Paignton Open for Single Handers (POSH)

POSH was originally scheduled for May this year but 30knts+ of wind and 2m+ waves resulted in its postponement until this weekend (13th-14th September). The forecast looked very promising with 15knts of wind from the East due all weekend. Torbay is famous for its big waves created with Easterly winds. Sure enough, as I arrived on Saturday, white caps could be seen across the Bay. A hearty number of boats arrived – slightly down on last year because of the moved dates but enough to create some close racing. A last minute change of plan meant that I was being trained up as a future PRO by experienced seaman Tony Procter instead of sailing my Laser – at least I was on the water!

Race 1 was held in 12-14knts of wind and reasonable waves – Champagne conditions! The mixed handicap fleet was first away sailing a trapezoid course. First on corrected time was the Laser of Bob Cudmore from the two Blazes of Mike Bell and Nick Ripley. There were no surprises in the D-One class, which was second away sailing a Windward/Leeward course, with sailing royalty Nick Craig leading from start to finish with Simon Heusen in second and Humphrey Carter third. The RS100s were also sailing a Windward/Leeward course and were third fleet away. A very close race lead to Huw Powell taking his first win of many from Mark Harrison and David Smart.

In race 2, the wind was similar but the waves had increased slightly which made holding on to the committee boat interesting – especially whilst trying to hoist flags from a swinging boom! Dad borrowed a faster Blaze for this weekend and this paid off with victory in the second race from Mike and Chris Blackburn in his RS600 who had recovered after damage to his boat in race 1. The top three in the D-One class were the same as in race 1 and, despite another close race, the results were also similar in the RS100 class however, local sailor Chris Cunningham snatched third from David.

By the final race of the day, the wind had died substantially which suited the light wind Blaze specialist David Entwistle who extended to a comfortable victory in the handicap fleet with Mike and Dad making it a Blaze 1,2,3. The D-One race saw a slight change with Simon and Humphrey swapping positions from the previous races but Nick took another comfortable win. In the RS100s, Huw rounded off a perfect day with his third win whilst Mark stayed consistent in second. Al Hall had his best race of the event in third.

Onboard Sizzler (the committee boat), we then made our way back to Torquay harbour, reasonably pleased with how the day had gone. A RIB then returned us to Paignton for a delicious curry followed by some exercise rescuing some buoys that had come loose (not been tied on)!

The second day brought slightly more wind (17-18knts) and larger waves. The club house was filled with people with slightly apprehensive smiles whilst we waited for Sizzler to make her way over to Paignton under sail.

Race 4 of the event saw many capsizes and retirements with the Lasers coping best in the handicap fleet taking a 1,2,3. Bob won from Jack Sanderson and Greg Bartlett. In the D-Ones, Nick took the win from another Nick (Orman) and Simon. Huw took a fifth win in the RS100 class from Chris. Greg Booth scored his best result in third.

The decision was taken to continue with racing in an attempt to run a full schedule but the fifth race was probably the windiest of the weekend with around a dozen boats failing to finish. For those who did race, there were some spectacular sailing to enjoy in world class conditions and for the race management some spectacular capsizes to watch! Bob secured the Laser title with a win in the handicap fleet – enough also to win the overall mixed class.

On corrected time, Greg took second in the race with Jack in third. However, the D-One race was not won by the usual suspect with Nick capsizing on the first run. This left Humphrey to take the bullet. Nick recovered to second place with Simon third. In the RS100s, Huw wrapped up with his fifth win out of five – impressive considering every race was super close in this class. David took second place and Mark third.

At this point, the wind exceeded 20knts and with the waves and number of retirements, Tony and I decided to send the fleet in with flags N over A. Alas, the drama was not over yet; after a tricky transfer from Sizzler to a RIB, race recorder Will Sanderson managed to fall over backwards into the sea! After returning Sizzler home, I returned to Paignton to help present the prizes and pack up. Everyone seemed to have had enjoyed themselves so I think it was a job well done.

Thanks to: Tony Procter (PRO), Dale Giles (Event Director), Nick Ripley (Event Co-founder), all safety and committee boat volunteers especially Tom Tysoe for helping all weekend, Beach team, Steve and the Galley crew and all the competitors.

See you next year on 9th-10th May 2015.

D-One Results:

Please see: www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/179076/Posh-D-Ones-at-Paignton for report and full results

RS100 Results:

Please see: www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/179044/Posh-RS100s-at-Paignton for report and full results

Mixed Fleet Overall Results: