Autumn Regatta at Tamesis Club
by John Dunkley 13 Sep 2011 17:03 BST
10-11 September 2011
Kingfisher leads the Raters upstream during the Autumn Regatta at Tamesis Club © John Dunkley
Remains of Hurricane Katia cast shadow over Autumn Regatta
With gales forecast for all sea areas as the remains of hurricane Katia approached the British Isles, the prospects for Tamesis Club's Autumn Regatta on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September looked distinctly wet and windy. In the event, neither the wind nor the rain were as vicious as expected and there was some hightly competitive racing with periods of warm sunshine and less gusty winds on both days.
The strongest winds were on Saturday when Race Officer Brian Southcott sent the 27 contestants on two three round courses beyond Stevens Eyot towards Hampton Wick Railway Bridge but Sunday also provided a number of intermittent gusts that gave the Thames A Raters some close tacking upriver and equally close reaching downstream and the opportunity for some spraysplatted planing by the Merlins and Lasers.
Many of the competitors sailed only one or two races and while some performed well, clocking up firsts or seconds, they were unable to qualify for prizes as three of the four races counted for overall points. The Lasers were among the most competitive, with the last race going to a potential tie break. The prizes were presented by Tamesis Commodore John Adams.
Overall Results:
Thames A Raters
1 Kingfisher (1) Martin Collen, R Gadsby, Clive Hughes, Thames SC
2 Lady Iona (17) Bess Rhodes, Julian Cocker, Tom Wilson, Alistair Macdonald, Upper Thames SC
Merlin Rockets
1 Shenandoah (3088) Andrew Harris & David Soloman
2 Pikey (3520) Jon & Fenella/Joanna Redding
3 Bambusa (847) Peter & Richard Mason
4 Bad Company (3062) Chris & Susy Balmbro/Johannes Wagner
5 Total Eclipse (3233) Richard Mourant & Joe Woods
Lasers
1 Storm (146120) Marcus Chavasse
2 Jacana (143088) Steve Bartlett
3 Buzz (32945) Jodok Gerber
National 18s
1 One over the Eight (349) Doug Pope & J Hurge
Handicap (Toppers)
1 Noah's Ark (6409) Noah Mountstephen