MHYC
15/16 May 2010
by Mike Edwards
A small but perfectly formed and competitive fleet arrived at MHYC for the open event. Racing on Saturday started in a perfect force 4 with good sized waves. Tight courses meant that boat handling came to the fore making the most of a good start Gavin Waldron developed an early lead. Downwind conditions allowed places to change throughout the race. Final positions were Waldron 1st, Tony Woods 2nd, Keith Byers 3rd
Race 2
– competed in similar conditions, with Waldron again forging an early lead which he maintained through to the finish, followed by Woods and Byers once again.
Race 3
– Byers took an early lead and was pushed all the way by Tony Woods and Waldron. Final positions: Byers 1st, Woods 2nd and Waldron 3rd.
The second day of this 2 day event was cancelled due to wind strength.
Overall final results were:
- Gavin Waldron (South Staffs SC)
- Tony Woods (Etherow SC)
- Keith Byers (Morecambe and Heysham YC)
- Daz Prior (Morecambe and Heysham YC)
Worlds Qualifier Largs
22 – 23 May 2010
by By Keith & Sue Byers
The first of the 2011 World qualifiers took place over the weekend of the 22/23 May at Largs Sailing Club. The forecast was for light winds and glorious sun.
A highly competitive fleet took to the water for the first race after a short postponement to allow the breeze to fill in.
Day 1
Race 1 – immediately after the start the fleet split into two distinctive groups with the inshore sailors taking advantage, hot out of the blocks was class secretary Andy Turner closely chased down by Mike Edwards. The light winds and shifty conditions proved testing with places changing on every beat. Approaching the windward mark Edwards finally got the better of Turner right on the line to claim 1st place, Turner taking second and Keith Byers just piping Tony Rich to take 3rd.
Race 2 – the race started in similar conditions Turner making no mistakes and covering the rest of the following fleet closely successfully maintained his lead until the finish, followed by Edwards and Tony Rich 3rd with Neil Goodhead in 4th.
Race 3 – The final race of the day, once again Turner and Edwards lead from the off, with Daz Prior this time fighting through to take 3rd place narrowly piping Byers who finished 4th.
Day 2
Race 4 – the day started with very light winds resulting in a postponement. Once racing started the fleet again split into 2 groups with the off shore group gaining advantage of the light conditions. Andy Holmes rounding the windward mark first, followed by Byers and Turner. In a steadily decreasing breeze the wind swung round with Byers taking full advantage to finish 1st, Tony Rich pulling through to 2nd with Turner 3rd and Mike Edwards 4th.
Race 5 – proved to be the windiest of the entire weekend, Conditions were extremely shifty with the windward mark being placed towards Great Cumbrae. With excellent speed Neil Goodhead rounded first and pulled away on a gust to create a cushion from the pursuing fleet. Remaining positions were closely contested and changed hands throughout the race with Goodhead maintaining a long lead to finish 1st, Turner 2nd, Tony Wood 3rd and Edwards 4th.
Overall positions for the weekend:
- Andy Turner (Overy Staithe SC)
- Mike Edwards (South Staffs SC)
- Keith Byers (Morecambe & Heysham YC)
- Neil Goodhead (South Staff SC)
West Oxford Sailing Club
14th August
Report by Adrian Walker, Richard Burton, Eleanor Davies & Neil Goodhead
Race 1 got underway with Richard Burton, one of the home sailors taking the lead from the start. Midway through the race, the wind dropped off, allowing Sam “Half Pint” Blocksidge to take the lead. Places changed constantly for the next lap, but Half Pint managed to hold his lead to the end leaving Richard Burton 2nd and Adrian “Rodney Trotter” Walker 3rd followed closely by Ollie Burrows taking 4th.
There was very little wind for the start of race 2, causing Sam Thomson to be OCS as he battled to make the start line in time, Eleanor Davies got off to a great start and rounded mark 1 first, with the lads chasing to catch up. By the 3rd mark, the wind had changed direction 180 degrees, allowing Richard Burton to take the lead, this was to be short lived, as he then decided to start showing off by removing his rudder, claiming he had got stuck in weed. This disastrous move allowed Rodney Trotter and Half Pint to sneak through to take 1st and 2nd place, leaving Richard 3rd and Eleanor 4th. Meanwhile a small dogfight was developing for 5th place between Ollie Burrows and Piers Smith with Upper Thames’s Edward Crichton close behind.
Race 3 got under way with the pressure on Richard Burton, needing a win to secure the title. Rodney Trotter took the lead after an excellent first beat, followed closely by Eleanor, Half Pint and Richard. Rodney started to pull away, whilst Eleanor had a blonde moment and started heading for the wrong mark, allowing Half Pint into 2nd place. Things then stayed much the same until the last lap, when a thunderstorm and torrential rain swept in giving a slight increase in wind strength. The race officer very wisely finished the race promptly leaving Adrian Rodney Trotter Walker as race winner, and Youth and Junior Champion, with Sam Half Pint Blocksidge as runner up after taking 2nd place in the final race. Richard Burton retired on the last lap due to been worried about getting his hair wet which left 3rd place for Eleanor.
The day was finished off with a fish and chip supper followed by table tennis and pool tournaments. Big thanks must go to West Oxford Sailing Club for hosting and running the event, a great time was had by all. A special thanks must go to everyone who loaned and transported there boats to this event.
Overall final results were:
- Adrian Walker (17) – South Staffs Sailing Club
- Sam Blocksidge (17) – South Staffs Sailing Club
- Richard Burton (19) – West Oxford Sailing Club
- Eleanor Davies (16) – South Staffs Sailing Club (1st Cadet)
- Ollie Burrows (14) – West Oxford Sailing Club
- Piers Smith (15) – Oxford Sailing Club
- Sam Thomson (15) – South Staffs Sailing Club
- Edward Crichton (15) – Upper Thames Sailing Club