Over the weekend of 15-16th January 2011, the Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) will welcome eight teams from the UK and the Netherlands to the Carmela Cup. The event forms the British Open Two-boat Keelboat Team Racing Championships, and will take place in a fleet of equally matched J80s at Queen Mary Sailing Club.
A team from the Netherlands will join seven UK teams, making this an international event. The Dutch team from Aalsmeer will compete against UK teams from the Royal Yacht Squadron, British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA), Southampton University, Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club, Wellington College and Sea View Yacht Club, as well as a team from the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
RTYC team captain Ali Hall skippered his team to victory in the 2010 event, and will be hoping for a similar top result this year. Hall says, “Two-boat team racing is one of the most intensely tactical forms of racing, and we are very much looking forward to representing the Royal Thames tomorrow against some stiff competition. It’s fantastic that we now have sailors coming from the continent to compete, and shows the calibre of this event.”