Arrow Trophy Regatta 2003

‘Saint Benedict’s’ boat set sail across the Solent on the weekend of the 4th and 5th October 2003 for yet another Arrow Trophy sailing Regatta.

This was not strictly a Worth boat as on this occasion we were joined by two Old Amplefordians, Mark Kendall and Edmund Davies. As ever, the duo of Captain Tom Holloway (C ‘91) at the helm and Peter O’Hea (G ‘82) ably navigating the team, were joined by Hamish Wilson (C ‘92), Cavan Fyans (F ‘02)—who flew in from Belfast especially for the regatta—and Giles Turton (F ‘02).

The first task challenging the Worth team was to navigate through Portsmouth Harbour after dark on the Friday night and reach Cowes in time for our 9:30pm table reservation at the legendary “DB’s” restaurant. The following morning’s proceedings started early with the team captains assembling at the unholy hour of 8am for their skipper’s briefing. All fourteen boats taking part in the regatta were identical Sunfast 37-footers chartered from Sunsail. The regular contenders included two Winchester boats, Bradfield (the trophy holders), Harrow, Radley and a number of other schools, each with a crew of seven on board ranging from the ‘just left school’ types to the well worn crusties. Wind conditions were notably stronger than in the previous year and it was a fair bit colder too, but at least the sun was shining. Five races were held on the first day, with ‘Ampleworth’ coming in consistently towards the back end of the fleet, mainly due to aggravating problems with our spinnaker handling. The top four boats from Saturday went on to a head-to-head match racing contest on the Sunday for the Arrow Trophy with defenders Bradfield taking victory honours for a second year running. The rest of the fleet competed in two longer races for the Charterhouse Bowl. This was won by a Winchester boat with Worth ending up marginally above mid-fleet but ranking a disappointing eighth overall. Winds had been so strong on the Sunday that Spinnakers were banned in the last race and the main sails had to be reefed. Nevertheless, the racing had been excellent fun as ever, which was the most important part.

Giles Turton, Mark Kendall, Peter O'Hea, Tom Holloway, Cavan Fyans, Hamish Wilson, Edmund Davies

The Regatta dinner on the Saturday evening was hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at their waterfront headquarters in Cowes. In his prize-giving speech, the Chairman of the Arrow Trophy Yacht Racing Association (ATYRA) appealed for new ideas for future prizes at the regatta, to which we suggested a left boot for the best Catholic racing team, thus ensuring at least a reasonable chance of us winning a piece of silverware. Despite our ‘lower than expected’ overall result, the weekend was very successful in gathering together several Worth old boys who’s attendance at the school spanned nearly three decades.

Over the last few years Worth has proved to be a strong contender in the Arrow Trophy Regatta, and its presence will, without doubt, be required at the next regatta to be held at Cowes in early October 2004. If you are interested in being a member of the Worth team this year please contact Giles Turton (07949) 031460 or email gilesturton@hotmail.com.

Giles Turton (Farwell ‘02), Peter O’Hea (Gervase ‘82)