52nd Cockburn Sound Regatta starts Boxing Day

8:32 PM Thu 17 Dec 2009 GMT

'Cockburn Sound Regatta' Yachting WA

The Cockburn Sound Regatta runs from 26th to 28th December 2009 commencing with a race from Fremantle to Rockingham on Boxing Day and follows with five Windward - Leeward races over the next two days on what are arguably the best sailing waters in Western Australia.

This regatta, started by RFBYC and RPYC members in the mid 1950s and the reason the Cruising Yacht Club came to be, grew to what was the biggest regatta in the Southern Hemisphere. In its early days it was an event not to be missed with racing for keelboats and off the beach boats.

For those of us old enough to remember the glory days of this event in the 60s and 70s there were the tussles between Panamuna and Unamara and later with Rolly Tasker and his Siskas along with the then new Starfire of Perth and Jack Cassidy. In those days the beautifully crafted timber Dragon fleet with skippers such as Syd Corser and Tony Manford at the helm were also regulars to this event adding to the spectacle of what was a week of hard fought yacht racing.

Who can forget the lay day and the trip to Careening Bay on Garden Island - before the arrival of the Navy - that filled the bay with both competing keelboats and the many stink boats that joined in the fun of the regatta week. How about when Alan Bond brought down his early 12 meters for crew trials and training or the young blokes who would ride spinnakers off the back of yachts on their moorings and after the racing the whoosh of the finish of yet another 18 gallon keg at the jug bar. All great memories of a great event.

The off the beach fleets were very strong over the years and included Cadet Dinghies, Skates, VJs, Pelicans, Gwen 12s, 14 and 16 foot Skiffs, Flying Ants, Cherubs, Lasers, Yvonne and B Class Cats, virtually any class that sailed on the river also had a fleet compete at this event. Sadly when the road across the Nullarbor was finally sealed, making the journey east to attend National Championships and the like so much easier, the number of classes and boats able to compete slowly diminished.

However, times change and priorities alter and this once iconic event became a casualty of those changes. Whilst it continues every year the numbers of competitors slowly decreased to the point where it became a 3-day event made up of mainly local Rockingham boats. Last year saw an increase in the numbers of visiting yachts which determined The Cruising Yacht Club to build on these gains in an effort to once again make Rockingham and the regatta the place to be during the break between Christmas and New Year.

The City of Rockingham and The Cruising Yacht Club has put together a keelboat program with both IRC and regatta handicap divisions in the hope of growing the event even further. The regatta is also open to off the beach boats and will include 29er and 49er classes along with Yvonne catamarans as a prelude to their National Championships commencing on the 29thof December. Rockingham has so much to offer and all are welcome - come and make it the biggest and best event of the year.

Further information contact TCYC on 9527 5468 or visit www.tcyc.com.au and click on the Cockburn Sound regatta icon.

www.wa.yachting.org.au

by Yachting WA

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