Supernova Christmas Pudding Regatta at Bartley Sailing Club
by Steve Hawley 12 Dec 2013 09:48 GMT
7 December 2013
Twenty Puddings turned up to for the end of season social regatta, and the programme was to mix things up good and proper. Based on results across the year each boat was given a personal handicap and boats set of in a pursuit race. If you have won the nations, you are not going to win this one.
The wind was perfect allowing for gentle hiking and a bit of a plane here and there, and it was surprisingly warm. Steve Ward our race officer was ready to set a good long beat so all thing were set for a great day's sailing.
Race 1 saw boats set off in pairs at 30 second intervals. In short a 4 minute 30 second distance from front to back over 50 minutes. There was plenty of dog fighting going on throughout the fleet and whilst the front runners did well the back 2 boats of Alex Collins and Mike Gibson got through to take 1st and 2nd respectively.
Race 2 was going to be a different story. The interval increased to 1 minute making a 9 minute head start. It didn't take long for Lewis Brailsford to get in the lead where he established a strong lead, Ken Saunders came home for second followed by John Walpole (having travelled all the way from Exe). Our back runners only managing to make it to mid-fleet.
The final race of the day saw things shaken up again with the fleet being let away in small fleets based on their previous performance with up to 6 minutes to the back of the fleet. With the net scores all being really close it was going to come down to the wire. However eyes were on John Walpole and Ken Saunders who had been the most consistent. The back of the fleet pushed hard to break through, but this only pushed people along. Ken Saunders came in for first followed by Brailsford and Ian Casewell.
To make things more interesting there were no discards so consistency was key to winning the day. Well done to Ken Saunders (our biggest pudding) who finished with 14 points taking first place. closely followed by John Walpole on 16 and Shaun Smale on 18.
The day was finished off with a buffet and a few beers.
Finally the results of the 2013 Noble Marine Travellers Trophy were presented, 13 events and 40 races sailed. This year there was a clear winner, so well done to class chairman Paul Earnshaw who successfully defended the trophy, second and third place tied and was split in favour of Stuart Catterall who had won more races. Thank you to Noble Marine for their support across the year part of which allowed the association to provide free training from a professional coach to class association members.
Looking ahead to 2014, the Winter Championships are to be held at Haversham SC on 22nd February and Nationals at Aberdovey. Will Paul Earnshaw make it 3 years running? There will be a lot of helms out there trying to stop him.