Sprint 15 Winter Traveller at Datchet Water Sailing Club
by David Groom 9 Feb 2015 20:00 GMT
7 February 2015
Sprint 15 Winter TT at Datchet Water © Alan Howie-Wood
Stuart Snell clinches Sprint 15 Winter Series with perfect score at Datchet
On the 7th February Datchet Water Sailing Club hosted the latest in the Sprint 15 winter series. Fifteen boats took part including four from the Isle of Wight, one from Essex and one from Hampshire.
The day dawned mostly dry and sunny and slightly above freezing although the promised 20 knots of breeze was conspicuous by its absence. A leisurely start time of 12:30 allowed for catching up, rigging up and a substantial breakfast input prior to attending the briefing.
Race Officer Adrian set a nigh on perfect Sprint 15 square course of the right dimensions to allow for races of the specified length to take place. Most places were won or lost on the beat which was generally one sided but not always so given the shifts and the need to be in the right place at the right time to benefit from the gusts. However make a good start, sit still and sail high in clear air worked best. The reaches and run were more processional but tactics on the run could produce dividends.
The normal culprits were at the front with Stuart Snell winning overall with a perfect score line in his now old new boat, Steve Sawford coming second in his old new boat with a consistent but not so perfect score line and then Paul Grattage in his new new boat that was attending its first event. Notice should also be made of the fact that George Stephen marked his return to the Sprint circuit by coming fourth only on countback having shared 3rd and 4th places with Paul. These four were well clear both in terms of points and on the water from the chasing pack.
All in all a very good day and a chance for the 15's to show to the youth Spitfire and Nacre sailing teams what they can probably look forward to sailing at some point in their careers! Many thanks to the Team at Datchet, both on land and on the water.
Overall Results:
Pos | Sail | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | Pts |
1 | 2016 | Stuart Snell | Grafham | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2 | 1733 | Steve Sawford | Rutland | 2 | 2 | 4 |
3 | 2018 | Paul Grattage | Shanklin | 4 | 3 | 7 |
4 | 1594 | George Stephen | Queen Mary | 3 | 4 | 7 |
5 | 67 | Paul Craft | Worthing | 7 | 6 | 13 |
6 | 1351 | Robert England | RYA | 5 | 9 | 14 |
7 | 1957 | Liam Thom | Shanklin | 6 | 8 | 14 |
8 | 1267 | Howard Hawkes | Thorpe Bay | 13 | 5 | 18 |
9 | 1714 | David Groom | Netley | 8 | 10 | 18 |
10 | 2007 | Erling Holmberg | Shanklin | 12 | 7 | 19 |
11 | 1918 | Stewart Pegum | Oxford | 9 | 12 | 21 |
12 | 1916 | Stuart Pierce | Shanklin | 10 | 11 | 21 |
13 | 2004 | Gordon Goldstone | Queen Mary | 11 | 14 | 25 |
14 | 1840 | Keith Chidwick | Queen Mary | 14 | 13 | 27 |
15 | 1970 | Simon Hare | Oxford | 15 | 15 | 30 |