THE 93rd Stonehaven Cup was held January 3 to 8 and despite some challenging conditions which led to many boats capsizing, the teams sailed on in what were called “harsh” conditions.
King Island Boat Club finished overall third in the Regatta. The Stonehaven Cup is the longest continuously contested junior/youth one-design dinghy event in Australian sailing.
The regatta has been run every year since 1924, except for the war years 1940 to 1945 It was first awarded in 1924 to ‘Mayfly’ and ‘Penguin’ who won in a deadheat in Hobart, Tasmania.
This was the King Island Boat Club’s 19th year of participation in the Regatta. The historic Stonehaven Cup is now sailed in RS Quests with a crew of three.
The Quest is very modern, having been launched into production in November 2015. With its clean lines, white hull, coloured sail patches, and square-topped mainsail, it has a striking, contemporary look. While it was designed primarily as a three or four crew trainer, the high aspect rig, combined with a large sail area, provides exciting sailing in a moderate wind, and presents handling challenges in a heavy wind.
The King Island Boat Club (KIBC) fielded a team of three boats in this year’s event. Along with the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS) and the Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC).
This junior event is the annual regatta where clubs with youth sailors get to compete in a fun yet competitive regatta.
They raced for a team’s trophy (Otto A Meik Perpetual Teams Trophy) as well as the Individual Winners Trophy (Stonehaven Cup) over the event. RBYC provided three of its Quests to help KIBC be involved.
KIBC sailors this year were: Brad Mead – Skipper, Pete Cole-Main Hand, Angus Poulsen-Forward Hand, Boat Gregg Hennessy 1028; Charlie Stellmaker Skipper, Alex Perry- main hand, Max Poulsen forward hand Boat Emma 1050; Brooke McLachlan- Skipper, Daisy Merrett/ Jack Kearney Main Hand, Jem Mead- Forward Hand, Boat QUESTionable 1053.
KIBC best results were: Emma- Skipper Charlie, crew Alex and Max came first in race four and third in race 10, coming third overall in the regatta. Gregg Hennessy – Skipper Brad Mead, crew Pete and Angus came second in Race 9 and 4th in Race 4. QUESTionable- Skipper Brooke McLachlan, crew Jem Mead, Daisy and Jack came 4th in 3 races.
Thank you to our dedicated sailing coach/team manager Gary Johnson and our support crew Richard Cole and Arnold Stellmaker.