Plymouth Race Week, the Royal Western Yacht Club’s famous “Yachtsman’s Regatta,” ran from July 9th to 12th in the Port of Plymouth, and it delivered exactly the kind of close, tactical racing the event is known for. Seventeen boats lined up in IRC, racing both inside and outside the breakwater in the same waters that have hosted SailGP and America’s Cup World Series events in recent years.
Finishing second overall was the Corby 33 SNAFU, the highest rated boat in IRC and making her regatta debut under new ownership, Robin Edwards and Gavin Watson of UK Sailmakers GBR South West.
Corby 33 SNAFU at Plymouth Race Week. Photos © Mark Smith Photography.
Straight From the Loft to the Line
The new UK Sailmakers inventory was finished just in time. SNAFU’s new mainsail, built from Dimension Polyant’s Tyra material, was completed the day before the regatta began, joining a run of recent additions: a new S2 Matrix spinnaker, an X-Drive Carbon J1, and a Tyra J2. The new main went straight from the loft to the start line, and into four days of racing against a strong fleet.
“The sails all looked great and the boat was going really well,” said Gavin Watson after the event.
SNAFU and the Archambault A35 Men Behaving Badly, a boat that has been a fixture at the front of South West racing for years, traded blows throughout the regatta.
Corby 33 SNAFU at Plymouth Race Week. Photos © Mark Smith Photography.
A Battle of Conditions
The two boats matched up in an interesting way. SNAFU had the edge in the lighter conditions, while Men Behaving Badly ran a secondary, lower rating configuration with smaller sails and a reduced handicap, paired with a longer waterline that came into its own as the breeze built, particularly on the tougher day three.
In the end, Men Behaving Badly took the overall win, with SNAFU close behind in second. Places two through four went to boats out of Flushing (Falmouth), rounding out a fleet that was largely a mix of Royal Western (Plymouth) and Flushing sailors.
“With a few knots less breeze we certainly could have caught the winning boat,” Watson said. “For us, SNAFU is a work in progress, and we’re looking forward to getting back to Plymouth next year.”
The Team Behind the Result
SNAFU was crewed by J. Howard, R. Edwards, G. Watson, R. Nixon, C. Llewellyn, J. Robbins, T. Edwards, S. McLernon, C. Dormenval, and Ben Rogers, who runs Dimension Polyant in the UK and whose Tyra material made the new high performance UK Sailmakers mainsail possible.
With Plymouth wrapped up, the SNAFU team now turns its attention to Falmouth Week, looking to build on a strong first regatta together.
