GP14 London & SE Travellers Series at Leigh-on-Sea Sailing Club
by Steve Corbet 23 Jul 2015 13:13 BST
18 July 2015
GP14 Open Meeting at Leigh-on-Sea © Charlie Skelton
Sponsored by Mighty Oak Brewing Co.
The sun was shining at Leigh on Sea to welcome the six visitors for this round of the London & SE Travellers Series and racing for the Cockleshell Trophy. As usual at Leigh on Sea there was a short wait for the tide to cover the mud while enjoying a bacon roll and coffee. Once the tide had arrived to float the committee and support boats the fleet launched from the beach managing to miss the families enjoying the summer sunshine.
The wind was generally from the South west but with some large swings which allowed for much place changing throughout the fleet as some managed to take advantage of big lifts while others suffered by being on the wrong side.
In race one Richard Lord with Norman Brown playing with the spinnaker and genoa managed to be in front when the race officer shortened the race to 2 rounds. Race 2 was started very quickly and again there was much place changing up the first beat, Richard Ham and Steve Browne rounded the windward mark first with the sole local boat of Steve Corbet and Liz Noblet in second.
However in one of the afternoon's windy spells Steve and Liz struggled to set their spinnaker and slipped down the placings. Richard Ham and Steve Browne moved ahead to win over the three rounds. For the third race the tide had turned and the wind dropped making the beat rather slower than for the other races. Steve Cooper and Helen Allen made the best of the lighter conditions to take the winning hoot after two rounds of close racing and much place changing.
After three races each with a different winner two boats tied on 3 points each, following the RYA discards rules and who beat who in the last race sorted out the final placings for the first three boats, with Richard Ham and Steve Browne retaining the Cockleshell Trophy for the second year in succession.
The prize giving followed a barbeque, tea and cakes in the sunshine on the club balcony – a perfect end to a good day on the water.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Club | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 14166 | Tollesbury SC | Richard Ham | Steve Browne | ‑3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2nd | 14102 | Welsh Harp SC | Richard Lord | Norman Brown | 1 | 2 | ‑3 | 3 |
| 3rd | 14151 | Welsh Harp SC | Stephen Cooper | Helen Allen | ‑4 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 4th | 13316 | Papercourt SC | James Ward | Richard Whitehall | 2 | 3 | ‑5 | 5 |
| 5th | 14014 | Welsh Harp SC | Andy Wordsworth | Andy Shrimpton | ‑6 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 6th | 13003 | Leigh on Sea SC | Steve Corbet | Martin Fischer | 5 | ‑7 | 6 | 11 |
| 7th | 13853 | Welsh Harp SC | Lesley Kaye | Paul James | ‑7 | 5 | 7 | 12 |