Ospreys End of Season Championship at Rutland Sailing Club
by Alan Henderson 26 Oct 2016 13:23 BST
22-23 October 2016
Raynard & Burdekin during the Osprey End of Seasons at Rutland © Alan Henderson
At the Osprey End of Seasons at Rutland on October 22/23, feathers were ruffled by a cool F2/3 coming from the north east, over the dam. A class of 17 Ospreys shared the waters with Contenders and Hornets at a joint open. Ospreys came from Coniston to South Coast plus one from Wales.
The event was the last of the Osprey class's 2016 national traveller series, so all were eager to make their mark.
Adrenaline levels rose further as rigging and launching was helped by stirring music from the club's PA system (dambusters ?!!). The racing was close and exciting for 5 races over the weekend, but was well behaved and good natured. There was little shouting, the only problem was when two bunched fleets arrived at the leeward mark together but on different legs.
On the first day, Alastair Raynard and Rob Burdekin, who only joined the class a couple of months ago, led the way with wins in the first two races, while new combination Ben Hawkes and Peter Greig also showed promise by winning the third race. Raynard led overnight from Hawkes in second, with Chris Gould and Nick Broomhall close in third.
One of a number of big names who suffered on the first day, Martin Cooney and Peter Frith returned to form on the Sunday with the best scores of the day, but Raynard and Burdekin took top three places in both races to secure their first Osprey open win, and the first open win for a Mark V Osprey, the new epoxy Osprey which was launched this year. Cooney and Frith just edged into second overall ahead of Gould and Broomhall. Showing the variety of boats at the front, Cooney was sailing a wooden boat, while Gould competed in an FRP Mark IV.
Overall Results: (top 5)
1. Alastair Raynard and Rob Burdekin (Carsington) 7pts
2. Martin Cooney and Peter Frith (Poole YC) 13pts
3. Chris Gould and Nick Broomhall (Blithfield SC) 13pts
4. Ben Hawkes and Pete Grieg (Wimbleball SC) 14pts
5. Emma Stevenson and Tim Bowden (Weymouth SC) 21pts