BRNC celebrate the RNSA 75th Anniversary at Portland

Joining in with the regatta to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Royal Navy Sailing Association, staff and officer cadets from BRNC flew the flag on three of the college’s yachts at the Olympic sailing village in Portland over the weekend of 19 – 21 June 2010.

Part of the regatta included a yacht race on the Saturday, in which BRNC entered the yachts Martlet, Seahorse and Pegasus. The college’s yachts were skippered by Lt Cdr Trish Kohn, Lt Colin Darkins and OC Joe Currin and crewed with OCs from Cunningham Squadron, many of who had little or no sailing experience. In fact having been in the Royal Navy for just eight weeks, yacht Pegasus was OC Joe Currin’s first command. Following an impressive performance around the cans and buoys in Portland harbour, OC Currin and his crew sailed across the finishing line just behind yacht Martlet. Both yachts had maintained a good position in the middle of the fleet for the duration of the race; the less said about Yacht Seahorse’s placing the better! After the yachts were back alongside, all secured and everybody changed into something a bit more respectable, it was onto the regatta dinner and prize giving for some post race banter and well deserved refreshment. The prize for the winning BRNC yacht was awarded to the skipper and crew of yacht Pegasus; both OCs Joe Currin and William Warren were awarded separate prizes for their sportsmanship. Officer Cadet Stuart Bond remarked, “The regatta was an absolutely fantastic opportunity to experience sailing and meet so many people from the Royal Navy Sailing Association.”

The racing and prize giving over, Cunningham Squadron returned to BRNC later that night, ready and able for their picket boat consolidation the next day. Getting the yachts back to BRNC form Portland was job of St Vincent Squadron, who were treated to some excellent weather whilst rounding the bill and crossing Lyme Bay. Unfortunately the excellent weather did not bring much wind with it so engines were the order of the day for the majority of the passage. However, the wind did pick up about twenty miles east of Berry Head and the OCs were able to get some experience of getting there by sail alone. Officer Cadet Lloyd Cardy said, “Taking the helm as the yacht approached the River Dart with both sails up was something that I’ll remember for a long time.

BRNC celebrate the RNSA 75th Anniversary at Portland Joining in with the regatta to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Royal Navy Sailing Association, staff a....

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