On This Day in Wembury
21 July 1951 — Yacht Race Meets Gunfire Off Wembury Point
On this day the Western Evening Herald reported dramatic scenes during a Yealm Yacht Club passage race to Plymouth Sound. Felicity, daughter of Maj-Gen Hutton of Newton Ferrers, was leading the field when the competing yachts inadvertently sailed into the practice gunnery range off Wembury Point. “The guns were firing out to sea, but when we got near Tinker Buoy shells suddenly came in closer and started within 50 yards of the boat,” she later recalled. A naval launch warned the competitors off, and several shots were fired across their bows. Felicity steered into the Sound where her father awaited, but as this took her off the prescribed course she was ruled retired. Some boats followed her in, while others turned back. The regatta committee later confirmed no official warning of firing had been given beforehand.
Reflection: This story captures both the perils and unpredictability of postwar sailing off Wembury, where military training and leisure racing uneasily shared the same waters. For Felicity, a potential first victory turned into a narrow escape.
Source: Western Evening Herald, 21 July 1951.
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.