12sq. M Sharpie British Nationals at Wells Sailing Club
by James Case 10 Jun 2008 08:41 BST
6-8 June 2008
A fleet of 31 Sharpies, boosted by 1 German & 5 Dutch boats, arrived at Wells Sailing Club to give a memorable and fitting first open meeting at their newly extended clubhouse.
The first day's racing in Holkham Bay commenced in a force 2 North Easterly which obliged after the fleet had been towed out. Current European champions, Chris & Tim Gibbs port tacked the fleet from the pin end but were pipped to the windward mark by James Case & Jimmy Goodley. The 2 boats kept close company, with Gibbs taking the lead in the failing breeze on the final downtide beat to win. Only 7 boats finished within the time limit, with Jerry Clark & Rob Howlett taking third. With the tide now stronger than the breeze, the fleet were towed home.
Saturday's weather turned around with a fresh North Westerly, leaving no alternative than to sail inside the more sheltered Wells harbour. Three gruelling races ensued in drizzle then rain, testing crews & the 1931 designed gaffers to the limit. The Gibbs brothers consolidated their lead posting two firsts and a third. Martin Read was second in race 2, with NED77 taking third. Case won race 3 with NED8, Jan Pieter Braan taking second. Race 4 saw NED14 take 2nd, Case 3rd. A total of eight capsizes & one broken mast for the day showed that the harbour course was justified and maintaining the traditional skills of bailing with a bucket on a sandy shore!
The last day saw the fleet at sea again after a delay for fog, with a lumpy sea from the previous day and a light force 2 northerly. The prestigious Duke of Connaught trophy, saw Case break clear of the pack after the first triangle, only to do a Lewis Hamilton move, & plough into Kimi Raikonnen (the leeward mark). Meanwhile the Gibbs brothers showed their class and went from sixth to first on the next beat to tie up their 7th national title in the last 8 years. The final race was won by GER377 by a comfortable margin, obviously in a rush to catch the early ferry, with Case 2nd and Clark 3rd.
Race Officer, OK stalwart Andy Turner did a fantastic job with the backing of the Wells S.C. team.
Overall Results:
1st GBR125, Chris & Tim Gibbs, 7pts
2nd GBR12, James Case & Jimmy Goodley, 10pts
3rd NED77, Job Volwater & Ton van Berkel, 23pts
4th GER377, Klaus Eisenblatter & Steffan Wussow, 24pts
5th NED14, Daan Versteeg & Arnold Mulderij, 25pts
6th GBR135, Martin Read & Mark Buckton, 34pts
7th GBR133, Jerry Clark & Rob Howlett, 40pts
8th GBR132, Kiki Spink & Bob Bradshaw, 47pts
9th GBR3, Alex Scoles & Cliff Nye, 49pts
10th GBR9, Paddy Spink & John Ellison, 51pts