Zhik CoastWaterSports Scorpion Nationals - Day 1

Zhik CoastWaterSports Scorpion Nationals day 1 © Ian Wallace

What a cracking day to kick off the 2015 Zhik and CoastWaterSports Scorpion Nationals at Lyme Regis. 57 Scorps arrived to a beautiful and sunny Lyme on Sat 8th Aug and after a bit of bimbling (and some installations of lead correctors!) the Class were measured and ready to send off the Pecker. The Pecker, class classic for mayhem and mishaps was bid adieu in style with a heartfelt obituary and a rocket launch off the roof. Today however the racing kicked off proper.

The fleet were welcomed by a 15 knot breeze and some lovely rollers ready for the Practice Race, Race 1 and the Crew's Race.

Practice race

In the Practice Race there were 3 restarts (too keen) and then Chris Turner and Alex Hayman 2004 popped out to lead up to the windward mark. The guys who had gone right, not trusting the backing forecast, seemed to pay out and led to a good mix up at the windward mark.

Lively waves made for an interesting run and similar for the rest of the race. At least we assume so, since our rudder popped off in the gybe so we missed the rest of the race! The top 3 at the finish were then 1st Turner and Hayman, 2nd Andy McKee and Chris Massey 2026 and 3rd Tom Jeffcoate and Tom Pygall 2037. A special mention for 11th place goes to 2030 Colin Bradley and Luke Bradley.

Championship race 1

Race 1 started straight after, with a little wait for the committee boat to stop dragging its anchor in the big chop, with quite a big shift that benefitted all those that had the space to tack off the line. Pete 'Mav' Mitchell and Simon Forbes 2034 won out and screamed up to the front. Andy and Chris had another good 'un and got through to second again. This time it was Pete Gray and Rich Pepperdine who got through to 3rd with Tom and Tom slipping to 4th.

Special Mention: 16th 1962 Martin Moore and Neil Moore, 32nd 1925 Martin Denchfield and Joe Pemhaul-Smith (must be a Martin day!) and 41st 1991 David Bennett and Martyn Tuohy-Smith.

Crews race

The Crew's Race followed, with 3 contenders. Penny Jeffcoate and Jack Banks 2017 took the lead from the top. They were closely followed by Ian Dooley and Jo Mahy 2015 until their swim (that required a trip to the dentist!). Then newcomer 13yr old Chloe Willars, competing in her first Nationals with Dad Jon in 2002 stormed through. Extra well done to Chloe for keeping her upright in some very testing conditions!

Final results were 1st 2017 Penny Jeffcoate and Jack Banks, 2nd and Super Special Mention 2002 Chloe and Jon Willars, 3rd 2015 Ian Dooley and Jo Mahy.

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Overall results after day 1: