Two hundred years ago a British Victory at Trafalgar began the decline of Napoleon Bonaparte and, some say, without Trafalgar there wouldn't have been a Waterloo. Now the Ilfracombe Yacht Club want the anniversary of the sea battle to be the catalyst for something that isn't quite as dramatic as Waterloo, but can still become an annual event. On 23rd July 2005, Ilfracombe Harbour will collect a mass of boats all hoping to win one of the prizes in the inaugural Round Lundy Island Race.
 | | The amazing 38-inch trophy up for grabs. |
The race is being run by the Ilfracombe Yacht Club to commemorate Nelson's famous victory and also to coincide with the Sea Britain festivities. The club hopes that this will be the first of many Round Lundy Island Races, but it almost didn't happen after one initial backer pulled out. "The idea came from the Balmoral Company who own the Balmoral Liner," said Dave Turk, the Vice-Commodore of the Ilfracombe Yacht Club and an enthusiastic sailor himself. "We were going to have the liner as our start boat but there was a problem with the timings of getting them to us so when they pulled out I went to the committee and said let's take it and run with it!" So run with it they did and now the race is just getting bigger and bigger. "It started as a club race but we thought why not open it up," said Dave Turk. "Now we've got boats coming from Plymouth, Portsmouth, Wales and all over. "We've got 28 boats at the moment registered with at least seven more coming and we've got all sorts of boats - even the commandos from Instow and a 60-year-old wooden gaff cutter. It's very satisfying to get boats from far afield."
 | | The planned route for the race. |
The route can be seen on our map to the right and will be a gruelling 45 mile race to start and finish at Ilfracombe Harbour and take the island of Lundy as its midpoint, sailing around the granite outcrop before the long sprint home. (Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.) It's going to be for three separate classes with prizes and trophies for each class including a massive 38-inch steel yacht trophy that will be presented to the overall winner and a number of goodies all thanks to a number of sponsorships from local businesses. The prizes will be presented in the evening by North Devon MP Nick Harvey, while Giles Chichester MEP has the duty of starting the race off. The club members have taken in the course in all weathers and a time has been set aside for the race but there should be any number of different times before the official handicapping is added on. "We've been round in rough and calm," said Dave Turk. "We've allowed nine hours for the race but the big boats should be around in five hours. With the catamarans that fly over the water it could even be three hours." One thing's for sure: with a start and finish line in the harbour, the crowd should be treated to some great entertainment. "There's a little place behind the Yacht Club called Chayne Beach and the tip of that is our start point," said Dave Turk. "There's a lot of spectator space on Chayne Beach and you should also get a great view from the pier. It's the start of the kids' holidays and the whole club is really excited, it should be a really good day." | 
