LAST weekend, Castle Cove Sailing Club was busy with a six-race series dinghy competition to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Basso Cup, with a barbecue social on Saturday evening.

The Basso Cup was decided from the results of three races run, back-to-back, on both Saturday and Sunday.

More than 30 boats from 15 different classes took part on the two days.

All races had a single, common start, and finishing times adjusted using handicaps based on the dinghy type.

The different race results were combined to provide an overall winner.

Provisional results indicate that Simon Hawkes is this year’s winner, sailing a Phantom.

He just pipped Nick Orman in another Phantom.

Both sailors were consistent, coming within the first five in all six races.

Paddy Parsons, race official on the first day, said: “With a wide range of intrinsic performance from the very fast International canoe to the slower Mirror dinghy this was an intriguing competition and the Saturday races were often very tight.”

The Basso Cup was presented to the club before the Second World War by L Basso & Co.

Louis Basso was a prominent Weymouth resident.

The first winner, in 1938, was to AD Hownam Meek in a boat named ‘Idler’.

Islay stays on track

ISLAY Watson, who trains at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, sealed two second and one third place finish on day three of the Youth Sailing World Championships.

The results mean she is on track for a podium finish.