Byte Travellers' Series 2013
by Eddie Pope 7 Nov 2013 20:06 GMT
7 November 2013
Following another very successful training session at Rutland SC led by Kevin Moore in April, the Byte Travellers series was held with a 2-day event in each of the following 6 months. In order to qualify helms needed to compete in at least 4 events. There were 25 entries in total, an increase of 4 over 2012. Most of the events experienced increased entries, and the plan is to return to the same venues in 2014.
In May the fleet went to West Oxfordshire SC, where 10 helms shared the water with the Fireflies in variable conditions. Rick Whitehouse (Combs SC) stamped his authority here winning all the races. He was followed home by Mike Radford (West Oxfordshire SC) then Chris Rees (Warsash SC).
11 Bytes were part of the Cardiff YC Regatta in June for the Inland Championships. On the 1st day it was survival conditions at times and in the afternoon racing was called off. The Bytes managed to keep going in the morning whereas few of the other Regatta entries could cope. On the 2nd day the conditions were more benign. Louis Saunders (Combs SC) was a master of all conditions and was a convincing winner of all races, rarely being headed. Behind Louis there were however strong performances, with 2nd places being shared between Rick, Sarah Kirk (Frampton on Severn SC), Kevin Moore (Weston SC) and Eddie Pope (Ogston SC). Charlotte Gough (Starcross SC) was consistently near the front. At the end Rick was 2nd overall, Eddie 3rd and Charlotte 4th.
Rick and Louis hosted a super training session for 9 entries on the first morning of the July event at Combs SC. Rick and Louis then demonstrated how to race. This time Rick prevailed, though in his defence Louis had some boat trouble. Mike sailed really well to come 3rd. Rick & Louis also served up a tasty breakfast showing they are multi-talented.
Next up was the Nationals at WPNSA as part of SailFest over the August Bank Holiday. The wind was strong, but not as high as Cardiff. The socials were really enjoyable, including a BBQ and a meal at the UK team's Olympic quarters. At the AGM Maggie Futcher (Weston SC) stood down from the Committee after many years service. There were 15 entries, a big improvement on 2012. Louis was dominant, except in race 3 which Charlotte won. Rick was consistent and Chris was also fast on day 1. Eddie and Kevin managed 2nd positions on day 2. At the end Rick's consistency earned him 2nd overall, followed by Charlotte then Eddie. Trackers were fitted to the boats and helms were given tips by expert coaches, The day after the Nationals a long-distance pursuit race was sponsored by Raymarine on the Olympic course. Mike represented the Bytes and won it in some style, which was very good publicity for the class and an excellent achievement.
In September the fleet went to Weston for more sea sailing, with 10 entries sharing the event with Contenders and RS700s. Day 1 had a decent breeze, but it did not arrive on Sunday so no racing was possible then. Chris won 2 of the 3 races on Saturday, but had a starting problem in the other race. Mike won that race and his overall consistency landed the event for him. Chris was 2nd and Sarah 3rd. John Futcher (Weston SC) made a welcome return to come 4th overall and he had a 2nd place in race 2. His mum Maggie also sailed well on her home waters, managing a 3rd in one race.
The final event at Haversham had a bad weather forecast and some of the regulars had other commitments. 6 hardy helms took to the water. Mike won all 6 races, though closely challenged by an improving Rachel Moore (Weston SC) who was 2nd overall and her dad Kevin who was 3rd. This is a great venue and a larger entry is expected in 2014.
So taking the best 4 results Rick won back the coveted Traveller's Trophy from Mike.
Overall Results: (top six)
1, Rick Whitehouse (Combs SC) 6 pts
2. Mike Radford (West Oxfordshire SC) 7 pts
3. Kevin Moore (Weston SC) 19 pts
4. Rachel Moore (Weston SC) 24 pts
5. Stuart Moore (Stokes Bay SC) 25 pts
6. Maggie Futcher (Weston SC) 35 pts