Commodore's Trophy

Trophies at our sailing club are a serious business. Not so much the competition! For some reason we have a collosal number of trophies to give out at the end of each year, and it sometimes feels like we are just dividing them equally between us all rather than competing for them. There are some that no-one wants - the Alex Smith trophy is giant and unwieldy and requires polishing. There are some that are just a pain - a few of the second crew ones are so light that the wind blows them off the mantlepiece. Most people just put them in a box in the loft and forget about them until they are demanded back the following year!

However, when we are actually racing, we somehow manage to maintain that it is important who wins them, and so sometimes the races end up a little strange. This year, Steve, as Commodore, decided that the Commodore's trophy should be a personal pursuit race in order to allow everyone a good chance of winning. He and Hugh and I were OD, and Nathaniel decided to race with Ian.

There really wasn't any wind, so they decided to take the RS200 (!). Nathaniel, as usual, helped to rig and launch the boat with enthusiasm.







There really wasn't ANY wind!





But Nathaniel enjoyed himself (and the chocolate rations that were taken on board).







And it didn't stop them from winning the race and therefore the trophy! There was general excitement across the club about this, and most people failed to note that Ian may have something to do with the result. Even now, several weeks later, everyone refers to the fact that Nathaniel has won the Commodore's Cup.

There is general disappointment about the fact that he will not be at the Annual Dinner to collect his trophy (it's on the same night that we are expecting Adama to arrive, so we've sent our apologies), and no-one can seem to remember, that even if Ian and I were planning to go, it would be unusual for a 3 year old to be attending a dinner that starts at 8pm!

You can't say that YRISC doesn't support it's younger members!