The sun shone, and despite the high pressure system, the wind filled in for a strong fleet of 21 boats for this weekend’s open meeting.
Sailors were so keen that for each race it was a case of third time lucky, as there were two general recalls, and it was only the round the ends rule that seemed to hold boats back behind the line.
In the first race Phil Smith and Mike Cowan (Bean and Toggle) made it to the windward mark first, and broke away only to be passed later in the race by Dave and Lynn Lawson. However, on the final run before the finish, Dave and Lynn gybed in front of Bean and then had to do a 720 enabling Bean to take the lead which he carefully protected up the final beat.
When the fleet got away on the second race, Bean, and sailing secretary Hugh Godfrey were the only boats over the line which threatened to scupper their chances. However, a split shift up the first beat meant there was some interesting positions at the windward mark – Mike Fairlamb with Eric Smith took the lead, Hugh had managed to pull back to fourth, while Bean was 20th! Visitor Martin Brennan from Hollingworth succeeded in taking the lead and won the race, while Bean managed to pull back to 6th. Consistent sailing by Dave Lawson left him in pole position overnight.
It was to be a beautiful Summer’s evening, with a mirror flat calm. Perhaps the heat was getting to some, but there appeared to be some Arabs and Turkish Delights wandering around the club house during the evening! It could have been something to be worried about with recent events in London, but in this case it was due to Michaela, our social secretary, arranging an Arabian Night.
Sadly, the belly dancing never got off the ground (a belly flop?!) – maybe just as well as there would have been some interesting images to portray!
Sunday morning came (and went) with very little wind, so an early lunch was had by all. When racing set off in the afternoon, it seemed as if the sea breeze was starting to kick in, but as all the boats cleared the line (no general recalls), the wind veered back to the North and left some marks without any wind. Dave and Lynn Lawson took an early lead, and seemed invincible, but that changed on the next main beat and they dropped several places. With the wind fading, and another race to get in, the OD hurriedly shortened the course, but the wind picked up and with the final leg turning into a run, it was to be a testing time for the OD as the leading six boats finished within a couple of boat lengths of each other.
The wind faded again, and swung, then swung back, and as time passed, the OD decided to call it a day. Of course, the sea breeze finally started to take effect – ah well.
So with two first in the bag, Bean and Toggle took the winners trophy, and runners up were Martin Brennan of Hollingworth, then Dave and Lynn Lawson.
GP14 OPEN
PN Boat Helm Crew Club 1 2 3 Pts
1 13791 PHIL SMITH GOLD MIKE COWA BASS 1 6 1 2
2 13742 MARTIN BRENN GOLD ALISTAIR HOLLINGWORTH L 6 1 3 4
3 13176 DAVE LAWSON GOLD LYNN LAWS BASS 2 3 5 5
4 13800 BILL KENYON GOLD CHRIS BOW BUDWORTH 3 9 4 7
5 13803 PAUL OWEN SILVER SUE KON SOUTH STAFFS 4 8 6 10
6 13885 MIKE FAIRLAM SILVER ERIC SM BASS 9 2 10 11
7 13655 JOHN RILEY SILVER NIGEL L BASS 10 4 7 11
8 13694 GARETH HUGHE SILVER DAVID O HOLLINGWORTH L 5 7 8 12
9 13839 HUGH GODFREY SILVER RHONWEN BASS 7 5 11 12
10 13874 JOHN TELFORD GOLD ANDY SMIT BASS 11 11 2 13
11 13115 JULIE WADDIN SILVER CHRIS W BOLTON 8 10 9 17
12 13259 JOE ROBERTS BRONZE SALLY R BASS 12 16 13 25
13 13880 MANDY MITCHE BRONZE JON CLO WINSFORD FLASH 14 12 14 26
14 13402 RANA DIN BRONZE NEIL TU HOLLINWORTH LA 13 14 18 27
15 13161 STUART SPENC BRONZE DEBBIE BASS 15 13 17 28
16 13326 ROY BLACKBUR BRONZE SUE WAT BASS 18 20 12 30
17 13867 DAVE NICHOLS BRONZE SARAH N BASS 17 15 16 31
18 13671 ANN PENNY BRONZE IAN PEN DERWENT 19 17 15 32
19 13013 JONATHAN SED BRONZE CRISTIN BASS 16 18 19 34
20 13345 MAURICE COOP BRONZE CLARE P DERWENT 20 19 20 39
21 13181 DAVID HOLMES BRONZE BRIAN H DERWENT 21 RTD 21 42
Points for RTD = 22 22 22
Points for DSQ = 22 22 22
Points for DNS = 22
2 races to count
