By Isle of Wight Observer
By Ollie Dewar
The Royal Solent Yacht Club has been presented with the most coveted trophy in Folkboat racing: the Nordic Folkboat Gold Cup.
The club, based in Yarmouth, marked the official opening of the annual Folkboat Week on Saturday, with 39 of the three-man yachts from England’s south coast racing in the western Solent.
The Gold Cup, which has been raced annually since 1963, is unusual for a yacht racing trophy other than the America’s Cup, because it is awarded to the triumphant boat’s yacht club, not the boat’s skipper and crew.
At this year’s event, held in July on Halmstad on Sweden’s west coast, 52 teams from Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and five boats from the UK raced hard. Historically, the event has been dominated by the Danes with 38 victories.
Germany has taken the trophy nine times. British Folkboats came close to glory in 2017 but have never won – until now.
Going into the final day of racing, any of four boats could have clinched the prize, but Folkboat GBR808 Isobella, racing under the RSYC burgee, with crew, John Wulff (helm), Ed Donald (Royal Solent member) and Cameron Tweedle prevailed, taking first place overall.
At the official presentation of the Gold Cup on Saturday evening, Ed Donald was represented by his daughters, Bella and Maddie, and by Lymington-based boatbuilder, Andy Baker, of Baker Marine, who built Isobella. The presentation was made to Martyn Collinson, commodore of the RSYC, by Ed’s daughters, alongside the president of the UK Folkboat Association, Graham Coulter, and chairman, Kim Morley.
As Mr Coulter commented during the handover, nobody knows how long the Gold Cup will remain in Yarmouth, but finally wresting the prestigious trophy from continental Europe is a start!
A replica of the Nordic Folkboat Gold Cup is now proudly on display in a trophy cabinet at the Royal Solent Yacht Club.