Dart 18 Grand Prix at Whitstable Yacht Club
by Melanie Rogers 21 Jul 2008 12:57 BST
19-20 July 2008
35 boats took part in the seventh Dart 18 Grand Prix in Whitstable on 19/20 July. The first day proved to be a Race Officer’s nightmare with marginal conditions showing gusts of up to 30 knots and racing was eventually abandoned for the day.
Sunday saw more favourable conditions and the Race Team were able to run four races. The wind steadily increased throughout the day and coupled with the famous Whitstable chop, made challenging conditions for most sailors.
The fleet spread out fairly quickly with some great racing at the top end of the fleet between Dan Norman/Melanie Rogers (Sheppey) and David Lloyd/Cathrin Farthing (Stokes Bay) with two points between them on the final results. There was also close racing between Marco Manganelli/Racheal Foster (Stokes) Bay and Stuart Snell/Simon Farthing Grafham who finished 3rd and 4th respectively with two points between them.
Several new faces joined the fleet for this event and did exceptionally well to sail in such challenging conditions. In particular, Pete Dodds, despite having one of Whitstable’s established Merlin sailors, Phil Emery, as a crew!! Also, well done to Alicia Clifford (aged 13), who was crewing on a Dart 18 for the first time.
Results:
1st: Dan Norman / Melanie Rogers (Sheppey/Whitstable)
2nd: David Lloyd / Cathrin Farthing, WH Insurance (Stokes Bay)
3rd: Marco Manganelli / Rachael Forster (Stokes Bay)
4th: Stuart Snell / Simon Farthing (Stokes Bay)
5th: Abby Ledger / Roger Fermor (Whitstable)