The fleet massed for the 1pm start, only to be brought back under a general recall. Only on the third start under a black flag did the fleet get away cleanly, into a building breeze.

30+ knots met the fleet as they rounded the Narrows and headed for the Island. Plenty of drama followed, keeping the Safety Officer, Edmund Clarke and the safety crews occupied.

The 49er of Matty and James Lyons lead the fleet, chased hard by the 505 of Nathan Batchelor and Ian Turnbull. Both having to pick their way back through the fleet of beating and capsized boats. The 49er finished in 1hr 9mins mins and 18mins ahead on the water, but the 505 took the Saturday win on handicap in front of the 49er in second. The Fireball of Graham Newton and Mark Stevens from Staunton Harold SC, finished third on corrected time. Further back in the fleet, several classes experienced close racing, especially the Fireball, RS400 and Flying Fifteen fleets, who were thriving in the heavy weather.

Sunday brought more westerly to the breeze, making for a difficult start in front of the clubhouse and again it was only on the third asking under a black flag, did the fleet get away. The fleet beat to Norfolk Island in an unsteady breeze that again built to over 30 knots, before turning around the Island for an exhilarating ride home, via the leeward mark off the Ullswater Steamers pier at Pooley Bridge.

Once more, the 49er of Matty and James Lyons lead the fleet round the Island, with the 505 chasing them down. Also in the mix was the Musto Skiff of Mike Mathews.

Both the safety crews and photographers were again kept busy as competitors battled the challenging conditions. It was the 49er again first home and then the wait for the 505 with the clock ticking by. But unknown to Matty and James, the 505 had broken its mast and was sailing back under a jury rig. However, the race was still on with the Musto Skiff of Mike Mathews who took second, the RS400 of Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman from Bassenthwaite SC in third and the Fireball of Russ and Ali Cormack from Budworth SC in fourth, all pushing hard to close the gap.

When all boats were safely ashore, the 61st Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy was awarded to the previous 2016 winners, Matty and James Lyons in a 49er, from Ullswater Yacht Club. Second was the Mike Mathews in a Musto Skiff and third was Graham Priestley, crewed by Josh Moran and Dylan Noble in a VX One.

Special mention goes to the first juniors, 13 and 11 year old brothers Thomas and Daniel Whitehead from Filey SC who finished an impressive 25th overall in their RS Feva XL.

The weekend's main sponsors were Waitings, the civil engineering contractors and plant hire experts and David Allen, IT Solutions. Also supporting the event were Ullswater Steamers, Dalemain Estates and Ullswater Sailing School.

The club thanks all the volunteers who worked so hard to make the 61st Birkett possible. And a huge thank you goes to every sailor who took part in the racing to make the Birkett such an amazing event. The 62nd Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy will be held on 6th & 7th July, 2024.

Full results and galleries can be found at the event website www.ullswaterycbirkett.org

Overall Results: (top ten)

PosClassHelmCrewClub
1st49erMatty LyonsJames LyonsUllswater Yacht Club
2ndMusto SkiffMike MathewsTBA
3rdVX OneGraham PriestleyJosh Moran & Dylan NobleUllswater Yacht Club
4thRS 400Chris PicklesMatt SharmanBassenthwaite Sailing Club
5thVX OneDavid ClarkeTim Emery & Andrew SmithUllswater Yacht Club
6thFireballRuss CormackAli CormackBudworth Sailing Club
7thVX OneTony LewisAndrew Cutting & Cathleen SchwarzloseUllswater Yacht Club
8thRS 200Andrew PetersJill PetersCastle Cove Sailing Club
9thFireballDaren FaseyColin DavisStaunton Harold Sailing Club
10thRS 400Alistair CoatesThomas CoatesBudworth Sailing Club

Class Prizes:

ClassPosSail NoHelmCrewClub
Albacore1st8152Philip SmithSteve CarrRYA
Enterprise1st21777Oliver BoocockLuke HartshomScammonden Water Sailing Club
Fireball1st14837Russ CormackAli CormackBudworth Sailing Club
Flying Fifteen1st3927John ThornleyMegan ThornleyUllswater Yacht Club
Flying Fifteen2nd3506Christian BarnesDenise SykesUllswater Yacht Club
GP141st13146Steve WardS StarkleBartley Sailing Club
ICLA 6&71st217872Tom MossScaling Dam Sailing Club
K61st114Tony HarperSteve WatsonNotts County Sailing Club
Laser 20001st2703Oliver ThompsonElliot ThopmsonWest Riding Sailing Club
Musto Skiff1st625Mike MathewsTBA
RS 2001st1559Andrew PetersJill PetersCastle Cove Sailing Club
RS 2002nd1642John WilsonLaura GloverEast Lothian Yacht Club
RS 2003rd296Jamie TylecoteEvie CoatesRutland Sailing Club
RS 2004th1318Nigel PepperdineSimon KelsallStaunton Harold Sailing Club
RS 4001st1453Chris PicklesMatt SharmanBassenthwaite Sailing Club
RS 4002nd498Alistair CoatesThomas CoatesBudworth Sailing Club
RS 4003rd145Alex LeonardBen MurrellBassenthwaite Sailing Club
RS 4004th1347Chris MasseyAndy McKeeHollingworth Lake Sailing Club
Tempest1st1181Keith LockeyPaul AdamsUllswater Yacht Club
VX One1st180Graham PriestleyJosh Moran & Dylan NobleUllswater Yacht Club

