The 83rd Stonehaven Cup
19-Jan-2012
Photo: “Dorothy Linacre” from RBYS wins the series, skippered by Angus Roney, mainsheet Joe Hennessy and for’ard hand Rebekah Raven. Photo by: Lee McRae - RMYS
This year, Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS) hosted the 83rd Stonehaven Cup Regatta. The event is the longest continuously contested junior one-design dinghy trophy in Australian yachting. The contest is limited to youth sailors between the ages of 12 and 18 years. The Stonehaven Cup was first awarded in 1924 to boats ‘Mayfly’ from Tasmania and ‘Penguin’ from NSW, who won in a tied score on the famous Derwent River, in Hobart.
While the New Generation 12Ft Cadet dinghy looks identical to the original 1924 design it had many significant modifications during the ‘70’s to make them easier to rig, more cost effective to maintain and safer to race. These modifications included construction from fiberglass materials, the addition of buoyancy tanks and the change from a gaff lugsail rig to a bermudan rig. In every other respect, they are the same handsome and seaworthy youth training dinghy.
Crews from RMYS, Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC), Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club (HBYC), King Island Boat Club (KIBC), Cairn Curran Sailing Club (CCSC) and Bendigo Yacht Club (BYC) all took part in the event which consisted of 2 invitation races and 7 heats for the Cup itself.
The regatta officially kicked off on Wednesday, January 4th, however severe weather conditions meant the two invitation races scheduled for that day had to be moved to Thursday, January 5th. Dorothy Linacre, with RBYC skipper Angus Roney at the helm, took line honours in races with his twin, Nick, who was at the helm of Cry Havoc, coming in second. This set the scene for the heats themselves.
The first of the seven heats, also won by Dorothy Linacre, was held on Thursday afternoon. Another three heats took place on Friday, with no sailing Saturday, a lay day. Poor wind Sunday morning meant the races had to be postponed until the afternoon. The Cadets were able to get one race in before conditions again interfered with a cross-wind gusting 35 knots bringing the day to a premature close. The final two heats of the series were held on Monday, January 9th, in perfect conditions with Dorothy Linacre in a strong position for first place but only 3 points separating second, third and forth.
The Awards Dinner was held for the Cadet crews on Tuesday evening. Dorothy Linacre from RBYC was declared the overall winner with a score of 7.0. Cry Havoc, also from RBYC, came in second with 17 points, closely followed by Aussie 11, which was helmed by Jye Whitehouse-Summers from KIBC , in third on 18 points. Catani, from RMYS and skippered by Leroy Addison, finished fourth in the series on 25 points.
Despite problems with the weather, the 83rd Stonehaven Cup was a great success both on and off the water. Congratulations to all the crews who competed in the series this year.
Next year’s event, the 84th Stonehaven Cup, will move to South Australia.
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The Australian 12 Foot Cadet Youth Program
The 12 foot Cadet dinghies are supplied by the clubs and maintained by the crews who sail them. This ensures that our youth have access to affordable and competitive yachts. A mentoring approach to crew selection sees a mix of experience in each boat, providing the experienced skippers leadership and team development skills. Crews learn to manage themselves as well as their mates and look out for each other in a way that good crews do on much larger boats.
After 80+ years, the Australian 12 Foot Cadet Dinghy youth program is well and truly time-tested and still produces a strong teenager engagement. It is all about fun, adventure, excitement, teamwork, physical challenge, leadership and of course, socialising.
For all enquiries regarding this youth training program contact Andy Doolan, RMYS Club Captain, on (03)9534 0227 or Ray Smith, RBYC Cadet Program Manager, on 0418 391 324
For more information:
www.rmys.com.au
office@rmys.com.au |
