Behind the scenes – the Joint Regatta Committee and race team

Beppo Buchanan-Smith chairs the current Joint Regatta Committee (JRC) and the JRC this year sees the return of former principal race officer (PRO) Donald Marshall as vice-chairman. Douglas Newton is the event secretary. They oversee a strong JRC committee from participating clubs and input a huge amount of work throughout the year to make WHYW the regatta it is.

WHYW is renowned also for its excellent race organisation. The race team is headed up by a new face this year – John Readman, who takes over as PRO from Malcolm MacGregor.

After a dozen years’ involvement with the event, Malcolm has taken a well deserved retirement from being PRO.

However, he remains involved in the hand over to the new race team and will be helping with the white sail class alongside new RO Paul Deponio. His commitment and enthusiasm have already been recognised by the team with the award of the prestigious Endeavour Trophy. Colin Crawford, David Wilkie, Catherine Peat and James Hardie are the remaining members of the JRC. Margaret Tait will this year head up the protest committee.

And the event would not be the same without the familiar face of Julia Heap who has more than 40 years’ involvement with WHYW. Julia now oversees the organisation of the race team and is a familiar face to regular competitors