Peter Kewish (1984-89) writes:

The Arrow Trophy is an annual regatta between alumni of some 20 private schools competing in 40 foot yachts in the Solent over the first weekend of every October. The management rotates every 3 years between the schools based on participation. Since Pangbourne have entered since 1997, eventually we would have to pay back what we have taken and having skippered the Pangbourne boat for a decade, it fell on me to in 2021 to manage the event for the next 3 years.

It’s not just about the racing, the social scene is huge too. The pubs and restaurants of Cowes High Street are brimming with crews from Thursday evening onwards, Friday night is a Dark and Stormy night with discounted drinks held at one of the local sailing clubs and Saturday culminates in a formal dinner at another. Bumping into old friends from other schools, meeting new people, and keeping up the same rivalry we enjoyed on the sports fields many years ago continues.

There is no way, such an event can be run smoothly whilst skipper a racing yacht, so I handed the latter over to James Minter (88), who has done a sterling job of recruiting crew, getting them to work the boat together nearly as well as they party, and working his way up the fleet to achieve 3rd position by 2024.

Organising such events takes time, effort and energy.  There is no way I could have done it without the support from fellow members of the OPYC, who turned up in all weathers to fly the Pangbourne Battle Flag.

My 3 years is now up and I am delighted to be handing a ‘good ship’ over to my successor school Malvern. Whom, I’m sure will be met with similar challenges and stresses that I have but will overcome them to create a fantastic weekend for all those involved.