707 sprints
Published 11:11pm on 6 Sep 2026
PEYC SPRINTS 3-4th October 2026
After a 2-year gap, PEYC, once again, held the 707 Sprints Regatta on the 3-4 October: the last 707 UK Event of the year. 14 yachts booked for the event held in Inverkeithing Bay, just east of the iconic 3 Forth Bridges.
The yachts were split into 2 fleets, Green and White, on the Saturday, based on their results at 707 Events throughout 2026, and split again on the Sunday seeded into 2 fleets, Yellow and Blue, based on their results on the Saturday. The courses were all short windward-leeward with the 2 fleets starting separately on the courses, and each day's racing regarded as a separate series for each fleet.
Conditions were excellent on the Saturday with neap tides, a warm and sunny day, and a steady breeze all day from the southwest of averaging 12 knots but with gusts up to 22. The Race Officer, Paul Deponio, had a slick team on the club committee boat, EuRoBo, organised by Margaret Tait, and an enthusiastic well organised support team of the club motor boat, Beamer, with the redoubtable Jim Scott on the ball at the windward end, and 3 mark-laying Ribs.
The RO and team managed to pack in 10 races for each fleet on the Saturday with the yachts all well controlled and tight in the courses, and still getting back into the marina by 4:30pm, and only 1 protesting boat which was very quickly settled by the protest committee using the RYA Arbitration method.
Sunday had an overcast sky and threats of rain, but fortunately the rain stayed off for the day. The forecasted wind of 19 - 27 knots did not appear and the wind was relatively steady in speed at 18 knots, again with gusts. However, it was quite variable in direction necessitating resetting the course 3 times during the 6 races series. The sixth and last race of the day started at 14:00, with no protests that day.
The overall worthy winners of the Sprints Trophy, Monarch from Royal Tay YC tied on points with More T Vicar from Royal Yorkshire YC. Therefore, the RYA Series tie break rule came into play with the split only occurring at 3rd places. Tsunami 2 from PEYC, the previous sprints winners, took 3rd place. In the second fleet, Jetstream were overall winner, with their discard remarkably being a 1st place! All teams enjoyed the weekends sport and there was much talk in the clubhouse about another Sprints Event in 2027.
Thanks to the Sponsors for their support - Stewart Brewing, Port Edgar Marina, Sea Cadets Port Edgar Boat Station, and Edinburgh Watersports Centre/Edinburgh Marine Academy.
Thanks too to the many volunteers who made this event a great success.
Paul Deponio & Linda Cooper. Photographs by Dale Sandercock.
Last updated 7:31pm on 6 October 2026