Osprey Inland Championship at Blithfield Sailing Club
by Ian McDonald 18 Apr 2016 07:31 BST
15-17 April 2016
Osprey Inlands at Blithfield © Don Stokes
The weekend's racing was preceded by a class sponsored training day on Friday, run by Olympic Coach Steve Irish. 12 boats enjoyed a very full day of on the water drills and practice races backed by off the water video and reviews. A very interesting day saw all crews more focused and faster, ready for the weekend ahead.
Saturday saw many additional entrants, greeted by the stiff breeze so suited to Ospreys. Race 1 allowed Terry Curtis and new crew Jim Hunt, on his first ever Osprey sail, win their first race together. In second place were Gareth Caldwell and Jon Gibboms followed by Rob Shaw and Ian Little.
In Race two, the two leaders swapped places with this time Ben and Simon Hawkes in third. Further down the fleet a new Mk 5 Osprey was tuning up and looking good on its first event.
The final race of day was won by Chris Gould and Nick Broomhall, back on the water after gear failure. Martin Cooney and Peter Frith were third.
The evening was a Blithfield traditional one. A hog roast accompanied by 'Beer Breathe Beer'. There would be sore heads in the morning.
Lighter and shifty winds on Sunday morning made the job of PRO Bill Watson a harder one. Curtis/Hunt scored another win with Gould and Broomhall in second. Alex Mamwell and Arthur Butler showed that having very unequal amounts of age and beauty did not prevent them from sailing very quickly.
The last Sunday race continued the run of wins for Terry Curtis with Caldwell/Gibbons in second. This time the daughter and father team of Alex and Nick Wills made it into third. This completed the weekend so Curtis and Hunt were winners of the Blithfield Bowl and Osprey Inland 2016 champions.
Overall Results:
1st Terry Curtis and Jim Hunt (Weymouth) 1281
2nd Gareth Caldwell and Jon Gibbons (Blithfield) 1331
3rd Chris Gould and Nick Broomhall (Blithfield) 1311
4th Martin Cooneyand and Peter Frith (Poole) 1290
5th Allex Willis and Nick Willis (Hayling Island) 1291
6th Ben and Simon Hawkes (Wimbleball) 1356
7th Alex Mamwell and Arthur Butler (Coniston) 1350
8th Rob Shaw and Ian Little (Kielder) 1337
9th Viola and Michael Scott (Kielder) 1314
10th Kevin Francis and Phillip Males (Castle Cove) 1296
11th Alan Henderson and Alastair Barrie (Prestwick) 1316