by Robert Deaves

The Sussex Life British and Open OK Dinghy National Championships 2002, was hosted by Felpham Sailing Club from 13th to 15th September. The sunshine and moderate winds attracted 36 boats including defending champion Nick Craig, former champions David Carroll and David Rose and at his first OK Nationals, Jim Hunt. The weekend also saw John McIntyre stepping into an OK for the first time in 20 years.

With offshore winds in place for the three days and a lot of thermal activity, the shifts were large and regular. The whole regatta was a case of ‘tack when it flaps’ and in general the same five or six boats were usually at the front, occasionally joined by a few others when they got the shifts right. Eight races were sailed with two throwouts.

Nick Craig and Jim Hunt shared the honours on day one, after Hunt had his sail fall down in race one and didn’t finish. Craig’s second place in race two saw him in the overnight lead with Bob Bourne lying second after scoring a second and a fifth.

Three races were sailed on the Sunday. David Carroll won the first while the next two boats Craig and Hunt were OCS. Craig then came back to score another bullet and a third to retain the overall lead. Carroll moved up to second after a second place in race four, but a capsize in race five dropped him from fifth to 14th. The last race of the day saw Terry Curtis find a massive shift on the right hand corner to lead by a country mile. He was never headed and won by a considerable margin, with Gavin Waldron scoring his second second-place of the day.

A first and second sealed the championships for Craig on the final day and a second and third did the same for Carroll in second place. A third and two wins for Hunt showed his potential for the future, but counting a DNF and a DNS did not help his cause. However the next five places were wide open. Out of these, Robert Deaves scored best on the water for the day, but after the two throwouts took effect, Terry Curtis ended up third with Deaves fourth. Fifth place went to David Rose after his popular return to the class.

Results:

  1. Nick Craig GBR 2110 Frensham Pond SC 10 points
  2. David Carroll GBR 2106 Deben YC 13
  3. Terry Curtis GBR 2101 Upper Thames SC 29
  4. Robert Deaves GBR 2081 Dabchicks SC 32
  5. David Rose GBR 2105 OSC 36
  6. Will Turner GBR 2045 Ardleigh SC 41
  7. Peter Turner GBR 2059 Ardleigh SC 42
  8. Gavin Waldron GBR 2085 Upper Thames SC 43
  9. Andy Turner GBR 2054 Ardleigh SC 49
  10. Neil Goodhead GBR 2108 South Staffs SC 51

Best Junior: Peter Turner
Best Veteran: David Rose
Best Lady: Mary Reddyhoff
Thorpe Ream Prize: Ardleigh SC
Mark Williams Memorial: Paul Pike
Best Newcomer Jim Hunt