K1 Inland Championships Part 1 at Carsington Sailing Club

K1 Inlands (part 1) at Carsington © Lindsey Bowd

Ralph Hussey during the K1 Inlands (part 1) at Carsington © Lindsey Bowd

K1 Inlands (part 1) at Carsington © Lindsey Bowd

The 2014 K1 Inland Nationals looked set to be a classic with the forecast of sun and some breeze on Carsington's large water in a beautiful Peak District setting. 16 K1 owners travelled from as far as Ireland, most setting up on Friday afternoon along with a steady stream of Streaker sailors arriving for their Nationals to be held simultaneously.

Everything still looked good on Saturday morning with plenty of sun and enough wind for sensible racing. The K1s got away 5 minutes after the Streakers start, both sailing the same trapezoidal course but with the Streakers on the outer loop and the K1s on the inner loop for a couple of laps then switching to the trapezoid for the final lap.

It soon became evident that the wind was deceptively patchy and light in some areas and while most of the fleet slowed down in the middle of the course on the first beat Ralph Hussey of Shoreham SC found his own private breeze on the right hand side and reached the windward mark well ahead. Unfortunately Ralph hadn't realized that the NOR had been amended a few days before the event and for the next lap he sailed with the Streakers on the outer loop.

The rest of the K1 fleet stayed on the inside loop and at the front Paul Handley of Chipstead SC held a narrow lead over Tom Murphy from the National YC in Ireland. These places were held to the finish with Ralph re-joining the fleet in third place, local sailor Alf Hawksworth fourth and Grant Brown of Tewkesbury fifth.

Both fleets returned for lunch and watched while the wind became lighter and more fickle as the day warmed up. The postponement flag was soon flying but eventually what looked like a decent breeze arrived and the fleets set out again. Unfortunately it wasn't to be – soon after the races got underway the wind disappeared altogether for a lengthy period leaving the race officer little option but to abandon before the end of the race.

The sun stayed on for Sunday but the wind wouldn't fill in and settle and all further racing was abandoned. With only one race completed both the Streakers and K1s agreed to return to Carsington in October to continue the event, the first race results to stand.

Our thanks go to all at Carsington for hosting the event and doing their best in the difficult conditions – we'll look forward to coming back in October. In the meantime, next stop for the K1s will be on the sea at Teignmouth Corinthian YC where they already have a local club fleet of 6 K1s.

Race 1 Results: