Aldeburgh Yacht Club
International Canoe Open Meeting Report
On the weekend of 10th & 11th June the canoe fleet braved the wilds of East Anglia to visit Aldeburgh Yacht Club for the second premier event of the 2022 season.
Aldeburgh is the spiritual home of “Dragonfly”, designed by & built for Alistair Warren, with a pedigree including podium finishes in the last three ICF world championships along with a UK nationals title. Arguably the most successful IC of the “new rules” era.
A long-distance race down the river Alde was planned for the Saturday, a round trip of some 26km. With a stiff breeze cooling the June sun, Alistair was first on the water - demonstrating his local knowledge & skill, sailing in the tricky wind over tide conditions. Rob launched and produced a demonstration that persuaded the remaining competitors to stay ashore. With racing abandoned for the day the fleet adjourned to the various hostelries on offer in the town.
On Sunday morning Race Officer, Robert Mulcahy, took us up river where the banks broaden over the inland flats to set a decent triangular course with a beat of approx. 1.2km – over the ground! In the first race Dragonfly proved a little too keen on the start forcing the RO to reach for the X flag. Despite the restart, Alistair was able to sail through the fleet to take the win. Racing in “the pack” was tight, the combination of tide and puffy conditions proving an effective leveller and producing many place changes. However, story of the day was Tony Robertshaw powering away on his T foil rudder in the building breeze to take races 2 & 3 and secure the win overall.
Thanks to Robert Mulcahy and team for hosting the event – the long-distance race remains unfinished business, we will be back!
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