GP14 Northern Bell Series at Southport Sailing Club
by Matt Harris 15 Oct 2012 13:38 BST
14 October 2012
GP14 Northern Bell Series at Southport © Matt Harris
Sponsored by Tim Harper Boats
Bright sunshine compensated for the light winds which delayed racing until after lunch when in less than 5mph the Race Officer took a vote and the sailors agreed to race with a hope that the warm day would bring a sea breeze.
The first of the three races was slow in pace but interesting to watch with the race leadership changing across the course between three boats and eventually won by Tim Harper and G Hill.
The nothing breeze picked up to next to nothing between 6 and 8 mph for the second race of the day. The good start by N Platt and B Hill was enough for them to sail away and keep ahead of the fleet with the race in the bag. As there was no clear outcome from the two races for the day's result to be declared, a final race was necessary to sort out the winner from the 9 boats competing.
After a general recall for the third race, I Armstrong and J Partridge went ahead from the line and stayed in front to finish first. However, congratulations go to N Platt and B Hill who were overall winners of the event.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 13924 | N Platt | B Hill | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 13447 | I Armstrong | J Partridge | 3 | ‑4 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | 14122 | T Harper | G Hill | 1 | 3 | ‑5 | 4 |
| 5 | 14039 | P Jacques | P Tate | 2 | ‑5 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | 14091 | L Thomas | G Thomas | (DNS) | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | 14109 | A Thomas | S McKenzie | 5 | ‑7 | 6 | 11 |
| 7 | 13806 | P Norton | L Richardson | 6 | 6 | ‑7 | 12 |
| 8 | 13733 | BN Jacobs | B Swainson | 7 | 8 | ‑8 | 15 |
| 9 | 13309 | M Harris | G Shaw | 8 | 9 | ‑9 | 17 |