Flying Fifteen World Championships at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Day 5
by Lindsay Lyons, RHKYC 6 Nov 2013 11:15 GMT
2-8 November 2013
Graham Vials and Chris Turner victorious with a day to spare
The 19th International Flying Fifteen Worlds has thrown every conceivable weather combination at competitors, and today it was time to try some light air sailing. The T flag was displayed on shore, indicating that all competitors would be towed across the Lamma TSS and RO Jerry Rollin was happy to raise the AP at the start line in order to ensure that everyone had time to prepare.
That also gave him time to reconsider the start line position, which was pushing the windward mark right out to the limit of Hong Kong waters, by retreating 200m further downwind.
Early indications were that a 1.15nm beat would be ample to give the sailors a race of around two hours, however the wind was gradually shifting round to the east, requiring the pin boat to be re-anchored and by the time the start gun was fired, although the fleet got a clean start, Rollin noted the dying breeze, coupled with another wind shift and raised the N flag to abandon the race and bring everyone back to the start area.
The pin boat was once again relocated, and with the breeze filling in to 5kts, the RO tried to get race 6 underway again, however just before the start gun, another AP #2 was displayed, as race management waited for a wind shift to settle. The AP was removed, only to be re-hoisted 4 minutes later and the pin boat anchor was lifted once again with all boats standing by waiting for the new breeze to fill in.
Fill in it did, 50 degrees further east than when the first attempt at a start was made, however this time the forecast replenishment of the northeast monsoon held steady at 8 to 10 knots and the RO was able to reset the line to his satisfaction. Perhaps impatient to get sailing after sitting around for so long, the bulk of the fleet was over early, earning a general recall and a black flag re-start. This time, everyone got it right, including the breeze, and the fleet were all clear nearly two hours later than scheduled.
Cosmas Grelon got a flyer of a start for Hong Kong on Noisy Forefather, reaching the windward mark first, ahead of Pharos Financial Group and the rest of the fleet before a local fishing vessel managed to hook the mark. With the mark returned to its rightful owners, the mark layers had 45 seconds to get it into place before the fleet rounded the leeward gate.
By the time they did, Graham Vials had taken up the head of the fleet, ahead of Greg Wells on Betty and Ashley Smith on PHAROS Financial Group and the Jerwoods on Ineffable and with the wind holding steady, Foof crossed the finish line in first place – their fourth of the regatta – to secure their defence of their World Title with a race in hand.
On the dock afterwards, Vials said "it was surprisingly good racing – I was a bit concerned that with the lighter breeze we might get caught by a wind shift, but it all went to plan. We're looking forward to the curry buffet tonight, and a day off tomorrow!"
Ineffable maintains their position in second place, six points ahead of Steve Goacher and Phil Evans on 4021. El Toro has dropped to fourth overall after a disappointing 9th today, with Betty in fifth on equal points with Alan Bax and Chris Hewkin on 3998.
Top Hong Kong boat is Noisy Forefather with Cosmas Grelon and Rory Godman in 17th overall, with Ffact or Ffiction in 21st and Uffa Fox Ache in 24th.
Full results with elapsed times can be seen at www.rhkyc.org.hk/ffw13resultselapsed.aspx
Tracking of a selection of the top performing boats can be viewed at tacktracker.com/cloud/regattas/show/1288483917
Results after Day 5: (six races, 1 discard)
Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
1st | GBR 4004 | Foof | Graham Vials | Chris Turner | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑5 | 1 | 6 |
2nd | AUS 3986 | Ineffable | Nick Jerwood | Janet Jerwood | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | ‑6 | 2 | 14 |
3rd | GBR 4021 | TBA | Steve Goacher | Phil Evans | 3 | ‑6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
4th | AUS 3933 | El Toro | Grant Alderson | Dean McAullay | 2 | 2 | 7 | (BFD) | 1 | 9 | 21 |
5th | GBR 3920 | Betty | Greg Wells | Andrew Jameson | 5 | 7 | 8 | (BFD) | 4 | 3 | 27 |
6th | GBR 3998 | | Alan Bax | Chris Hewkin | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ‑7 | 7 | 27 |
7th | AUS 3684 | The Wife's Ffault | Matthew Owen | Andrew Reed | ‑15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 29 |
8th | GBR 4019 | Pure Magic | David Tabb | Chewey Sherrell | 12 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ‑16 | 38 |
9th | AUS 3992 | Glamour Buoys | Gregory Leaversuch | Peter Barblett | 9 | 9 | ‑11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 46 |
