Lark Helly Hansen Great 8 Round 1 at South Staffordshire Sailing Club
by Stuart Hydon 26 Mar 2015 09:49 GMT
21-22 March 2015
Stuart Hydon & Vicky Brickwood/Ann Biglin win Lark Helly Hansen Great 8 Round 1 at South Staffs © James Croxford
Summer had officially arrived at South Staffs, being the first round of the Lark Helly Hansen Great 8 traveller's series. 19 boats entered this 2 day event with a relatively strong breeze on Saturday followed by light conditions on Sunday.
Race 1 began with local team James Gross and Emma Macklay rounding first but it was Stuart Hydon and Vicky Brickwood that managed to establish a lead towards the end of race, with Chris White and Chris Warburton chasing. A steering mistake by Hydon/Brickwood saw them touch another boat with their boom on a different leg requiring a 720. This allowed White/Warburton to take the race.
In Race 2 the early form from Gross/Macklay was consistent. They took the early lead and capitalised on this whilst others in the fleet had difficulty keeping up. Mike and Liz Senior pulled through to second.
The final race on Saturday, race 3, saw Will Croxford and Lucy Bradburn lead the race only to be overhauled by Hydon/Brickwood. Pete Gray and Rachel Rhodes managed to take third position.
Sunday's racing saw much lighter breeze. Race 4 saw Mike and Liz Senior take an early lead although the fickle conditions saw Hydon/ Ann Biglin slip through. John and Sue Billington made a charged and managed to pull up to third.
Race 5 started developed between the Senior's and White/Warburton. Eventually the Senior's took first place.
In the final race the Billington's pulled through early, but were always fighting off the pack which were never far away. Eventually Hydon/Biglin pulled through leaving the Billington's second. Jane Kearney and Kamila Czartolomna pulled into third place.
Thanks go out to Helly Hansen for their generous prizes and South Staffs for organising the event.
Overall Results: (top five)
1st Stuart Hydon and Vicky Brickwood/Ann Biglin (Shustoke SC/Hayling Island SC)
2nd Mike and Liz Senior (South Staffs SC)
3rd Will Croxford and Lucy Bradburn (South Staffs SC)
4th Chris White and Chris Warburton (South Staffs SC)
5th John and Sue Billington (South Staffs SC)