Anglia Factors Cadet Open at Waldringfield Sailing Club - Overall
by Neil Collingridge 24 Jun 2013 08:27 BST
22-23 June 2013
Wow! What a day. The fleet thought Saturday had been on the interesting side of breezy but whilst we saw more sun on Sunday and the wind strength wasn't so solidly high, the gusts were something altogether different and just kept on coming with every band of black cloud.
Race 3 saw Alex Page and Aaron Chadwick take the win having got the shifts right to pass early leaders Arran Holman and Lucie Offord at the top of the beat. With Daisy and Angus Collingridge third and Lucy and Cally Terkelsen 4th the yellow jerseys were shared for the fourth race between Lucy and overnight leader Ed Harris. After a monster gust between races the fourth race saw Ed and Faye Chatterton strengthen their position relative to Lucy and Cally in 2nd with Daisy and Angus again third and Arran and Lucie fourth.
Race 5 and in slightly more moderate breeze Alex and Aaron bounced back with a win. This time Alex Warrington finished second after replacing a very young crew with a slightly elder one and Arran and Lucie were third. Ed Harris held on to the yellow jersey after a 5th to Lucy Terkelsen's 7th but the top 3 positions were very tight.
So lunch followed and then with the tide now ebbing hard the Race Officer took the fleet in search of a good beat between the Rocks. Daisy and Angus nailed the start and established a good lead around the track followed by Henry Stone with Archie Goodhead and Willow Bland with Hazel Whittle. All set for a Waldringfield 1,2,3 then... wrong: As the leaders approached the end of the first lap the skies darkened and the wind picked up to a force 5 to 6. One of two tipped it in on the gybe including Alex Page which looked to have handed advantage back to Ed but then WOW!- a massive gust of perhaps 40 knots hit, driving rain made it virtually impossible to look upwind and the rescue boats found all bar a very small handful upside down. Utter chaos... but as fast as the gust hit, it passed and the leaders all righted their boats and continued racing. Daisy and Angus had lost their lead in the swim to none other than Ed and Faye who had stayed upright. Lucy Corby with Jade McCarthy had also kept the mast in the air and fooled in second. After one final lap the race completed with Ed and Faye taking the win and first overall from the Terkelsen girls in 2nd overall and Alex and Aaron 3rd.
A lot of proud parents and some memorable experiences for the cadets. One of the classic open meetings.
Overall Results:
1st and Under 15 trophy, Ed Harris and Faye Chatterton (WSC) 10pts
2nd and first girl, Lucy and Cally Terkelsen (Stone SC) 13pts
3rd and under 13 trophy, Alex Page and Aaron Chadwick (Brightlingsea SC) 14pts
4th most improved trophy and under 14 trophy, Daisy and Angus Collingridge (WSC) 19pts
5th Sam Yale and Harry Chatterton (WSC) 28pts
Youngest helm, Alex Bell Jones
Youngest crew, Ciara Woodard