THE 5th HALF TON CLASSICS CUP

by Louay Habib

Sunday 21st August – Friday 26th August 2011  

Organised by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes in cooperation with the Half Ton Class Europe

The Half Ton Cup was established in 1966 and later flourished under the IOR rating rule until 1993. The cup was a prized possession the world over - winning skippers and designers of Half Tonners read like a who’s who of the major figures in yacht racing, at the time and for decades to follow. The Half Ton Cup often attracted over 50 entries and was staged in France, Sweden, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Greece, Finland and Spain. The last Half Ton Cup held under IOR was in Bayonne, Spain in 1993.

Two's company

Louay Habib interviews Cathy Crawley, Racing Secretary for the RSYC, about their highly successful Double Handed events

Double handed racing at Royal Southampton Yacht Club is characterised by great craic on and off the water. It's 30 years since Neil Cox of Solent Rigging organised the first Double Handed racing at RSYC. Since then, the series has continued without a break and grown in popularity to quite extra-ordinary levels, with as many as 140 boats competing at events organized between April and October.

100 years of The Houghton Cup

by Louay Habib

The Crouch Estuary is one of the most picturesque sailing locations within the British Isles and yacht racing has been a part of the river's history for well over a century. Located on the East Coast of England, it is easily accessible by sea from Belgium, France and Holland, with good rail and road connections from London.

2011 marks the centenary year of Houghton Cup, originally an 82-mile night race, starting and finishing from the Crouch, via the Sunk and Cork Light Vessels. Sidney Houghton originally presented the trophy in 1911, predating the Fastnet Race by some fourteen years. The race now always takes place on the first day of Burnham Week, which for 2011, runs from 27^th August to 3^rd September.

by Louay Habib

Organised by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, the 10^th Azores and Back Yacht Race (AZAB) will start from Falmouth in June 2011. The course covers about 2500 miles of ocean, approximately 1220 miles on each leg. The majority of yachts usually take between 7 and 10 days to reach the Azores, allowing a week or so to relax and restock for the return passage. 

Mike Sturrock and Tim Taylor will be racing their Sadler 34, Stratagem, double-handed to the Azores and back to Falmouth and they will not be alone. So far 104 teams racing under IRC, in a huge variety of boats, will be making the trip.