International Canoe Open at West Kirby Sailing Club

With big yellow signs welcoming the arriving sailors to the Open Championship, and parking directions displayed on every lamp post, the stage was set for an excellent event. The sailors, some travelling from as far away as Kent, were not to be disappointed. If the Ladies' British Golf Open at neighboring Hoylake was half as well organised...

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, apparently not unusual according to the locals, with a brisk F5 blowing across the Dee estuary. With big tides this weekend, water was never going to be a problem and three races were scheduled for the Saturday. by the time the boats were launching the wind had moderated to a very pleasent F3.

Local guru / boatbuilder / font of all knowledge Tony Marston has done an excellent job in bringing together a highly enthusiastic fleet at West Kirby who have brought each others sailing on to a high standard. With Tony producing ICs in kit form that can be on the water for less than the cost of a Laser, and the local crew having the ability to renovate older boats to a competative standard, the fleet is a formidable force to be reconed with.

The moderation in the wind on Saturday and the onset of high tide gave some order to the previous chop, and the resulting swell enabled some excellent surfing on the reaches. All the boats showed excellent vmg at some time, but the standout sailors were Richard Hudson who was flying in race one, and Jim Gaskin who led the locals home with some excellent starts and tactics.

Sunday saw a change in conditions. The initial light breeze developed into a F5 with gusts. With the wind swinging to the South, wind over a big tide would cause a little excitement. After a quick meeting, racing was moved to the recently extended marine lake where the IC fleet enjoyed sole occupancy. The flat water with strong gusts made boat handling a priority. Reaching flat out the whole length of the lake gace the onlookers and Sunday walkers some fantastic photo opportunities. It didnt go un-noticed that the gybe marks had the highest concentration of spectators, as boats gybed only yards from the sea wall.

Jamie Marston won the family 'discussion' and stole his dad's boat to lead the home fleet, whilst Gareth Caldwell led the visitors' challenge.

Thanks must go to the rescue and shore crew who helped to launch and recover the fleet, and to the race team who ran six excellent races over the weekend with the minimum of fuss and waiting between races.