3000 Nationals at Grafham Water Sailing Club

3000 nationals at Grafham © Tom Smith

3000 nationals at Grafham © Tom Smith

The 3000 Class returned to Grafham for its 2010 Nationals and Travellers' Trophy No.2 event, as part of the Laser Multi-Class Regatta. There was a pleasant breeze on the Saturday and largely light-winds with occasional trapezing in the gusts on the Sunday. Competitors came from as far afield as Cumbria and Kent to make up a fleet of which for the first time the majority of boats sported Vandercraft hulls, while most set the newer, North sails. Attendance was down this year, however, apparently due to a clash with school exams - a particularly crucial matter in a class for lightweight sailors and a situation to be avoided next year.

Joe Pester and Murph (Paul Murphy) from Ullswater YC largely dominated the racing, with a score-line of firsts except for one very light-airs 5th place and another in the last race in which they chose to shadow their main rivals. Wind pressure was generally very patchy across the course, and Joe and Murph handled this best, even recovering to finish first after an OCS.

The battle for second place was much more hotly contested, with three boats ending up very close on points. The heaviest pairing of Dan Hollands and Andrew Thompson were second overnight and managed to hang on in the lighter Sunday races, despite the best efforts of Wilsonian SC club-mates Martin Brown with Max Caston in 3608 and David Fenech with Alison Williams in 3605, who finished third and fourth respectively. This despite David and Alison even scoring a first in the last race in their bid to catch up on points.

In fifth overall, Under-18 Champions and Silver Fleet winners were Patrick Shellcock and Luke Collins from Sedbergh School and Killington SA. Two boats from Sedbergh had made it to the Nationals after a tediously painful journey down, characterized by a traffic hold-up so long that they were able to enjoy a walk on the motorway. They added to that experience on the Saturday with a toppled mast (caused by a snapped jib halyard), and a fractured thumb (caused by the no-no of placing the aforesaid thumb between two boats as they came alongside each other). Had there been a Ranulph Fiennes Prize for perseverance, they would surely have won that too, although it may have involved sawing off the offending thumb.

Ed Walker and Chloe Tucker from Rutland won the Rose Bowl for the first Laser-hulled boat in their trusty yellow 3181, after giving some of the Vandercraft boats the occasional nasty surprise.

Sea Sure had generously donated some equipment prizes, including exotic tiller extensions, and these went to the lucky winners of a raffle to avoid overly-rewarding the already-successful!

As the photos show, the weather was at least bright if light, and the class is looking forward to its next open at the Medway Dinghy Regatta in July.

Overall Results: