Bembridge One-Design Racing Week
by Mike Samuelson 7 Aug 2017 12:08 BST
31 July - 6 August 2017
With the Bembridge Redwings sailing at Cowes Week, the Bembridge One-Designs had Bembridge to themselves for a week of racing.
31st July
Unfortunately the message that racing would be postponed to 15:00 to allow those who were attending Anne Negus's funeral obviously failed to get through to everyone as three boats left the Under Tyne moorings ready for a 14:00 start. Rather than hang around until the other arrived, they set themselves a short course. Penny Stanley with Simon Allocca in No 9 won; Syd Beart crewing in No 5 was second and Martin Bonham with Ashleigh McLucas was third.
Another five boats joined the fray for the second rather longer race in the pleasant SSW'erly F4 breeze. Starting from an inflatable between Fitzwilliam and Janson, the windward mark was Under Tyne, and the leeward mark, via Fitzwilliam was Ruthven. Most made a good start and at Under Tyne the clear leader was Jos Coad sailing single handed in No 8; D Orange with Helen Mathieson crewing was second just ahead of No 6 and No 7 helmed by Charles Abel Smith crewed by David McCue.
After a testing beat in from Ruthven with a number of subtle wind shifts, the second round leader, by some margin, was D Orange in No 12; Jos in No 8 was second and John Deacon in No 6 was third. Although there was no change to the order at the finish, Jos had significantly reduced the deficit and crossed the line only 1 second behind D with John 9 seconds later. Mid fleet Norman Marshall sailing singlehanded in No 11 had a close tussle with Charles Abel Smith in No 7.
1st August
Xander Shaw sailing single handed in No 6 lead the seven boats off the line in the F4 occasionally F5 SW'erly breeze in lovely sunshine. D Orange with Simon Allocca in No 12 was ahead on the run to Ruthven albeit she lead them initially towards Moreton! Xander was the first to spot the error and so rounded just in front. He extended his lead on the second run and finished about forty seconds ahead of D. Sophie Ross with daughter Natasha in No 11 was third and Charles Abel Smith sailing single handed in No 7 was fourth.
2nd August Wet & windy, no takers, racing cancelled.
3rd August Very windy - racing cancelled.
4th August
Windy but definitely sailable using storm mains and normal jibs, so it was good to have enough crew for 9 One-Designs. After a 10 minute postponement waiting for the last boat to leave the moorings, Martin Bonham in No 2 tried to start a minute early! Otherwise it was quite a good start to the first race. Split tacks to Garland with Sophie Ross with husband Alexander crewing in No 11 rounding first ahead of Russ Fowler with Simon Allocca in No 8. On the beat back to the finish line from Ruthven, Helen Mathieson and daughter Lizzie overtook a number of boats and finished fifteen seconds ahead of Sarah Marshall and daughter Ellie in No 9.
Sophie & Alexander in No 11 were last to cross the starting line in the second race, but were first to round the windward mark. On the run from Garland to Ruthven the middle of the fleet closed up on each other which made for some interesting roundings. On the beat back to finish at Garland, the fleet split with about half staying offshore and half heading inshore.
By the finish Sophie in No 11 had extended her lead and crossed the line just over a minute ahead of No 6 helmed by Ashleigh McLucas. Sarah Marshall with her daughter Eleanor crewing was third in No 9 and John Suffield in No 4 was fourth.
5th August
The first of Saturday's two races was for the Brinton Trophy that is traditionally raced for over the Summer Ball (when there is one) weekend. With the breeze from the WNW F4 to F5, Fitzwilliam was the obvious mark to use for the line. During the 10 minute postponement waiting for the last boat to rig up, the breeze backed and the original course had to be reset. Except for No 4 helmed by John Suffield who made an excellent start, the rest were somewhat off the pace. No 3 helmed by Peter Truman with his wife Jo crewing was well back, however, despite being the only boat to be using a storm main, reached the windward mark (Footprint) in third place. After an excellent beat back from Moreton to the laid finish line, Jos Coad with Philippa Aylmer crewing in No 8 just held off Charles Abel Smith with Giles Preston crewing in No 1; Alexander & Sophie Ross in No 11 were third.
After some crew changing, the second race was dual rolled with helms under 30 competing for the rescheduled Hulbert Prize. No 6 helmed by Sam Deacon and No 11 helmed by young Gordie Ross were both over the line at the start and had quite a task to return; meanwhile No 8 lost their jib sheets and eventually decided to retire. After a good beat to Footprint and run to Cochrane, the breeze unfortunately then backed again so the planned beat back to Under Tyne ended up as a close reach which was a pity. D Orange in No 12 was always in the lead but congratulations to Will Harbord-Hamond crewed by Robert Tidbury in No 4 who were second and therefore won the Hulbert Prize. Norman Marshall in No 7 was third. Fortunately everyone was back on their moorings when a large squall came through; the black sky over Portsmouth was quite a sight!
6th August
As conditions looked so good, it was decided to make it another two race day with both races counting towards the Brinton Trophy. With Fitzwilliam as the pin, the first race started on time with Under Tyne as the windward mark and Moreton as the leeward one. After an interesting start with No 1 helmed by Russ Fowler being well and truly shut out on the Committee Boat at the start, all seven went inshore first. First to round was No 8 helmed by Hugh Doherty and crewed by Jos Coad; Charles Abel Smith in No 7 and Martin Bonham sailing single handed in No 2 were not far behind. After two rounds, Willie Cobb with Norman Marshall in No 6 had clawed themselves up from the back of the fleet to come in second just one second ahead of Martin Bonham in No 2 and Alexander Ross in No 11.
The second race of the day was probably the best start of the weekend with No 8 and No 11 just managing to stay on the non-course side of the line. At the windward mark, the leader was Willie Cobb in No 6 ahead of Hugh Doherty in No 8, Sophie Ross helming No 11 and Martin Bonham in No 2. However after a testing run to Moreton and a final beat to Under Tyne, victory went to Sophie in No 11 who just pipped Hugh in No 8. Willie in No 6 was third. This meant that No 8 won this years Brinton Trophy."