Belle Isle Races

In the Fixtures and Entries booklet you will find a group of ‘Belle Isle Races’ programmed for the morning of the the August Bank Holiday Monday. These have been a feature of the Bank Holiday for a long, long time.  They are non-counting dinghy races, not taken too seriously, and are a lot of fun.

Usually the course is,….
Committee Boat Start in the North Lake near Henholme Mark;
Leave Belle Isle to Port;
Leave Fallbarrow* to Starboard;
Finish across the Club Line**.

* Fallbarrow is taken as the outermost (second from the left) red rock marker buoy off the shore in front of Fallbarrow Point but you’ll find that the Bosun may well put a Danbuoy there,…so leave the Danbuoy to Starboard.
** The Club Line is a transit off the northernmost Club jetty but you might find that the Bosun has tied Retriever to it and laid a finish line

The route around Belle Isle is an individual choice and occasionally you’ll find someone taking a flyer and leaving all the islands to port.

It doesn’t take long and is followed fairly promptly by the Prize Giving for the Races.  See the programme for start times.  It is especially fun for Juniors.  As there is a Handicap Race, any dinghy can take part; in fact any dinghy can sail round with the company.  There are often a number of spectator launches.  There follows a normal afternoon racing programme.