Events
Inter-departmental Offshore Regatta
For more than 25 years, the CSSA has organised an inter-departmental offshore yacht race or series of races on behalf of the CSSC. Yacht crews compete representing a department of the civil service, or public service. Originally it was a single race from Cowes to Cherbourg, but the longest race is now around the Isle of Wight, some 60 miles.
Originally a mixture of members’ own yachts and chartered yachts, the popularity of one-design charter fleets has led to the evolution of an event with a matched or equal-rated fleet of charter boats. Most events are based in Cowes, expertly organised by the Island Sailing Club there, with the occasional event in Yarmouth IoW or Plymouth, Devon. Recent events have been of up to five days of racing, with an event dinner in the local yacht club one evening, and other informal social occasions ashore as most boats berth overnight in the same marina.
Over the years, the IDOR series has brought together civil servants from all parts of the service, enabling a good exchange of ideas and values from all parts of the country. It also produces new contacts and co-operation within a crew between the members of that department.
There is always a wide mix of sailing experience in each crew, which has always been one of the principles of the event. Only well fitted modern yachts are used, and racing is limited if the weather forecast is bad. A practice race is usually held first which does not count for the other prizes. There are several trophies for the inshore races, the long offshore race, and the overall points total. The short inshore races are about five-20 miles and can last for between one and four hours, enabling several races to be held over the course of a day. The course is announced shortly before the start by a display board on the line, and with the strong tides around Cowes this always makes for a busy and interesting start to the races. The number of entries has varied between eight and 16 over the years.
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