| Dufour Cup & Rally 2007 |
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 July 21st and 22nd saw the inaugural Dufour Cup & Rally sponsored by Portway Yacht Sales and run by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. Attendance was positive for the event with 13 boats competing in the sheltered waters of Torbay. Dufour owners sailed from across the South Coast and “Deckadent” a Dufour 44 made the passage from Jersey. Forecast winds of Force 7 were looming for Friday and two yachts made the decision the turn back to the Solent from Weymouth. Dufour 34 “Du-it” owners Brian and Jo Firth were unable to negotiate the M4/M5 closures and were forced to miss the event much to their dismay.Friday evening saw registration and drinks at the new Portway Yacht Sales office on the quay, followed by the Commodore’s reception, with RTYC’S Rear Commodore Mike Ellis welcoming the competing yachts to Torbay and promising fair winds for the weekend. Starting signal at 11.06 on Saturday had the race committee start the fleet in light and variable winds, wind shifts had the competitors sailing identical courses on opposite tacks. Race 1 was around the cans just off Torquay and Race 2 had the Dufours sailing coastal legs taking in the Fairway Buoy off the entrance to Brixham. Race 1 Spinnaker Class went to Derek Elliot helming his Dufour 34 “Mintaka”, whilst the winner of Non-Spinnaker Class was awarded to a well deserved Edmond Spash on “Cornelius Jones III” ,a Dufour 38 Classic. This result continued into Race 2 and the skill of the crews proved a winning formula with high standards being aimed for by the other crews next year. At a light hearted Prize Giving the wooden spoon was presented to overall last place and a bottle of wine to the “Best Turned Out” boat; following a dinner at RTYC on the Saturday evening, Sunday’s racing was blessed with consistent and prevailing South Westerly winds blowing a solid Force 4, Saturday’s rain vanished and blue skies combined with flat seas helped all the competitors enjoy Torbay’s fantastic racing arena. Winner of Spinnaker Class Race went to Derek Elliott helming his Dufour 34 “Mintaka” and Winner of Non-Spinnaker Class went to Edmond Spash sailing “Cornelius Jones III” the Dufour 38 Classic. A traditional Sunday Lunch at RTYC was preceded by Prize Giving seeing Derek Elliot on “Mintaka” a Dufour 34 taking overall winner and the 2007 Dufour Cup, 2nd place went to Jeremy Vines with his Dufour 34 “Pickle”, 3rd Place went to Matthew Porter on his Dufour 34 “Trinity of Dart”. The competitive IRC rating of the Dufour 34 has given great results under her handicap with the model taking top three positions. Non-Spinnaker Class Overall Winner was awarded to Edmond Spash on “Cornelius Jones III” in his Dufour 38 Classic, 2nd Place went to Leo Burns on “Eleanor B” his Dufour 385, 3rd Place was awarded to Mike Binnington on his Dufour 40 “Angele”. All agreed the event was a resounding success and with their promises to return we can expect more Dufour owners and their crews joining what we trust will be an annual event . Jamie Coombes- Portway Yacht Sales. Related Items:
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