The 67 year old wooden sloop Warcloud was superbly steered to overall victory when this year’s Banks Breweries Cruising Club Regatta came off successfully June 25. It was a bitter sweet moment for skipper Charles Gloumeau. Sweet because winning always feels good. It was sad in a way, though, because his father Jacques, long time owner and helmsman of Warcloud, passed away during the week.
In a memorable homage to the staunch boating enthusiast, Charles and his crew, Paul Magras and Michael Mayers, fought off a challenge from Jerome Reid and his crew on the Van de Stadt designed Jump Up, also wood and built in Barbados but of 1980s vintage, which placed second. Jabulani, a J-24 design, owned and sailed by Peter Hoad was third. In Cruising Club tradition, the Handicap class always wins overall honours.
In the Racing Class, the Beneteau First Class Ten Bruggadung II, with Andrew Burke at the helm, took first place with Jay Star (Ron Hunt) and Blazin (Peter Burke), also a Beneteau, placing third.
Conditions were almost excellent with a steady 15 knot breeze and moderate seas over a moderately short course around Carlisle Bay and up the south coast to St Lawrence and return.
In keeping the Club’s commitment to encouraging youth boating, there were separate races in the Laser, Optimist and Echo Classes. Placings there were: (Laser) Jason Tindale, Rodney Reader and Roland Grant; (Optimist) Amy Cox, Sarah Douglas and Lucas Reader; (Beginner Optimist/ Silver) Joshua Greene, James Bodden; (Echo) Gary Mendes and Gerald “Kim” Phillips.
Chairman of the organizing committee Cyril Lecrenay called the successful event “a worthy celebration” of the contribution to boating by long standing member Jacques who had helped organize some of the previous Bank regattas. Lecrenay expressed further gratitude for the continuing sponsorship of Banks Breweries whose brew was well received by the enthusiastic gathering who came out to support the Club at the clubhouse on Hilton drive.
Lecrenay disclosed the Cruising Club will this year continue to put on attractive programmes for the public including regular Friday evening get togethers, periodic film shows and guest lectures with maritime themes. Last week’s movie was “Riddle of the Sands” starring Michael York.
The Club, said Lecrenay, thanked brothers Paul and Ralph Johnson, themselves keen sailors who are members of the Barbados Yacht Club, for their kind gesture in donating $10,000 to the Club’s building fund. “The Club has a deep and honourable tradition in the boating sector in Barbados. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary next year. We feel it has a continued place so that peoples from all walks of life can come and enjoy boating and the joys of the seashore,” he said.
For more information on the club, email: info@barbadoscruisingclub.com
—R eport and photographs courtesy of Steering Committee, Barbados Cruising Club
