Noble Marine 29er 2015 Winter Championships and Harken Grand Prix 1

29er Noble Marine Winter Championship and Harken Grand Prix 1 at Draycote Water © Dominic Cotterill / www.eventstreammedia.co.uk

29er Noble Marine Winter Championship and Harken Grand Prix 1 at Draycote Water © Dominic Cotterill / www.eventstreammedia.co.uk

29er Noble Marine Winter Championship and Harken Grand Prix 1 at Draycote Water © Dominic Cotterill / www.eventstreammedia.co.uk

It was a freezing Saturday morning when the 29er sailors arrived at Draycote. Braving the harsh conditions and numb fingers, the boats got rigged and sailors changed into as many layers of neoprene as they could find!

The first race of the winter regatta began with a fresh, consistent 7 knot breeze with the sailors going up the left side of the race track making big gains. After a general recall, Oli Aldridge and Nathaniel Gordon started at the pin end and smashed the left side to round the top mark first but were no match for the legendary downwind tactics of Elliot wells and Jake Todd. The second upwind was taken by Dan Venables and Paddy Keech, with Bobby Hewitt and Harvey Martin in close pursuit. Quick shoutout to Nick Robins and Sam Grade who decided to start a minute early on a black flag!

The wind picked up for race 2 to about 12 gusting 15 knots and Matt Currell and Emma Hattersley won the pin and made a tactical decision to tack early. This played to their advantage as they battled with Dan and Paddy down the final downwind. Matt and Emma just clinched the lead from them with Bobby and Harvey's insane boat speed gaining them another 3rd.

For the penultimate race of the day the windward mark was moved closer to the shore, which made conditions near the top mark very interesting. In form Dan and Paddy gained another bullet followed by Elliot and Jake, with the Welsh, Rowan Edwards and Dan blight in 3rd.

The final race of the day consisted of a fierce battle between Oli & Nathaniel and Felix Crowther and James Cook, clear ahead of the rest of the fleet. James and Felix used their superior upwind height to gain a big lead in the race to win with consistency. Dan and Paddy taking 3rd.

29er Noble Marine Winter Championship and Harken Grand Prix 1 at Draycote Water - photo © Dominic Cotterill / www.eventstreammedia.co.uk

The Sunday began with a short onshore postponement due to lack of breeze. The sailors were obviously eager to start as there were two general recalls but the race got away in about 5 knots of wind. The first mark was rounded first by the heavy wind specialists, James Grummet and Dan Budden. Followed by William and James Cunliffe who tacked off from the starboard end of the line and skilfully gained a lead on the second upwind. 2nd place went to James Leetch and Jemima Leedham who were unmatched in boat speed with Dan and James claiming 3rd, showing their prowess in light conditions. At the end of the 5th race the wind died to nothing with bands of breeze occasionally popping up. The race committee desperately tried to start another race but the temperamental wind disallowed it. Overall it was a great event and well done to all the sailors for coping in such challenging conditions, I look forward to seeing you all at GP2 Rutland in March!

A big thank you to the sponsors of the event; Harken and Noble Marine, without them the event wouldn't have been possible.

Oli and Nathaniel

Overall Results: