Zhik Poole Week at Parkstone Yacht Club - Day 6
by David Harding 29 Aug 2015 08:20 BST
23-28 August 2015
Well worth waiting for the wind
After one of the wettest and windiest Poole Weeks anyone can remember, Friday dawned with barely a breath. But, true to form, it was raining.
As the AP – the postponement flag – hung limply on Parkstone Yacht Club's flag pole and the rain began to clear, the crews took their time to rig. Those starting the day in a close-points situation at or near the top of their fleet had time to consider what they needed to do to defend or improve their position. Then 12-14 knots of breeze filled in from the south west, boats were launched, moorings were dropped and battle commenced.
Several classes couldn't have been tighter at the top. In some, the top two boats were tied on points and it was a simple who-beats-who situation in the final race or races. In the Flying Fifteens, Patrick Keats and Richard Whitworth took their third bullet of the week to finish on 12 points. Graham and Ben Scroggie finished third to take their total to 11 but crucially, in between, were Bob Alexander and Huw Willetts, whose second place gave them 10 points and overall victory.
After his two second places in the bay on Thursday, Roger Hakes was 6 points adrift of Bob Cudmore and hoping for a three-race day in the Lasers, together with a little less wind. In the event it was two races in 15-18 knots, but Hakes won both while Cudmore scored a third and a ninth. That levelled the points at 21 apiece, but Cudmore took the series by virtue of having won six of the 14 races.
In the Wayfarers it also came down to which of the top two beat the other in the final long race. After more than two hours and multiple lead changes, Geoff Gibbons and Mark Bell edged in front of Brian Lamb and Tony Hunt and took the gun. Jackie Dobson and Terry Berret were third, about a second ahead of John Goudie whose crew for the day, Dave Moss, had gone for a swim when the boat lurched to windward in a sudden lull on the first spinnaker leg. Moss hung on to the sheet, so the spinnaker kept filling and he was towed along behind the boat before managing to re-board over the stern. Goudie and Moss were lying fourth at the time, recovered their position and kept it to the finish.
While the results went to the wire in some classes, in others they were established long before the final day. Phil Atha won every race in the Shrimpers and Barry and Pat Harris made a clean sweep in the Dolphins. Willie McNeill continued his form from Thursday by winning again to finish third overall in the XODs despite having missed the first four races.
So that was Zhik Poole Week 2015: 146 boats and 18 classes representing 25 clubs. This was the first Poole Week to have a title sponsor, and Zhik's daily prizes of £200 vouchers, awarded in a draw open to all entrants, proved a massive hit. Also greatly appreciated were the sailors' suppers laid on after the racing and before the daily prize-giving.
Zhik Poole Week 2015 was unquestionably wet and windy. But although a few classes didn't go out on Tuesday, no other sailing was lost. The week saw fantastic racing, superb management afloat and ashore, lots of old friends of the week making their annual visit to Poole, and new visitors coming from far and wide to join in the fun. Largely thanks to the support of Zhik, Poole Week had a buzz this year that it hasn't had for many years. Things are looking good for 2016.
Full results on www.pooleweek.org