Musselburgh: Fisherrow Yacht Club present awards to sailors

Fisherrow yacht captain Mark McClelland presented the accolades at the event in the club premises on New Street, Musselburgh.

He paid tribute to Elliot Hurst and Simon Talbot, who, between them, won most of the dinghy trophies – Elliot dominating the leader board for the Longhorn category and Simon for the Silverhorn category.

Mr McClelland said: “Both are excellent sailors and mainstays of the dinghy fleet – this recognition is well deserved. They are now assistant instructors at the club.

“The dinghy fleet participation numbers were markedly down on last year, perhaps because of the growing number of keen sailors joining the yacht syndicates in the harbour, perhaps due to the feisty conditions we endured during the summer.”

Stephanie Robertson is presented with the Maud trophy for the most adventurous voyage of 2023 by Mark McClelland, Fisherrow yacht captain and yacht racing champion for 2023. (Image: Photo: Inez Visser)

The Greenhorn category is for novice dinghy racers; the winners were Graeme McGregor and Jose Vaz, with overall winner Markus Ronde.

In the yacht races, David Banks in Swirley won the autumn series and the RNLI Shield Stern Chase.

Dennis Walton, club commodore, in Sulamar won the late summer series, and Mr McClelland in Rebel Rebel won the spring series, early summer series, Macmillan Charity Barometer, Riding of the Marches Stern Chase and was overall champion.

Dave Morrissey, Eric Parks and Nils Bunefeld, joint owners of Sea Horse, a Pegasus 700, were given the Guid Trier Award for putting a great effort in.

Club members felt they also deserved an environmental award for cancelling a month’s worth of summer sailing when they discovered a bird’s nest in their mainsail.

Ellen Henderson-Dott, a crew member on 'Rebel Rebel'' receives the yacht racing champion trophy on behalf of Mark McClelland before presenting him with Golden Duck trophy given to a club member who has an unexpected dip into the water (Image: Inez Visser)

Stephanie Robertson received an accolade on behalf of her and husband Colin for the most adventurous voyage of 2023, having taken their yacht, Nordic Lady, more than 1,500 nautical miles from Scotland down to the Atlantic coast of France and back to Cornwall, where it will spend the winter. They submitted the log of their adventures to the sailing committee and were awarded the Maud trophy. This trophy is awarded to the cabin cruising boat with bunks (motor or sail) which has done the most extensive, interesting and enterprising cruise during the year. Maud was a Morecambe Bay prawner owned by Peter Danahay, a founding member of the yacht club, in the 1950s.

The Golden Duck is presented to the person who has an unexpected dip in the water and, this year, it was won by Mr McClelland, who had “very near miss”.

Elliot Hurst, right, and Simon Talbot, left, won most of the dinghy trophies at the Fisherrow Yacht Club prize-giving. Photo: Inez Visser

Racing is curtailed over the winter months but club inhouse training continues throughout the year.

A club spokesperson said: “The club is pleased to report that, despite the dark winter days, a few people have recently joined. New members are always welcome.”

See fisherrowyachtclub.com to find out more.