Dear Members and Friends,
What a fantastic opening to the season that was! Eight races in two countries, reuniting with friends and foes alike, and battling it out on the waters of two wonderfully magic places and all without having to wear a mask!. Our thanks and congratulations go to Yann and Co. in Antibes and Marco and his team in Porto Santo Stefano for their commitment to providing the best possible experience at their respective events.
This spring has seen our members racing at various other events outside of the championship, notably, Les voiles de Cassis, Calanques Classics, Proquerolles classics, Vela d’Epoca Napoli. Manitou, Chips, Sagittarius and Olympian have been busy as have Barbara, Voscia and Ojala not to mention Argyll who seems to be everywhere. I am happy to not be able to mention you all as you are now so many! We hope your season has been a lot of fun so far.
However, it was a great shame not to be able to score Argentario Sailing Week for the Classics and Big boats as there were not three member yachts competing in those classes at the event. I guess that means that we need more member yachts in these categories or have more yachts that travel! Spread the word.
Meanwhile, the Vintage Marconi and Gaff classes are well represented and the scores are becoming interesting. Have a look at the evolving results on the website. Just click on the Championship page and you will find the latest standings and race by race results for your analysis.
Our thanks, also, goes to our Partner, BOYD, who were present at both events and have done sterling work with the lovely Kos gathering audio and video footage to be presented in July/August on the website not to mention supplying partner goodies such as Whispering Angel rose wine, battle flags by North Sails and the Nutstuff newsletter. Look out for some new interactive content from BOYD and Chris “Rockthefella” Savage coming soon and more!
I have to take a moment to digest what happened in Spain this past month to “Eleanora E”. A replica of the legendary Herreshoff schooner “Westward”, so beautifully reproduced and such a powerful statement of yacht design from the beginning of the last century. What a terrible tragedy this was to watch especially when you love classic yacht heritage. I sincerely hope that your yachts are adequatly protected from the unforseeable events that may happen. We are working with our partner to try to help in this regard. Stay tuned for more updates.
And so the summer arrived. Some of you are cruising in Brittany or Sardinia, some of you might be sailing the Greek Islands or just hanging out on your local patch taking the sun and enjoying the long warm evenings with a glass of something cold. All I can say is that the wait for the next major event is long and we look forward very much to seeing as many of you as possible in Mahon near the end of August to sort out the racers from the cruisers. The challenge is now. To lift the VCYC Mediterranean Champions Cup, you need to invest your yacht in as many of the events as possible. By travelling to the selected events, you not only support your club but also the idea that these old boats are not finished yet. They will continue long after we are gone and they deserve the respect for what they can do. They bring us together, they make us feel challenged, they bring out the best in us on the water and they make us proud at the dock. Nurture them and give them the attention that they deserve because a classic yacht is your “One Stop Shop” to the complete yachting experience.
