Founder’s Cup at Blithfield Sailing Club
By Chris Martin on 2 Sep 201127-29 August 2011
A pleasing turnout of 28 boats competed in the annual regatta for the Founder's Cup at Blithfield SC, held over all three days of the bank holiday weekend. The rather ferocious conditions no doubt kept the covers on a few boats in the dinghy park!
Saturday's pursuit race took place in winds gusting up to 30mph, under the stewardship of OOD for the day Steve Hendon. An interesting course, with two beats and some rather testing shifts made for an interesting tactical race. The Merlin Rockets of Tom Chadfield with guest crew Karen Beston and Chris Martin with Dan Morgan were enjoying a battle royal until Chris & Dan suffered terminal gear failure. On seeing their main coming down Tom thought the race was over, leaving a wry smile on the face of Peter Male sailing his Merlin with wife Chris to win the race. Roger Woodhead second in his Supernova, and David and Jack Moore were third in their RS200. There is a moral there somewhere!
Sunday dawned windy as ever, with large gusts rattling the clubhouse windows as early as 9:00. Three handicap races were planned for the day, with Mike Potter in the chair as OOD. Our regular racing takes place on Sundays and this boosted the turnout sigificantly. Race 1 started with a shortish beat off a starboard biased line. Chris & Dan's repaired Merlin lead around the first mark with Paul Hollis and James Dawes hot on their heels. Paul and James got through at the gybe mark, and despite the Osprey of Ian Mcdonald and Jon Gibbons coming through looked a sure winner on Handicap until they missed out the gate mark on the second lap. Second moral of the weekend! Ian and Jon won in the Osprey, Tom Chadfield, back with son Andy, came second and Chris & Dan third.
Race two also saw a strong starboard bias, with long gusts up to 30mph again. This course had a number of gybes which tested the fleets boat handling somewhat in the squally conditions. Paul Hollis and James Dawes were enjoying another close fight with Chris Martin and Dan Morgan until both came to grief at the same mark and capsized. Ian and Jon sailed a superb race to record their second win, with Tom and Andy second, and Paul and James recovering to third.
Race three saw tighter reaches and even hairier gybe marks! The OOD tried to fox the fleet by setting a slight port bias, fully exploited by Chris and Dan who crossed the fleet to round first only to capsize in a monstrous gust at the first gybe mark. Anything could happen in these conditions however and there were several more swimmers during the course of this short race. Tom and Andy took the bullet in this race, with Ian and Jon having to settle for second with Chris and Dan sailing through to third buoyed on by the fury of two capsizses in two races. We all retired to the bar and barbeque absolutely exhausted!
This meant that the battle for the Founder's cup was to be settled on the bank holiday Monday. Of the boats who turned out for this pursuit race only Ian & Jon's Osprey or the Chadfield's Merlin could actually win the cup, and whoever of the two won the race would take it. OOD for the day Peter Male set an excellent course well suited to either boat and battle commenced with the wind still gusting up to 30mph. Having tasted blood in three of the other four races, Chris Martin and Dan Morgan lead Tom and Andy from start to finish, finally managing to overcome their lack of practice to win the race and set the cat amongst the pigeons!
Tom and Andy managed to hold of Ian and Jon by about a boat length to take second but this was not enough to prevent the Osprey sailors from taking the trophy on countback. Tom and Andy were second overall, Chris and Dan third. Chris Woodhead sailed a consistant series to take fourth in a Laser 4.7, beating his Dad Roger into 5th place in his Supernova. Peter and Chris Male took 6th place. A special mention should go to youngsters Tom Dunne and Lizzie Hendon who persevered in their club Feva in very strong conditions.
Thanks to all the OODs who ran the racing, the guys on safety and the galley and bar staff for an excellent weekends racing. We are looking forward to the Barrel series this winter!