The Phipps Oar posted by Victoria Bonham Carter

In 2022 the Phipps Oar was introduced to be awarded to the winner of the Down River Race.

John and Harriet Phipps moved to Beaulieu in 1977 with their 3 children Alice, Emily and Juliet. All 3 children went through the BRSC sailing programme but it was their parents who really took up sailing with gusto. Their names appear on trophies no less than 19 times and John only retired from sailing a few years ago at the age of 90. Nowadays, he is more often to be found on the starting platform as Race Officer or on the river bank following the racing with a keen eye.

The 1990’s were Harriet’s heydays when she swept the board with her wins, often the only woman on the water to be competing. One could perhaps call her a ‘trailblazer’ for BRSC women’s sailing and was certainly a legend both on and off the river.

Our new trophy, the Down River Race Phipps Oar, won earlier this year by Jay Devonshire, celebrates with affection and admiration, the contribution to sailing and to the club as a whole of John and Harriet Phipps and their family.