Scorpion Open at Notts County Sailing Club
by Penny Jeffcoate and Jack Banks 13 Oct 2010 09:05 BST
9-10 October 2010
For the last event of the Scorpion travellers series 44 boats descended upon Notts County for an excellent weekend of very close racing, great socials and the end of season prizegiving. Saturday started out grey and gusty and racing got underway in a reasonable Force 3.
Catherine Putt and Simon Maguire of Zephyr (2001) kicked off the battle for pole position with some close racing with Andy McKee and Tarren Jones in Sidewinder (1951). Andy and Tarren managed to get through to take the first gun with Catherine and Simon close behind. John and Jamie Clementson (J) (2010) took 3rd, followed by Jack Banks and Penny Jeffcoate in Not Another Wombat (2017) and Nigel Potter and Ferret (2018). A little further down in the fleet Nikki Theokritoff and Alison Goodall (My Monkey, My Back 1919) had a storming race, coming 20th, which earned them Flyer of the Event.
In the second race, an inspired course change by RO William Jeffcoate gave a long fast spinnaker leg which proved useful for the taller frames of Nigel and Ferret who stormed to the front when a mainsheet malfunction caused the leaders, Tom Jeffcoate and Jerry Hannabus (Angel Dust 1947), to drop to 4th. Peter Gray and Richard Pepperdine (2013) managed to hold off Catherine and Simon to the finish to achieve a 2nd and John and Thomas Rose (J) (Silverlode 1995) had a great race coming 5th. Ryan Buchanan and Guy Revell (Brahms and List 1840) also had a good race with a 16th, gaining 9 places from Race 1.
After some lunch to revive the sailors, it was back out for the third and final race of the day. Tom and Jerry and Catherine and Simon headed straight to the front, followed by Nigel and Ferret and Tim and Sarah Parsons (Intoxicated 2014). Good work in the gusty conditions on the run allowed the pack to catch the leading pair, with Tim and Sarah eventually getting through to take the win. John and Joyce Henderson (Jammy Dodger 1902) had a great race, improving by 15 places to achieve a 13th position.
After racing, and a splendid supper, John also regaled the troops with some Irish folk tunes with his band; Dave Snutch, sailing Does my bum look big in this? (2000), and his band played some lively sixties classics.
Sunday turned into a sunny, surprisingly warm, October day which was good for those suffering from sore heads, as well as the early start. The usual suspects were back at the front, plus an appearance by Barry and Linda Wolfenden, which was unfortunately cut short by a capsize along the blasting spinnaker leg. Andy and Tarren held a commanding lead for most of the race until a shifty beat let Nigel and Ferret slip through. Tim and Sarah came 3rd, Tom and Jerry came 4th and the Rose lads and Jack and Penny reappeared at the front in 5th and 6th. An improvement of 6 places upon the last race was seen by a couple of boats, including Dave Elston and Gavin Pouillon (1959) who rose from 18th to 12th and John Coulton and C Berger (1857) who went from 39th to 33rd.
With only a few points separating the top five, the final positions all came down to the last race. The overall leaders Nigel and Ferret however had a bad start and let their rivals get a good bit of distance on them. Tim and Sarah again got to the front and were closely followed by a brilliant performance from Janet and Alan Ritchie in Drama Queen (2005). The rest of the pack spread out considerably, meaning that Catherine and Simon and Andy and Tarren couldn’t quite get the positions they needed to clinch the event. The overall title went to local sailors Nigel and Ferret. Graham Watts and Mark Harden in Dolly (1983) achieved a strong finish to the regatta, gaining 15 places from the previous race to come 5th.
On the juniors side of things there was a close battle between Jamie Clementson (2010), Thomas Rose(1995) and Mike Thackrey (1967) for first junior crew, however Jamie clinched it with consistently good results. The youth combo of Alex Hayman and Martin Moore (1962) also had some good results, with lots of teens and a 10th. Helena Pugh (200T) had some good racing and managed to win the junior helm prize. Helena was closely followed by 12-year-old Austin Hubbard, crewing for his dad in They think it’s all over (1966), who won the Juniors Up and Coming Cup.
The weekend was brilliant success with good courses from the RO and team, close racing at all levels of the fleet and a lively Saturday social. What a great way to end the season!
Overall Results:
1st Nigel Potter and Ferret (Notts County SC)
2nd Catherine Putt and Simon Maguire (Lymington/Lyme Regis SC)
3rd Tim and Sarah Parsons (Lyme Regis SC)
4th Tom Jeffcoate and Jerry Hannabus (Notts County SC)
5th Andy McKee and Tarren Jones (Dovestone SC)
1st Youth Combo – Alex Hayman and Martin Moore (Lyme Regis SC)
1st Junior Helm – Helena Pugh (Poole SC)
1st Junior Crew – Jamie Clementson (Chipstead SC)
Up and Coming Junior – Austin Hubbard (Notts County SC)
Tenacity prize – Russ and Amy Clay (Notts County SC)
Flyer of the Event – Nikki Theokritoff and Alison Goodall (Notts County SC)
Travellers Results:
Silver Scorpion
1st Andy McKee and Tarren Jones (Dovestone SC)
2nd Tim and Sarah Parsons (Lyme Regis SC)
3rd Tom Jeffcoate and Mark Hogan (Notts County SC)
4th Steve Walker and Chris Muxworthy
5th Catherine Putt and Simon Maguire (Lymington/Lyme Regis SC)
6th Janet and Allan Ritchie (Chipstead SC)
Bronze Scorpion
1st Helm, Alex Hayman
1st Crew, Mike Thackrey