Musto Skiff GBR EuroCup Leg 2 at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club

by Alistair Conn 23 Sep 2014 13:44 BST 20-21 September 2014

Musto Skiff GBR EuroCup Leg 2 at Derwent Reservoir © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

The Northern British Eurocup event was held at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club on the 20th and 21st September. Thirteen visitors joined seven local boats for six highly competitive races over the weekend.

The wind on Saturday was light and northerly; not the ideal direction for Derwent Reservoir as it produces shifty conditions with large holes in the pressure. The first race got underway with the wind shifting so that the pin end of the start lay almost on the port layline for the windward mark. Those lucky enough to have got a clean start near the pin end capitalised on this and there was little that those with poorer starts could do to find a way back. John Reekie showed excellent light wind boat speed and judgment of the difficult conditions to take first place followed by Ian Trotter in second and Ben Schooling in third.

In race 2 Alastair Conn got the best start at the pin end followed by John Reekie. Alastair led for two of the four laps before John's superior light wind boat speed allowed him to sail past and away. John was enjoying the light wind conditions so much he forgot to turn to the finish line after four laps and instead started a fifth. John Reekie's mistake allowed Alastair to take the win with John Evans taking second place close behind. John Reekie realised his error just in time to sail back to the finish line and take third.

Race 3 again saw John Reekie leading the fleet. The support boat crew noted that John was not only faster than everybody else but seemed to judge the wind shift perfectly...or be consistently lucky! Ben Schooling took second place followed by Ben Clegg in third.

John Reekie led overnight with Ben Schooling in second place. The points were very close with any of the top six sailors still in with a chance of victory. The sailors enjoyed curry for dinner followed by some indoor curling in the clubhouse.

The conditions on Sunday morning initially looked as disappointingly light as the Saturday. By the time the fleet launched the wind had shifted left and freshened slightly to produce some more favourable racing conditions which allowed the sailors to stretch their legs on the trapeze.

Race 4 was led by Ben Schooling for the first two laps before he was caught by Alastair Conn. A match race ensued for the final two laps and on the final run Alastair found more pressure to overtake Ben just before the finish line. Stuart Keegan finished in third, a significant distance behind Alastair and Ben who had sailed well clear of the fleet. John Reekie finished fourth keeping the points tight at the top of the leader board.

Race 5 saw Alastair Conn doing a penalty turn at the start and being last over the start line. Ben Schooling initially sailed away into the lead but after three laps Alastair had caught up right onto Ben's transom. The fourth and final lap again became a match race between Ben and Alastair and the two boats were level as they rounded the windward mark for the final time. This time it was Ben who found better pressure on the final downwind leg and he held on to take the win. John Reekie finished third to set up a final race winner-takes-all showdown with Ben.

Race 6 got underway after a significant right hand shift had required some alterations to the course. With the wind now in a more northerly direction there were again significant shifts and holes in the pressure which the sailors had to contend with. Tom Conway found good pressure on the right hand side of the course to find himself in an unfamiliar first place at the windward mark. Tom wasn't prepared to give up the lead without a fight and sailed excellently to hold onto the position until the third lap. A large left hand shift on the third lap caused Alastair Conn to have to get into the water to just save an embarrassing capsize to windward. Even after wasting time going for a swim, the left hand shift was enough to let Alastair take the lead from Tom. Alastair started the final windward leg with a good lead and looked likely to go on to win the race until Dan Trotter, sailing downwind with his kite up, failed to respond to screams of "windward boat" and crashed into Alastair's boat taking both of them out of the race. Dan's error allowed his dad, Ian Trotter, through to take first place after he picked out the best shifts and pressure on the final upwind leg. Ben Schooling finished in second place, just ahead of John Reekie in third.

Overall it was Ben Schooling who took first place by just one point from John Reekie in second. Alastair Conn finished third and Alexander Greil, who had come all the way from Switzerland for the event, finished fourth.