Reggie Bennett Trophy

On 14/15 September, Seaview Yacht Club on the Isle of Wight hosted the Reggie Bennett tournament, sailing in Seaview Mermaids.  This inter school / alumni team racing event was founded by in 1998 by OWs Noel Dobbs (D, 50-55) and Sir Reginald Bennett (Coll, 24-30), who was then Commodore of OWSC.  It gives current pupils and alumni of Winchester and Radley the opportunity to race in keelboats, enjoy one of the UK’s oldest yacht clubs and forge strong bonds across generations.   

Sunday offered beautiful sailing conditions with ideal sun and wind.  Teams from Winchester College, Old Wykehamist Sailing Club (OWSC), Old Radley Sailing Association (ORSA) and Seaview YC battled it out in some of the best team racing we’ve seen in recent years.  The Win Coll pupils impressed with their competitive sailing and impeccable manners, while the OW team, including local sailing legend Noel Dobbs, were dominant in the round robin.  After lunch, there was time to complete a second round robin, OWSC once again finishing top.   

Time constraints meant that we progressed to single race finals (OWSC vs ORSA) and petit finals (Win Coll vs Seaview).  

The final was very competitive, with the lead changing on every leg of the course.  OWSC were in the lead at the last mark, but in an unstable combination, and ORSA were just able to gain the one place they needed to win the competition for the first time in several years. 

OWSC secured the Reggie Bennett Trophy for inter school / OW competition, while ORSA won the overall Doglievsky “Dog” Bowl.  

Our thanks go to Seaview Yacht Club for hosting, and to Jim Eynon (H, 94-99) for organising and captaining the OWSC team.  We were delighted to see Caspar Gray (B, 16-21) following a long tradition of Wykehamist race officers and running an outstanding set of races. 

WSC team:

 - Jim Eynon (Captain) (H, 1994-99)

 - Noel Dobbs (D, 1950-55)

 - Mike Toogood (H, 1978-82)

 - Gerard Cloke Brown (B, 2014-19)

 - Pete Boden (H, 1994-99)

 - Oliver Gordon (K, 1999-04)

 - Alastair Morley (B, 1993-98)

It was also great to see Caspar Gray (B, 2016-21) following a long tradition of Wykehamist race officers and running an outstanding set of races.