CHSC PREMIER EVENT

The Yare Navigation Race in 2024 will be held on Saturday 14th September.

The race is for River Cruiser Class yachts, and the course extends from Coldham Hall Tavern in Surlingham, down the River Yare , to Breydon Water and back.

We anticipate an entry of between 30 and 50 yachts to take part, and hope for a fresh to moderate wind to help everyone get around the course. The Start will be the Coldham Hall Sailing Club start line near the Tavern, and competing yachts can choose their own start times, available every 15 minutes from 8.30hrs. There is a limit on 7 boats being able to start at each start time. Skippers of boats will choose start time best suited to individual boats as the perfomance of each boat is different some completing the course much faster then others.

Yachts proceed downriver past the Beauchamp Arms at Buckenham Ferry, Hardley Mill, The Reedcutters at Cantley , the Reedham Ferry, and arrive upstream of the Railway Bridge at Reedham Village. Here, all yachts are timed out of the Race, as we have no control over the times when the bridge is closed to river traffic. Some yachts will be able to pass the bridge without having to stop. Others may be delayed quite a while, if the bridge needs to stay open for rail traffic. The Berney Arms is another very good vantage point for spectators, and the yachts will be seen in these areas anytime between 09.00 hrs. and 17.00 hrs. Fortunately, there are conveniently situated hostelries available, with shops in the Reedham Village area as well !

Once through the Bridge Area, the yachts are timed back into the Race, and proceed to the Turning Mark, which is usually positioned some way into Breydon Water. There will be a Committee Boat on Breydon,which watches as the yachts turn round the Buoy, and follows the last boats upriver, hopefully without having to tow any boats off the mud.

The return process at Reedham Village is similar to the downriver procedure described above, and then the yachts set off for Coldham Hall again, usually with a following tide.

The competitors have to aim at returning to the finishing line at Coldham Hall, making best possible use to the only predictable feature available to them, the tide. Sometimes, however, the wind dies away in the evening, and the course can be shortened by the Committee Boat to try and ensure that most yachts finish the race.

The work of computing the results then takes place back at Coldham Hall, and are then announced to the competitors enjoying a well earned drink and a meal in the Tavern. We hope to be able to announce the results during the late part of the evening on Saturday, you will also be able to find them on our website on the Sunday.