Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club Revett Series - Day 4
by Richard Catchpole 4 Dec 2017 09:47 GMT
3 December 2017
The penultimate race day of the Leigh & Lowton Revett Series on Sunday 3rd December brought some very close racing across all the fleets in a light 6-8 knot north-westerly. Over 40 boats took to the start line with competitor ages ranging from under 10 to over 60 in a less wintery environment than the previous week.
Caroline Exley and team had to contend with a few wind shifts when setting the line but got racing away on time with a good separated windward-leeward course for the Asymmetrics and some challenging runs in the light conditions for the other fleets, which made for some great racing.
Lasers
New arrivals to the series Greg Marshall (LLSC) and Bill Busby (LLSC) had the best of the day, with 2 bullets for Greg and a 2,4 for Bill. Paul Heath (LLSC) took a 2nd in the second race after legging it to the club after work to make it! Stuart Belfield (LLSC) had a consistent day to keep him in 3rd spot in the series. With Charlotte and Olly sitting it out this week, the scene is for a final showdown next weekend between the top 3.
Handicap
Martin Knott (Ribble) had a great day in his Phantom with a 1,1 finish, keeping clear wind from the Asymmetric fleet was a key to success. Mike Banner/Mark Atherton (LLSC) were again in close attendance with 2,2, but they now need to finish with 2 bullets next weekend to take the series off Martin. 3rd places were shared between Graeme Bristow (LLSC) in his Streaker and Steve Blackburn/Ian Richie (LLSC) in their Enterprise.
Asymmetric
Racing was very tight throughout the fleet but especially for the top 4 boats in race 1; all boats finished within 30 seconds of each other with Chris Pickles/Mark Lunn (Delph) winning and Dave Exley/Nigel Hall (LLSC) just pipping Paul/Jude Allen (LLSC) for 3rd. Race 2 of the day brought a recall with Pickles/Lunn over and they returned. Hamish Gledhill/Simon Dowse (West Riding) made the most of a great port end start to clear the fleet and extend their lead throughout the race, followed home by Exley/Hall and Pickles/Lunn after a remarkable recovery. Plenty still to go for next weekend!
Solo
Brian Sprague (LLSC) took line honours again to once in the 1st Race to wrap up the series, but proceeded to entertain the fleet in Race 2 with a gybing capsize as his showstopper! Malcolm Waddington (LLSC) brought himself into contention in the series with a 2nd in the first race followed by Stuart van den Hoek.
Junior
Some new faces appeared in the junior fleet with Morgan Busby (LLSC) and Elise Busby (LLSC joining in their Toppers. Out front though was Noe Peckham (LLSC) again with John Bridgeman (LLSC) 2nd. That earnt Noe the series win with a weekend to spare, so well done to him.
The Revett series runs through to the 10th December and, following a short break, is followed by the New Years Day pursuit race. The Tipsy Icicle series starts 7th January 2018 and runs through until the 11th March. All events are open to club sailors and visitors alike.
If you are a visitor and intend to take part in either event please help us to help you (discounts available) by entering online via WebCollect here.
Results to date can be found at www.llsc.org.uk/LLSC/Results/2017/Revett.htm?v=1