Mid-series review of the GP14 Craftinsure Super 8 Series
by Michelle Evans 24 May 2017 11:08 BST
24 May 2017
GP14 Super 8 Series © Michelle Evans
Half way through the 2017 GP14 Craftinsure Super 8 Series and there are fittingly 8 qualifiers. With only three events needed to qualify and over 70 boats attending the Nationals in August this should see at least 30 boats battling it out for Super prizes at the end of the year.
57 different boats have taken part in the Super 8 so far and, following their recent win at the Scottish Champs, John Hayes and Poppy James/Joel James (Southport SC) are currently topping the table with 12 points. With their results improving with every event they will be a force to be reckoned with this season but P&B sailors Fergus Barnham and Andy Hunter (Snettisham Beach) and Gingerboats' Andy Smith and Phil Hodgkins (Bassenthwaite SC) will be hot on their heels once they complete one more event to qualify. In the battle for the Silver Fleet top spot, Frank Nickless and Michelle Evans (Chase SC/South Staffs SC) have leapfrogged Neal Gibson and Geoff Philips (Redoubt SC) into first place and Adam Vaughan and Phil Pethybridge (Derwent SC) lead the Bronze fleet from Alan Jones and Sue Watson (Bassenthwaite SC).
The next two in the Super 8 are sea events at Brightlingsea and Aberdovey. P&B's Fergus Barnham will be at both the Southern and Welsh Areas: "We are really looking forward to getting the boat out on the sea and practicing in some chop and waves, these two events are very important for us in terms of our preparation for the nationals!"
Taking place on 03 and 04 June, the Southern Area Championships at Brightlingsea should see a good entry with Welsh Harp SC travelling in numbers this year as well as a core group from the Midlands and Southern clubs expected to travel. There will be five scheduled races, two on Saturday and three on Sunday, raced back to back, with one discard if three or more races are sailed. The cost for the two day event is £35 per boat with registration open on both days. The first start on Saturday will be 12.30pm and 10.30am on the Sunday. Entry for this event is directly through Brightlingsea's website.
Entry for the Welsh Area Championships is capped at 25 boats and there is already a lot of interest in this event given the Class' long history with Aberdovey YC. It remains to be seen whether we will get over the 'bar' at this time of year but we will certainly get into the bar later as this will be a very lively social!
Mike Senior (South Staffs SC) is another one of the Gold fleet looking to attend: "We have the Welsh areas in the diary as it is conveniently positioned shortly before the Nationals and Aberdovey is a favourite venue as it is a great venue for taking the family, the sailing can be as good as anywhere and it is only about 2.5 hours from the Midlands."
There will be five scheduled races with the first race on the Saturday 12.30pm followed by races two and three. There will only be two races on the Sunday, starting at 11.30am. There will be one discard if four or more races are sailed. A meal on the Saturday evening for two people is included in the entry fee of £65 (discounts for youth helms and all youth boats). The late entry fee of £15 applies after midnight on Wednesday 28 June. Entry is through the association, details here.
There will also be sea training on the Friday before Aberdovey for those pond sailors who want to find their sea legs! The training is supported by Exe Sails and the E Howard-Davies Memorial Fund. Entry costs £20 per boat for adults with reductions for youth sailors. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and can be booked through the association.
All super 8 events are discounted for youth helms and all youth boats with the Class working hard to encourage younger sailors into the fleet through dedicated training. April's E Howard-Davies GP14 Youth Training Week proved popular and many of the graduates have been putting their skills into practice on the circuit.
Super 8 Series dates:
More information about the Series can be found on the GP14 website,
www.gp14.org/super8