National 12 Gul Series at Brightlingsea Sailing Club
by Tom Stewart 10 Jun 2015 10:25 BST
6-7 June 2015
The 12 class National circuit moved on to Brightlingsea for a two day meeting on the 6th and 7th of June.
The first day's racing was held in a blustery 15-20kts. Andrea Downham made a return to the front of Tom Stewart's 12 and the pair shot off to win both races with a degree of comfort. Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne were the best of the rest with a second and a third, they were narrowly beaten by John and Ollie Meadowcroft in race two.
Sunday dawned sunny and with less wind but thankfully a few more knots than the forecast. With the wind swirling around and unsure from where it wanted to blow the race team's job was tricky as was the sailing. In the first race of the day Tom & Andrea were joined at the front by team Camm and also team Gifford with Antony crewed by son James. They all converged on the top mark together with Tom and Andrea edging ahead. But this race was nothing if not unpredictable. Huge ladders and large snakes could be found as the wind tried to blow first down the Blackwater and then down the Colne. In a close battle The Giffords scored the win with the Camms and Tom & Andrea hot on their heels.
The start of the second race saw three boats return after breaking the line early. The Camms made no mistake and ran away with the victory followed by the Giffords and the Meadowcrofts. Tom and Andrea recovered to fourth with Nick Copsey and Steve Carver climbing to fifth. This set up a last race show down between the Camms and Tom & Andrea.
The left looked like it was paying up the last beat. Camms, Giffords and Tom were all close at the top mark but a final shift to the left saw team Camm clear ahead and they looked to have escaped to claim the overall victory. Happily the unpredictable conditions continued and changes in fortune were common. On the second beat local stars David Conlon and Sarah bines sailing a 25 year old design 8 came from nowhere to push for second place, they had used the tide and a big swing to the right. As the wind died the fleet closed on the leaders but they were able to hold on and recorded their third Gul series win of the year.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 3530 | G Camm | Z Ballantyne | 2 | ‑3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2nd | 3544 | T Stewart | A Dawnham | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑4 | 2 | 7 |
| 3rd | 3543 | D Coper | O Meadowcroft | 3 | 2 | ‑5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| 4th | 3529 | A Gifford | R GIfford | ‑7 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 5th | 3528 | N Copsey | S Carver | 4 | 4 | 4 | ‑5 | 4 | 16 |
| 6th | 3537 | M Hoyle | C Stewart | 5 | 5 | 6 | ‑8 | 7 | 23 |
| 7th | 3348 | D Conlon | S Bines | 6 | 7 | ‑8 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| 8th | 3545 | T Lee | J Bugge | (DNF) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 30 |
| 9th | 3271 | N Lillywhite | Flillywhite | (DNF) | DNF | 9 | 9 | 9 | 38 |
| 10th | 3513 | G Finch | HPelling | (DNF) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 |