Comet Eastern Aphelion Series Open at Fishers Green Sailing Club
by Godfrey Clark 24 Apr 2015 14:08 BST
18 April 2015
Comets at Fishers Green © Godfrey Clark
The Comet class made their annual visit to Fishers Green SC in the picturesque Lea Valley on Sat 18th April as part of the Eastern Aphelion series. Champagne sailing was enjoyed throughout with a perfect but sometimes gusty F3-4 from the east and not a cloud in the sky all day.
Plenty of windshifts would make for some tricky upwind legs and while the beat could be dead true one minute, the wind could flick hard to one side, to the benefit of some and a loss to others. For the first time the fleet chose the option of four races in such good conditions, justifying the distance travelled by some of the visitors.
Ian Coppenhall was the dominant helm of the day, only dropping a point by virtue of a downwind capsize in the final race. The other capsize queen was local, Karen O Brian, being rescued twice and having to warm up again twice. Despite the fleet stringing out over a remarkable distance at times, there were interesting tussles among small groups with a near photo finish for 2nd to 5th place in one race.
Overall Results:
1st 636 Ian Coppenhall (Hunts SC)
2nd 867 Chris Robinson (Burgfield SC)
3rd 804 Eddie Pope (Ogston SC)
Best Fishers Green helm: James Hague(41)
First Lady: Annette Walters (Welwyn)