Harken 29er Grand Prix Round 5 at Marconi Sailing Club

Bobby and Harvey win the Harken 29er GP at Marconi © Sally Budden

First Girls Phoebe and Sophie during the Harken 29er GP at Marconi © Sally Budden

Marconi Sailing Club hosted the 5th event in the 2015/2016 Harken Grand Prix series over the weekend of 19th and 20th of March. Saturday dawned cold and overcast, which saw the return of woolly hats. Needless to say, the race officer was keen to start on time to get the five races in and be back in time for hot soup and the rugby.

The wind was a steady 12 to 15 knots, and tide was ripping – we measured 6 boat lengths a minute. Hannah and Emily were quick off the mark, and claimed the first bullet of the event with a considerable lead. Race 2 saw closer racing, with overall winners Bobby and Harvey securing their first bullet, and new pairings Arran/Nathaniel, and Max/Ryan coming second and third. Ellie and Dan ended the day with two race wins taking races 4 and 5. Charlotte/Dan took second in race 4 with Phoebe/Sophie taking 2nd in race 5. Max/Ryan took 3rd in both races to end the day with 2,2,3,3,3. Most importantly we got back in time for an Indian and the rugby. Bonus!

This meant that overnight, Max and Ryan led their debut event in the 29er, followed by Bobby and Harvey in second with Phoebe and Sophie third. It was all to play for on the Sunday. The wind was lighter, and the sun made an appearance, which meant goodbye woolly hats and hello visors. Bobby and Harvey won the first race determined to shake off the challenge from Max and Ryan. After lots of general recalls due to the strong tides and dying winds, Hatty and Orla put in a great performance, finishing with a first and second in races 8 and 9. Ellie/Dan notched their third race win of the weekend in race 7 with Arran/Nat taking the last race.

The top three boats remained the same, but count back meant that Bobby and Harvey won the event, and Max and Ryan came second. Phoebe and Sophie took first girls in 3rd overall narrowly from Hattie/Orla in 4th overall. Well done to Jessie and David, who put in a consistent performance, finishing first mixed boat and sixth overall.

Shout out to Oli Aldridge for supplying us with chocolate after his and James' black flag in the last race and Orla Mitchell for lending Sophie some boots for the Sunday. It was great to see so many new faces in the fleet. Thank you to Harken for their continued sponsorship of the event and supplying prizes. Hope to see everyone at the youth nationals in two weeks time.

Overall Results: