Radio A Class Yachts at Bournville Model Yacht Club

by Graham Allen 14 Jul 2009 17:16 BST 12 July 2009

11 skippers attended round 7 of the PRACC event for Radio A class Yachts at Bournville near Birmingham. The winds where calm early in the day but increasing late morning and into the afternoon. This made for some competitive racing. The Local skipper Chris Harris recently back from the International One Meter world Championships in Barbados, led the fleet around the course coming in first. This was to be one of the 9 firsts he gained during the day.

He did not have it all his own way with 2 firsts from John White and Graham Allen both sailing Venoms and one from Damian Ackroyd sailing his Maxim. The lighter winds in the morning seemed to suit the Tequila Sunrise sailed by Chris and the three Venoms, However the slightly heavier Martini and Maxim certainly picked up pace when the wind increased. Darin Ballington from Manor Park Yacht club and Damian Ackroyd from “up North” started working their way through the fleet towards the top; unfortunately the wind did dip a few times, slowing their speed.

At the end of the 14 races Chris Harris came out top with only 16 points followed by John White on 30.4 points including a redress for an earlier incident. Third was the Maxim sailed by Damian Ackroyd with 44 points. Each received a bottle or two of finest Bournville wine.

Special thanks must go to the race team and organisers of the event. John Newey and Mick Shillington assisted by Bill Green, Pete Moore and Ian Cooke made the event a success. Thank you for giving up your time for the enjoyment of others, its most appreciated by everyone.

The next round is on the 8th August at Watermead, Aylesbury.

Overall Results:

Pos	Skipper	Sail No	Club/City	Hull	Pts
1	Chris Harris	86	Bournville	Tequila Sunrise	16
2	John White	37	Appledore	Venom	30.4
3	Damian Ackroyd	101	Leeds & Bradford	Maxim	44
4	Graham Allen	88	Two Islands	Venom	47
5	Martin Dovey	45	Bournville	Sweet 9	55
6	Brian Leighton	84	Gosport	Venom	61
7	Mike Harris	43	Bournville	Lisa's Boat	72
8	Darin Ballington	62	Manor Park	Martini	79
9	Neil Rothwell	40	Woodspring	Outlaw	98
10	Steve Ehlers	26	Woodspring	Martini	100
11	Alan Oxlade	85	Woodley	Rapide	114