Individual Trophies:

TrophyWinnersClassClub
Best Placed JuniorsThomas and Daniel Whitehead RS Feva XL Filey Saling Club
Mike Barnard Trophy  (Best placed under 21 UYC helm)Olivia Dembinska and Mathew BoatmanRS Feva XL Ullswater Yacht Club
Development Challenge Trophy  (Best placed under 18 UYC helm)Olivia Dembinska and Mathew BoatmanRS Feva XL Ullswater Yacht Club
Barclays Bank Trophy (Best place UYC)Matty and James Lyons49er Ullswater Yacht Club
Ullswater Steamers Trophy. (61st boat past the Birkett Crag on Saturday)George Sawyer and Jill QuickWayfarerConiston Sailing Club
Top Visiting CruiserAlan Bennett and TeamPlatu 25RCC, EMBC
Tortoise Trophy. (last placed boat with 2 results)Gavin Goodall and TeamMicro Gem 550Ripon/Telford/Clywedog
Dalemain Trophy (Visiting club with most entries)Budworth Sailing Club  

Related Articles

62nd Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy
Excellent event included fund raising for the Great North Air Ambulance Service Over its 62 years, the Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy run by Ullswater Yacht Club, has evolved into a 3 day festival of sailing, centred on an unique pair of all class handicap races in breath-taking scenery, for dinghies, keelboats and yachts. Posted on 18 Jul
Rooster RS Feva Grand Prix 6 at Ullswater
The entry was low in numbers, but not in ability Ullswater was the venue for the 6th and final event of the RS FEVA GP series 23/24. With a number of conflicting events, and the northerly location being a little far from the class' centre of mass, the entry was low in numbers, but not in ability. Posted on 4 Jul
62nd Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy Preview
One month to go, 160 entries have already been received The 62nd running of the Lord Birkett Trophy, which commemorates the saviour of Ullswater, is now less than a month away on 6th and 7th July. Posted on 10 Jun
RS200s at Ullswater
Sailing Chandlery Northern Tour at the Daffodil Regatta After a hotly contested weekend of sailing, the 2024 RS200 Northern Champs crown returns to Scotland as Brendan Lynch and Ellen Clarke reign victorious as the Sailing Chandlery Northern Tour kicked off with a bang! Posted on 6 May
Musto Skiffs at the Ullswater Daffodil Regatta
Opening event in the Scottish and Northern Circuit calendar A terrific 26 entries turned up for the Daffodil Regatta 2024, which was the opening event in the Scottish and Northern Circuit calendar. Posted on 4 May
Ullswater Yacht Club Daffodil Regatta
A record entry of over 90 boats from as far afield as Dorset and Ireland A record entry of over 90 boats from as far afield as Dorset and Ireland took part in Ullswater Yacht Club's Daffodil Regatta over the weekend of the 27th and 28th April. Posted on 4 May
Ullswater YC opens entries for 2024 racing events
Get set for the Daffodil Regatta and the iconic 62nd Lord Birkett Trophy Ullswater Yacht Club has opened entries for the Daffodil Regatta and the iconic 62nd Lord Birkett Trophy, its two principal racing events of 2024, and is excited to announce their sponsorship by Magic Marine and Triggernaut Sports Glasses. Posted on 3 Mar
Ullswater Yacht Club Twilight Series
A total of 67 boats ranging in speed and size from 49ers and Tempests to RS Teras took part As the long balmy evenings of a (not always) glorious summer gave way to the mists and mellow fruitfulness of early autumn the ever-popular Twilight Series at Ullswater Yacht Club came to an end on 6th September. Posted on 8 Sep 2023
ILCA Grand Prix at Ullswater
The wind slowly built to a sailable breeze Fifteen boats entered the ILCA Grand Prix held at Ullswater Yacht Club on 2nd September. On account of the forecast, slightly fewer than that arrived and those that did spent the morning enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful view. Posted on 6 Sep 2023
RS200 Northern Tour at the Lord Birkett
A seriously windy weekend for the 17 RS200s in the massive fleet at Ullswater After collecting my cap from the grounds of Ullswater Yacht Club I knew it might be a bit windy. 22 knots gusting 30 was the forecast, with a bit of luck it might be wrong but too late for me to hide this information from my crew. Posted on 17 Jul 2023
Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay