Last week, Saundersfoot Sailing Club held their annual Coppet Week regatta with 76 boats attending from as far and wide as Newcastle, The Midlands and other parts of Wales. A week of racing was planned and many, many hours of preparation had been put in to preparing racing schedules, rescue cover and clubhouse activities. The week started on the Saturday night with a race briefing for competitors and the first race was scheduled for Sunday. Sunday arrived, the sun shone, the committee and rescue boats were ready on the water and the sailors drifted out, but unfortunately the wind did not blow! After several attempts to start a race, it was decided that racing should be postponed for the day due to a lack of wind. The competitors drifted back in, disappointed, but not down-hearted for long as the beach has ice-cream vans and the club was serving cold beers. Let’s face it, Saundersfoot is not a bad place to be in the sunshine!

Monday arrived and it was hoped that two races would be held, however on arriving on the water, it was clear to see that we would be lucky to get one in with the continued lack of wind. It was felt that the slight breeze would be enough to race and the boats made a start. The International Canoes quickly took the lead with a Skiff and an RS400 tailing very close behind. three laps were achieved by many of the fast fleet but in the last lap, the wind was seen to drop off dramatically at the last mark before the committee boat. This allowed the slower fleet to catch those drifters at the front and much to the dismay of the committee boat, 37 vessels approached the finish line all at once. Toppers were hidden between Rockets, Lasers hidden by Fireballs and so on. With a mad amount of hooting, scribbling of numbers and a final check on the GoPro, the race officers were luckily able to establish a final results list with the top three places being taken by a GP14, Supernova and a 420. The competitors celebrated the night at the club with curry, provided by Seven Spice and a quiz provided by quizmaster Keith.

Tuesday was again a huge disappointment with the winds showing promise as the course was laid, but dropping off to nothing when the race was due to start. Again, this left us no other option than to postpone the day’s race and hope that it could be run later in the week.

Wednesday arrived. The sailors were ever hopeful of a race, and their spirits remained high as the weather was otherwise perfect for a beach holiday. The course was set and a good steady breeze picked up long enough that the first race was started well, despite several general recalls. With kites flying, the boats really made a spectacular sight for all the onlookers from the beach and water. The wind continued to blow for the entire race and the top three positions were taken by an International Canoe, GP14 and the 420. A second race was planned and started swiftly, however, the winds dropped off again leaving many boats struggling to reach the marks, against the tide. Unfortunately for the committee boat, the fastest fleet had been able to finish before the wind entirely disappeared which meant that the race could not be cancelled. The International Canoes taking the top three places. This meant it had to be allowed to run for the full three hours as stated in the race instructions. Many boats decided to retire, but a few hardy soles stayed on the water to the bitter end hoping to gain a position. With only about 25 boats finishing, it was a frustrating end to the day.

Thursday was again a beautiful day but a disaster for sailing. We all headed out in the morning but no wind meant we postponed till the afternoon. The committee returned to the water for the afternoon to check the winds and it was decided that a race would not be possible. This meant that the Coppet Week series was won by Robin Wood, in his International Canoe, second place went to Phil and Paula Mason in a Merlin Rocket and third place went to Paul and Michelle Keeling in an RS400. Well done to them. An award ceremony was held that evening with prizes going to several different classes of boats, juniors competitors and a variety of other categories.

Part of the proceeds from Coppet Week are always given to the RNLI and Nina Mammatt, Commodore of Saundersfoot Sailing Club was pleased to hand over a cheque for £375. See story and photograph elsewhere in this issue. The raffle night was also drawn on the night with excellent prizes provided by our sponsors, St. Brides Hotel, and we thank them for that.

On Friday, a fun pursuit race is always held. Thirty-four boats came out on a grey morning to take part, and it turned out to be one of the best races of the week. The faster boats play catch-up on the slower boats and we were thrilled to see that our very own Dave Plester, in his Solo, was able to stay ahead right to the end, no mean feat when a pack of fast boats are on your tail. Well done Dave. A further award ceremony was held on the Friday evening and a buffet was provided for all the sailors and volunteers that made Coppet Week 2018 such a success despite the winds!

It would be impossible to name all the people who gave up a week’s holiday and many thousands of hours in total to make Coppet Week one of the best events seen in Saundersfoot during the year. However, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. You know who you are and you are amazing.

Tomorrow (Saturday), a Level 1 RYA Course is being held at the club and club racing resumes on Sunday at 3 pm. See you on the water!

Gypsea Girl