10th | AUS 3982 | Storyteller | Christopher Paterson | Rupert Leslie | ‑14 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 54 |
11th | AUS 3972 | PHAROS Financial Group | Ashley Smith | Adam Kingston | 17 | 14 | 14 | (BFD) | 16 | 5 | 66 |
12th | GBR 3953 | Fforca del Vento | Robert Hogben | Glyn Morgan | 11 | 11 | 22 | (DNC) | 9 | 14 | 67 |
13th | GBR 4020 | Freaking Fantabulous | Graham Scroggie | Ben Scroggie | 16 | 16 | 9 | ‑18 | 17 | 13 | 71 |
14th | AUS 3930 | Aussie Falcon | Dale Collings | Glenn Scheen | 8 | 18 | (DSQ) | 23 | 11 | 15 | 75 |
15th | AUS 3743 | Spot the Difference | Greg Tonnison | Steve Roberts | 21 | 15 | 19 | (BFD) | 15 | 6 | 76 |
16th | AUS 3880 | Where The Bl**dy Hell Are You | Craig Rainey | Ian Rainey | 10 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 19 | ‑20 | 76 |
17th | HKG 3722 | Noisy Forefather | Cosmas Grelon | Rory Godman | 27 | ‑29 | 13 | 7 | 21 | 12 | 80 |
18th | GBR 3936 | Smooth and Stoned | Steve Douthwaite | Paul Averley | 19 | 19 | ‑24 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 83 |
19th | AUS 3797 | Changing Lanes | David Swan | Matt Elliot | ‑24 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 86 |
20th | AUS 4010 | Mr Fox | Jade lane | William Ian Lane | ‑26 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 25 | 19 | 94 |
21st | HKG 3305 | Ffact or Ffiction | Simon Pickering | Rafael Buitre | 13 | 25 | 12 | 26 | ‑30 | 24 | 100 |
22nd | GBR 3539 | Hakuna Matata | John Hanson | Helen Selden | 20 | ‑26 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 101 |
23rd | AUS 3855 | Fflashpoint | Peter Rooke | Martin Arrowsmith | 18 | ‑37 | 28 | 14 | 13 | 37 | 110 |
24th | HKG 4015 | Uffa Fox Ache | Barry Hayes | Sheridan Teasel | 25 | 24 | 20 | 22 | 23 | ‑31 | 114 |
25th | GBR 4022 | Always Fforever | Andy Goddard | Mal Hartland | ‑28 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 18 | 115 |
26th | NZL 3754 | Business | Sandra Williams | Graeme Robinson | 23 | 22 | 21 | 24 | (DNF) | 27 | 117.5 |
27th | HKG 3981 | Tchaikoffsky | Howard Williams | Huw Riley | 22 | 21 | 29 | 29 | 20 | (DSQ) | 121 |
28th | HKG 3882 | No Name | Koichi Yamamoto | Shinji Ishiwata | 33 | 31 | ‑37 | 11 | 29 | 30 | 134 |
29th | HKG 3997 | Tomffoolery | Tom Sheppard | Peter Barker | 31 | 27 | 30 | 20 | 28 | ‑40 | 136 |
30th | AUS 3620 | Casper | Howard Faulks | Nick Faulks | 29 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 31 | (DNF) | 138 |
31st | AUS 3989 | Fast Lane 4 | John Wilson | David Tucker | (DNF) | DNS | 25 | 9 | 27 | 25 | 139 |
32nd | AUS 3964 | Fforeigner | Simon Lucas | Aileen Lucas | ‑35 | 33 | 34 | 17 | 35 | 29 | 148 |
33rd | GBR 3692 | fentura | Nick Heath | Pippa Noon | 32 | 35 | 33 | 27 | ‑36 | 23 | 150 |
34th | HKG 3701 | Puff'n Stuff | David Chow | Mark Lyons | ‑34 | 32 | 27 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 152 |
35th | GBR 3901 | Freewheelin' | Mike Kilbee | Tony Cox | ‑36 | 34 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 26 | 165 |
36th | ESP 3735 | Pathffinder | Michael Clough | Hendrik Penndorf | 30 | 30 | 38 | 31 | 37 | ‑41 | 166 |
37th | NZL 3714 | jaffa | Andrew Taylor | Greg Taylor | 37 | 38 | 32 | (BFD) | 24 | 36 | 167 |
38th | IRL 4002 | Afloat.ie | John Lavery | David O'Brien | 7 | 3 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 169 |
39th | GBR 3939 | Athol | Athol King | Trevor Bellis | ‑40 | 36 | 31 | 28 | 38 | 38 | 171 |
40th | HKG 3979 | Kerfuffle | Carlyon Knight‑Evans | Lucy Sutro | (DNF) | 44 | 39 | 37 | 39 | 34 | 193 |
41st | HKG 3830 | Squiffy | Joe Nelson | David Bone | 39 | 41 | (DNF) | 33 | 40 | 42 | 195 |
42nd | GBR 627 | Vamoose | Bobby Salmond | Robert Till | 38 | (DNS) | 41 | 30 | DNS | 35 | 197 |
43rd | HKG 3990 | FfreeFire 90 | Sam Chan | Nick Atkinson | 41 | 42 | 42 | (BFD) | 42 | 32 | 199 |
44th | HKG 3500 | FFatal Attraction | Murray Latham | Nigel Davis | (DNF) | 40 | 43 | 36 | 44 | 39 | 202 |
45th | HKG 3876 | French Fries | Akira Takada | Wataru Takada | (DNF) | 39 | 26 | BFD | 32 | RET | 203 |
46th | AUS 3545 | Frequent Flyer | Jennifer Sims | Andrew Wallace | 45 | ‑46 | 45 | 38 | 43 | 33 | 204 |
47th | HKG 3469 | Frantic Forties | Wai Chuen Chan | Jack Leung | 43 | 43 | ‑44 | 42 | 41 | 43 | 212 |
48th | HKG 3304 | Skiver | Louis Brink | Thomas Issac | 42 | 45 | 47 | 41 | (DNC) | 44 | 219 |
49th | HKG 3828 | Ffirecracker | Naoki Ishihara | Martin Heath | 44 | (DNS) | 49 | 39 | 45 | 45 | 222 |
50th | HKG 3533 | My Ffair Lady | Brian Henderson | Ben Muskett | 46 | (DNS) | 40 | 40 | DNC | RET | 232 |
51st | HKG 3468 | Zest | Chris Howard | Andrew Howard | (DNC) | DNC | 46 | 34 | DNF | RET | 239 |
52nd | HKG 3415 | Fflippin' Muppets | Kunihiro Fukushima | Motokazu Nlshimura | (DNF) | DNS | 48 | 43 | DNF | DNC | 250 |