Buzz Inland Championships at Queen Mary Sailing Club

This year's Buzz Inlands were hosted by Queen Mary Sailing Club in West London over the weekend of 3rd and 4th October, an event shared with the ISOs.

Saturday brought strong winds, rarely under 20 knots and with gusts over 30. After a pause to see if the wind would abate, the race officer team of ex-Buzz sailors Bob and Isobel Joce set a course on the more sheltered Eastern side of the lake. None of the ISOs chose to go afloat but 4 of the Buzzes were up for it. One three lap race was enough for all and Stuart Bailey and Zoe Noble of Medway Yacht Club showed their form by leading from start to finish. Mark Wilson and Jane Noble were second throughout with Michael and Nathan Stanier in third place, Paul and Vicky Noble won the bravery award for using their spinnaker!! After tea and cakes in the QMSC clubhouse, those staying over headed to Chertsey for a pleasant meal beside the Thames.

Sunday dawned bright and with a much more reasonable wind of about 10 knots which lasted all day. Four races were held to bring the event total up to five. The first two were sailed off the Queen Mary Sailing Club Sunday racing start which meant mixing it with the RS400s and skiffs. In the first race, Ian and Bridget Staples got the best start and were ahead of Stuart and Zoe at the end of the first lap but were passed by Stuart and Zoe before the end of the second lap with Mark and Jane chasing hard. The first of the days many swings in the wind came through as the crews were beating up the next leg and this allowed Mark and Jane to pass Ian and Bridget but they were not able to catch Stuart and Zoe.

The second race saw Stuart and Zoe off to a good start and establish an early lead which they maintained to the end of the race. Mark and Jane were briefly able to take second place from Ian and Bridget who took the place back on the next lap, Paul and Vicky were at the front end of the fleet until a faulty spinnaker cleat let them down causing retirement. On the final lap the wind swung right by almost ninety degrees and being in the right place when this happened was important. The local team of Aaron Moore and Andrew Craig took advantage of this to gain a place and finish fourth.

For the third race, the race officers then rightly reset the windward mark which meant that the wind immediately went back left and further than before, and then came back to its original direction. Ian and Bridget got the best start and lead from Stuart and Zoe with Mark and Jane behind. After one lap the wind had gone so far right again as to make the windward mark a straight fetch and so the race officers shortened course. On the reach to the finish Aaron and Andrew managed to overtake Mark and Jane to get their best result of the day.

The final race was set as four laps and Ian and Bridget got the best start ahead of Stuart and Zoe and then Mark and Jane. The wind again swung right and overtaking became a challenge so the order was maintained to the finish.

At the prize giving, many thanks were expressed to all involved at Queen Mary in making sure that every aspect of the event was a great success.

Overall Results: