Byte Open at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club
by John Saunders 20 Apr 2016 16:12 BST
16 April 2016
Bytes at Bristol Corinthian © John Saunders
It was another interesting day for the Bytes when they joined fleets of Solo, OK and Laser at Bristol Corinthian on Saturday. Bristol Corinthian is a big bowl of a reservoir, with the Cheddar hills looming in the background, perfectly able to accommodate the four fleets. Wind was brisk but extremely cold when away from the shelter of the clubhouse and it's bacon sandwiches! There were ten Bytes and once again the fleet was a mixture of ladies, young people... and rather older people!
Race one got under way for three back to back races with a rather biased line and some of the Bytes tacking off after just a few yards. It was a long beat to the windward mark with the wind becoming increasingly shifty as the sheltering effect of the distant hills came into play. As the race developed Ryan Bush (Bristol Corinthian) pulled out a substantial lead with a following pack comprising Andrew Sant (Combs), Stu Moore (Weston) and Charlie Sanson (Bowmoor), who squabbled round displaying close racing. At the end Ryan was a clear winner from Andrew and Charlie. Behind this group the following pack also were enjoying close racing.
There was a delay between races one and two as the committee boat was moved to present a more reliable line. The wind increased for this race and again Ryan established himself at the front and stayed there with the usual battle behind him. The leading boats sailed into the back of the Solo fleet and some of the faster Lasers caught the Bytes but politeness reigned and there were no problems. At the end it was Ryan from Andrew with Emily Watson (Bowmoor) taking third.
The final race saw Ryan sailing in a more relaxed mood having already won the event and on this occasion he did not lead but Charlie made it to the front of the pack followed by Stu Moore then Ryan. They finished in this order.
It was another good day but with numbers reduced from last week at Bowmoor. Not bad though when you consider there have been opens on consecutive Saturdays. It was a great win for Ryan who was just back from the Youth Nationals where he had been sailing his 29er.
The next event is the Inland Championships at Haversham on 28-29 May where a really good turnout is expected. I just hope the weather warms up a bit for that!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 891 | Ryan Bush | BCYC | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 2 |
| 2nd | 1677 | Andrew Sant | ? | 2 | 2 | ‑5 | 4 |
| 3rd | 2957 | Charlie Sansom | Bowmoor | ‑4 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 4th | 867 | Stu Moore | Weston Sailing Club | 3 | ‑5 | 2 | 5 |
| 5th | 3583 | Emily Watson | Bowmoor | ‑7 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 6th | 3588 | Zoe Bazen | Bowmoor | 5 | 6 | ‑7 | 11 |
| 7th | 3584 | Matt Banbrook | Bowmoor | 6 | ‑7 | 6 | 12 |
| 8th | 2623 | Gary Hogan | EPSC | 8 | 8 | ‑9 | 16 |
| 9th | 2943 | Christian Conlan | Bowmoor | ‑9 | 9 | 8 | 17 |