George Hutton Smith Memorial Trophy

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A new regatta for the island

The George Hutton Smith Memorial Trophy

George Hutton Smith was a long-term resident of Santa Eulalia and an ardent sailor who died last year leaving a young family and many friends in the sailing community. As an appropriate memorial his family and friends arranged a regatta in Santa Eulalia on the weekend after Easter which included many of the boats that George worked upon or sailed over the course of his twenty years living on the island. Many old friends flew in from all over Europe to participate in this tribute event and to make it as much fun as possible for all involved.

George's passion was always for traditional cruising boats as he despised motor cruisers! For this reason the boats involved were all sailing boats, so the actual route over which the contest took place depended upon prevailing weather conditions and wind direction. However it started and finished at Santa Eulalia marina. The race began from 'Anchors down' which means that when the starting gun is fired the crews of each boat have to raise the anchor and put up the sails as quickly as they can. Thereafter the race is run in George's preferred tradition, which was always to run a boat to its maximum potential whilst not interfering with the pleasure normally associated with cruising.

A skippers' meeting to determine the final details and the route took place at the Harbour Bar in Santa Eulalia the night before the rehgatta. This venue is appropriate not only for its name, but also for the fact that George once owned this bar.

Anybody who would like to enjoy a boating weekend in memory of a fine lost friend and fellow sailor in what will henceforth be an annual and memorable weekend is more than welcome. To do so please contact Richard Couture on 971 33 11 32 or the Harbour Bar on 971 33 09 12

One of this year's participants (Roger Biggs) submitted the following in-depth analysis of the inaugural event:-

A regatta isn't just a yacht race. It is a complex social activity, which uses a race as an excuse for everything else. A memorial regatta is no different - except that George wasn't there.

The first official excuse for alcoholic socialising - ignoring all of the unofficial planning meetings, which occurred spontaneously in various bars at various times throughout the winter - was the pre-race meeting on the Friday evening. We gathered, we ordered, we drank and we talked about the weather, while outside half a gale was blowing and the rain rained interminably. Nobody could decide whether a race was really possible, unless the weather changed. Contingency plans were discussed, like races on children's scooters around the palm trees on M & M's terrace. Another pre-race meeting was planned for 10 o'clock the following morning to decide finally whether to take boats out to sea or not.

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright with no wind at all, a calm sea - just beautiful. A crowd of hungover sailors gathered again - to discuss whether a race was really possible, unless some wind arrived! Sailing boats need wind - and you can't buy it at the petrol station. Some of us didn't bother with that meeting - we just launched our boats and went out onto the water in time for the eleven o'clock start, drifting around in the sunny calm. The meeting decided to delay the start until there was a bit of wind, and until the more hungover latecomers arrived. The rest of us drifted around admiring the best view of Ibiza - the view from the sea.

Eventually a light breeze ruffled the water, late risers got out of their beds, the other boats motored out of the harbour and hoisted their sails, gathering in a ragged bunch in the middle of Santa Eulalia bay. With a blast of a horn we were off - in an almost respectable breeze, rippling through the water towards the islands. The majesty of the serious classic boats - Rinamara, Madrigal, Young Larry, Scipio and the rest of us, a motley collection of dinghies, racing boats, cruisers - crewed by George's relations, friends and acquaintances - all enjoyed the sailing.

The breeze lasted for all of half an hour and then degraded to occasional puffs from various directions, but the more efficient boats managed to get round the islands without mechanical help. Some of us retired early.

It was a wonderful morning, but I couldn't help thinking what George would say about it - the brilliant helmsman who loved to race in any weather. I think he would probably say "Why did you wait 'til I was dead to organize this? We could have done it for the last twenty years!"

He would have loved it.