Sutton Harbour Gears up for Classic Boat Rally

This year’s event, which is part of the Plymouth Summer Festival, takes place over the weekend of Friday July 29 to Monday August 1 and is supported by the Sutton Harbour Group, which owns Sutton Harbour Marina.

Sutton Harbour Group Chief Executive Nigel Godefroy said: “This is the sixth year we have hosted the rally and Sutton Harbour Marina is the perfect location. The boats will be moored along Quay Road giving an excellent view of the vessels, some of which are more than 100 years old. Events like this are a great opportunity to showcase the historic harbour and attract more visitors to the city.”

Sutton Harbour is no stranger to boating and yachting events having hosted the start of the Artemis Transat in 2008 and The 2009 Fastnet. It will also host the finish of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race in August. The Sutton Harbour Group is an official supporter of the race and the official berth provider for the Rolex Fastnet fleet.

Jonathan Brice, organiser of this year’s Plymouth Classic Boat Rally, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to Sutton Harbour where we always receive a very warm welcome and we’re grateful to Nigel and his team for making the Sutton Harbour Marina facilities available. We’ve got some great vessels taking part so we’re hoping it will be one of our best ever rallies as we look ahead to our 25th anniversary next year.”

Mr Brice said he was also grateful to the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club for hosting the social events for the rally, and the Port of Plymouth Sailing Association for including the rally in its race programme for the Port of Plymouth Regatta on Sunday July 31.

Highlights of this year’s Plymouth Classic Boat Rally include:

• The 30-foot Elsie Isabel, a gentleman’s motor launch built in teak by KR Skentelbery and Sons in 1936 at their yard near Admiral’s Hard in Plymouth. Elsie Isabel was requisitioned during the Second World War at saw active service at Slapton Sands in Devon in the disastrous Operation Tiger, when an attack by a German E-Boats in Lyme Bay killed 946 Allied servicemen on exercise for the D-Day landings in 1944. Her sister ship, Tom Tit, was one of the flotilla of ‘Little Ships’ that helped evacuate troops from Dunkirk four years earlier.
• The Duke of Cornwall, a 52-foot former Barnett Class lifeboat from 1959 that was stationed on The Lizard in Cornwall and officially named by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1961 when he opened the original Lizard lifeboat station, which is currently being rebuilt. She was launched more than 200 times and saved 140 lives and will be among six historic ex-RNLI lifeboats at the rally.
• Donna Capel, a beautiful 55ft Gaff ketch, originally built in Belgium in 1943 as a fishing boat and named Françoise Helene. She was bought in the 1960′s by a fisherman called Howard Capel from Brixham, who named her after his wife Donna. The vessel has been lovingly restored.

There is still room for more entries to the Plymoputh Classic Boat Rally and boat owners can download an entry form at www.plymouthclassicss.org.uk, where further details and a programme of events are available.