Harken GP14 Inland Championships at Burton Sailing Club

Harken GP14 Inlands at Burton © Gill Beddows

Megan Hicklin & Hayley Ramadhar during the Harken GP14 Inlands at Burton © Gill Beddows

Ed Bradburn & Nicola Booth during the Harken GP14 Inlands at Burton © Gill Beddows

Over the Bank Holiday weekend of 4th-5th May, the GP14 Nationwide Travellers' Circuit, the Grand Prix, this year sponsored by Craftinsure, had its third event of the year with the Harken Inlands Championships. The GP series takes the fleet around the UK, with a combination of weekend areas and the Inlands. 30 helms and crews arrived at Burton SC to see a force 3-4 blowing over the clubhouse on the western shore, streaming away over the 230 acre reservoir; the shape of the water meant it was definitely going to be round the cans courses all weekend, rather than triangle/ sausages.

Bang on time, PRO Dave Bell made an attempt to get the event underway, however with such a pin end bias, it was a scrap to get the only good start on offer, the predictable black flag was required to control the fleet at the second time of asking, allowing the really strong fleet to commence battle. The courses for the weekend were kept simple, two good beats, two very broad and one beam reach where the GP fleet were seen screaming in the building breeze.

Saturday belonged to Mike & Lizzie Senior in their Boon/HD package, all three of the races on the first day being brought home by the South Staffs SC pairing. Each race they tactically brought themselves passed the initial leaders, whether it by Graham Flynn & Adam Froggatt, Shane McCarthy & Andy Thompson or Ian Willis & Keith Dutton.

It wasn't just at the front where it was tight; leading Silver overnight were Lee Thomas crewed by Greg Thomas comfortably in the top ten, ahead of Ellie Davies & Adam McGovern, Bronze being led by Megan Hicklin & Hayley Ramadhar.

Saturday evening saw the fleet being shown video footage of the day's sailing under the guidance of RYA judge William Jeffcoate who led the fleet through a range of situations on the water to further their understanding what they are (and probably more importantly) aren't allowed to get away with. The evening continued with a bite to eat, discussions on the fight for premier league survival, Wolves' demise and Sam Watson's 21st Birthday Binge!

Sunday morning, the early arrivals saw a much flatter reservoir, the forecast getting it spot on, similar direction but a couple of forces lighter. No change though at the sharp end, the Seniors again getting themselves to the front of the fleet taking their fourth bullet in a row. Top silvers, Lee & Greg Thomas also cementing their place with another top six place.

It was race 5 that saw the event turn on its head. A 45 degree change in wind direction just after the 4 minute preparatory meant it was impossible to cross the startline on starboard, the pin bias becoming a pin must. 30 boats all vying for that prime location on a black flag start was destined to end in disaster. Many of the fleet were over, four more so than the rest. They were binned from the restart, wrongly in their opinion. Whilst Sam Watson, guided by his crew Andy Hunter, was sailing his way to victory, the BFD helms were filing their protests onshore seeking redress.

Before the hearing could take place, race six was started with three possible winners of the event, all dependent upon the last race and that protest; the Senior Hull, the Goacher pair of Andy Tunnicliffe & Chris Robinson and the McCarthy/Thompson duo. However, with four of the top five boats having been caught out in BFD-gate, it was paramount they all got a decent race result, only McCarthy in his Winder/HD fitout having five good results. As I was playing safe, away from that favoured pin, I'm unsure what happened next. I am safe to say that the Seniors were again caught OCS, Tunnicliffe & Robinson were someway down the fleet and Shane McCarthy was on his way to shore, content that he had won the Inlands, subject to that Protest – it was complicated! Rumour has it that the McCarthy boat had something to do with Mike Senior being over the line and at the same time causing Tunnicliffe to get a bad start, however I must stress that it is only rumour, but it allowed Graham Flynn & Adam Froggatt to sail away to the finish line, reducing their need for a positive protest result.

Once all were back onshore, the protest committee including National Judge Steve Watson sat to discuss the four boats seeking redress, a decision being made to back the PRO and his team, the BFDs standing, handing the Harken GP14 Inlands victory to Shane McCarthy & Andy Thompson without a race win to their names. Second were Flynn & Froggatt, third Richard Instone & Jim Toothill, fourth Sam Watson and Andy Hunter with a cracking set of Sunday results. Silver victory was retained by Lee & Greg Thomas despite being caught up with the BFD protest, Bronze was won by Megan Hicklin & Hayley Ramadhar.

Andy Thompson thanked Harken for their extensive sponsorship of the weekend and Burton SC, acknowledging the commitment of the club as a whole for hosting the event, as well as the Protest Committee for upholding the PRO's decision.

A host of great photos can be found at www.gp14.co.uk

The next event on the Craftinsure Grand Prix is up at Loch Ryan on the West coast of Scotland on the 18th/19th May. Pre-registering really helps the organisation of these events, so please logon to the GP website to signal your intention to go.

Overall Results: