Yoke Inter-Club Cruiser Race
Published 12:13 on 3 Jul 2025
Yoke Inter-Club Cruiser Race
Last Saturday saw the annual cruiser race with ESC competing against ESSC for the coveted Yoke trophy, and what a brilliant weekend it was. It was also great to welcome 4 new boats to the ESC cruiser fleet.
The course comprised of the start at the CHI racing mark close to West Pole then through the Solent to finish at the entrance to the Beaulieu River.
Both clubs field as many cruiser boats as possible, but only the first 7 boats to finish (on handicap) from each club count towards the overall winning club.
ESC had a good turnout of ten boats but were unable to match the 14 boats that Slipper had, but that never dampened the spirit and enthusiasm displayed by the ESC team. As the OD on the Start Boat 'Dolphin' it was a very impressive view I had of the fleet of 24 cruising boats crossing the start line.
At the early stage of the race it was blowing a SE F3, with most of the fleet tacking out towards Bembridge to catch a favourable spring tide to sweep the boats into the Solent.
However, as the race progressed, the wind picked up and with wind against tide the sea became a bit lumpy, but apart from a couple of boats, the majority celebrated as they crossed the finish line having had a very enjoyable sail.
Once ashore, a very sociable evening was had with a few drinks round the BBQ, crews were able to swap stories on the day's action out on the water. What better way to spend a warm summers evening.
Finally, at the end of the evening, the results of the day's race were announced, and it was Slipper SC who were to be congratulated on being the overall winners and will retain the Yoke Trophy for another year.
Also to be congratulated is Tim Keeping on being the first ESC boat in his very recently acquired boat Nomad and winner of the Howard Trophy.
Just as some final entertainment to round off a great weekend, on the Sunday we were entertained by a display of the Red Arrows display team off Ryde as we were returning home to Emsworth. How will we be able to top that next year ?
The final results sheet can be found below.
Martin Stewart
