Wineglass Nationals at Fishers Green Sailing Club

The Wineglass is (in)famous for two things. One, it is widely credited with being the first production fibreglass dinghy back in 1959, and secondly (up until it was barred) you could always get a glass of wine at the boat show stand.

The Nationals were held at Fishers Green on a balmy, light and shifty (that's shifty) summers day. The entry was strong, with several boats over 20 years old seeing the light of day.

The first race was led away by the Bishops (Vino) after a tight start on a port biased line. Vino picked the shifts to lead around the first mark, closely followed by Brian Conroy/Eric Woodcraft (Moon Indigo) and Roger Springett/Dave Kirton (Veuve). By the end of the first lap, that saw the fleet zig zag a mile back down the lake, the top positions remained unchanged. With the wind dying at the start of the the second lap, Vino positioned himself well to take full advantage of the new breeze & extended his lead over Moon Indigo. These two boats pulled out a large lead over the rest of the fleet to finish 1st & 2nd. 453 made a creditable 3rd and the Suffields (Blue Moon) recovered from a disastrous first couple of laps in last place to finish 4th.

After lunch (that saw the inevitable steady force 2/3 for all of 40 minutes!), the fleet were treated to another port biased line in a fickle breeze. It was the Moon Indigo who made the best of the first beat this time, but with all competitors strung out over as many boat lengths for the second two downwind legs, it was anybody's race. But it was that Vino made the best of his lighter overall weight to take a healthy lead by the end of the first lap. This theme continued and Vino took the race (and the Championship), with a photo finish between 453 and Moon Indigo for 2nd & 3rd.

In race three Vino took full advantage of a shift just before the start to take an unassailable lead, 453 rounded 2nd. Moon Indigo hit the corners after the start in a final attempt to get back in contention, but eventually rounded last. The fleet spread out in the fitful breeze, but Vino took the win with 453 in second and Blue Moon third.

Alan Bishop took the trophy and the wine (what else), thanked the club, RO and rescue team and looked forward to defending his title in 2005. The first over 60 was Brian Conroy and first Mark I/II trophy went to Malcolm Reeve.

Anyone interested in the Wineglass and buying/selling should contact Brian Conroy - brian.conroy@btinternet.com

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