505 Open at Whitstable Yacht Club
by Tudor Owen on 24 May 2016
21-22 May 2016
In a weekend of all or nothing, Race Officer Howard Paterson and his team did an excellent job of running the 505 Open Meeting in warm but very windy conditions on day one, with next to no wind on day 2.
Race 1 got underway in 18-25 knots with Terry & Christian showing good pace in the heavy breeze to take the win, with Nathan & Sam recovering well after a broach & capsize on the first run taking second place, and Tudor & Tom having a close race with Richard & Paul to come home in 3rd.
The 2nd race, with a freshening breeze and plenty of capsizing, saw Nathan & Sam taking first place, with Terry & Christian in 2nd, and Nick & James (from Guernsey) sailing a solid race to come home in 3rd.
The last race of the day got underway in much the same breezy conditions as the previous 2 races, with once again Terry & Christian taking first place and showing us all how it's done in the heavy weather, with Nathan & Sam taking 2nd place, and Tudor & Tom in 3rd recovering well after an earlier capsize.
It was all then back to shore for a hog roast, beer and a welcome rest.
Sunday morning dawned with very light conditions and after a one hour postponement the Race Officer managed to get us underway in light conditions. The racing was really close with Mike & Mike showing particularly good pace upwind, and Nathan & Sam leading. Terry & Christian, and Tudor & Tom caught up Nathan & Sam on the last run. It was all really close with these 3 boats up the last beat, but Nathan made a gutsy move by tacking off early for the finish line and holding on for the win, with Terry & Christian in 2nd, Tudor & Tom in 3rd.
With conditions lightening we all returned to the shore and racing was finished for the day, giving Nathan and Sam overall victory with Terry & Christian in 2nd (on count back), and Tudor & Tom in 3rd. A full list of results can be found on Whitstable Yacht Club website.
Thanks must go to Whitstable Yacht Club for making everyone feel most welcome and keeping us fed and watered. Also to Mark Barnes for his organisation of the event.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 9131 | | S Pascoe | | Tynemouth SC | ‑2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 9124 | | Terry Scutcher | Christian Diebitsch | Shotley SC | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 9093 | The Stourmouth Ripper | Tudor Owen | Tom Bruton | WYC | 3 | ‑7 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 8514 | | Ben Iliffe | Richard Nurse | RYA/Hayling Island SC | 5 | (DNC) | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 5 | 9156 | | Mike Pickering | Mike Priddle | Restronguet SC | ‑6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| 6 | 8991 | | Nick Meadow | James Read | Guernsey YC | (DNF) | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| 7 | 9104 | FFS! | Adam Kenney | Dan Parsons | Burton SC | 9 | 5 | (DNC) | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | 8887 | | Richard Williams | Paul Davies | Shotley SC | 4 | (DNC) | 9 | 9 | 22 |
| 9 | 8860 | | Babbie Johnson | Eden Hyland | Chasewater SC | 8 | ‑10 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 10 | 9039 | | Hamish Gledhill | Adrian Thear | West Riding SC | 11 | 4 | 8 | (DNC) | 23 |
| 11 | 8881 | | N Rabbitts | D Samanjoul | Burton SC | 7 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | 30 |
| 12 | 9126 | Serendipity | Stuart Turnbull | Rob Burdekin | Burton SC | (DNF) | 8 | DNC | 11 | 33 |
| 13 | 9125 | | Roger Deane | Tim Williams | Rock SC | 10 | (DNF) | DNC | 10 | 34 |