Annual Sailing Regatta

Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospitals Sailing Regatta

St Thomas' Hospital Sailing Club

Yacht "Saphena" with Bert Thompson

Throughout the sixties and seventies St. Thomas' Hospital provided the core for the United Hospitals' Sailing Team, touring the country and even winning the BUSA (British Universities Sailing Association) Championships. During this time the idea for an annual Staff versus Student sailing weekend was conceived.

Staff v Student Racing

Yacht "Etherea of Hamble" with John Mathias and Tony Clement

Founding members of the Solent-based "Staff v Student" regatta included Professor John Kinmonth (yawl "Phalarope"), Mr Frank Cockett (yacht "Saphena" - dingy "Varix"!), Dr John Mathias (Yacht "Etherea of Hamble"), Mr Bert Thompson, Mr Crawford Jamieson, and their surgical registrar Mr Andrew McIrvine (Later Admiral of RORC) in his J24. Racing took place in any yacht that could be recruited, and culminated in a dinner usually hosted in Cowes. This tradition continued into the late eighties, when Professor Peter Sonksen took over as Commodore for the annual event.

Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospitals Annual Staff v Student Sailing Regatta

Yacht "Impromptu" planing into Hayling Island Sailing Club

The first UMDS (United Medical and Dental Schools) sailing club regattas took place at the Welsh Harp (North London) using Firefly dinghies owned by the United Hospitals Sailing Club and St. Thomas' Hospital Sailing Club.

Being 6'4" it was a bit of a challenge fitting Peter into a Firefly dinghy so, following a brief flirtation with Wayfarers at Burnham on Crouch, the event moved to Itchenor Sailing Club (and 21ft Sonatas).

Running Match Racing from Itchenor Sailing Club meant that Peter had to borrow all the Sonatas he could find in Chichester Harbour. In later years the event was relocated to the Isle of Wight, where the annual Seaview Mermaid Regatta continues to this day.

Subsequent Commodores have included Dr Charles Twort, Dr John Shilling, and Mr Alistair Laidlaw.

Seaview

The annual regatta is held in Seaview, a picturesque village located on the North-East shores of the Isle of Wight. Festivities begin about 7pm on Sunday evening with a drinks reception on the upper deck of the Seaview Yacht Club. The club was established in 1893 on one of the chain of sea-defence forts built by Henry VIII, and offers views across the Solent from Southampton Water to the Nab Tower. A 3-course dinner with wine concludes with a traditional round of jokes, and then the festivities begin.

Monday is race day, when Consultant ("Old Fogie"), Junior Doctor ("Young Fogie"), and Medical Student teams compete for the R.C.Madeley Championship Trophy. We charter the entire fleet of 12 "Mermaids": one-design 26-foot racing keelboats. This class of boats has been raced in Seaview and Solent waters for over 100 years, the current fleet being replaced in the late 1990s. Each team consists of an experienced helm, one skilled crew member, and a third member who is usually a sailing novice.

Depending on the weather, 5-6 short races are held in waters overlooked by the clubhouse battlements, with a break for lunch. We then congregate for the prize giving before returning home tired, windswept, but happy.

2013 Seaview Regatta