Spitfire Inlands at Grafham Water Sailing Club Cat Open
by Gary Smith 21 Oct 2010 08:12 BST
16-17 October 2010
Spitfires at the Grafham cat open © Bob Carter
The shrimp looked harmless enough in the display tank in the clubhouse but make no mistake, for the Spitfire Inland championships the sailors were not only battling with each other but also against this deadly foe.
The instructions were very clear, make sure you wash your boat and gear thoroughly to avoid the spread of the 'killer shrimp' This was great, it meant license to jet-wash your crew which was good sport. It was very important that none of the little shrimp blighters escaped into the drains either. This was also good fun as the joke spread that you must check down the pan before flushing. Carole bent over to inspect and promptly dropped her car keys mid-flush and they disappeared round the bend too!
Some of the teams also suffered 'down the pan' results especially in the fickle Sunday races which turned the fleet inside out several times.
But they didnt really care (except Henry) because Saturday had been great with some stiff breeze and even better racing as they dodged the other fleets on the busy reservoir.
Henry White and Ed Redfern kept up their recent form to win the Inlands for the second time.
Second were Patrick and Ben Harrison who with some consistent results just edged Rupert White and Nikki Boniface into third.
Although Gary Smith and Lynn Whitmore secured the Travellers Trophy Series their wipe-out at the leeward gate was woeful and they would like to say sorry for nearly killing people!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 225 | Henry White | Ed Redfearrn | Brightlingsea SC | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -15 | 6 |
| 2nd | 160 | Patrick Harrrison | Benedict Harrison | Derwent Reservoir | 3 | 5 | -7 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 3rd | 220 | Rupert White | Nikki Boniface | Brightlingsea SC | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | (DNC) | 12 |
| 4th | 222 | Gary Smith | Lynn Whitmore | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | 4 | 1 | -9 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 5th | 122 | Andrew Sinclair | Gilly Sutcliffe | Weston SC | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | -8 | 17 |
| 6th | 202 | John Hutchings | Gilly Green | Pagham SC | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | (DNC) | 18 |
| 7th | 109 | Laurence Carter | Joshua Potts | Royal Channel Island YC | 10 | 7 | 6 | -11 | 6 | 29 |
| 8th | 59 | Jack Muldoon | Rhys Cooke | Spinnaker, Datchet and QM | 11 | 12 | -15 | 6 | 1 | 30 |
| 9th | 102 | James Henson | Dan Channing | Weston SC | 7 | 8 | 5 | -10 | 10 | 30 |
| 10th | 61 | Sebastien Samways | Dan Fenn | Pevensey Bay SC | 8 | (DNC) | DNC | 7 | 5 | 39 |
| 11th | 99 | Richard Golden | Neil Phillips | Hayling Island SC | -12 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 39 |
| 12th | 74 | Alicia Clifford | Siobhan Lamb | Whitstable YC | 9 | 11 | 13 | -14 | 11 | 44 |
| 13th | 227 | David Vercoe | Carole Whitcher | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | -15 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 47 |
| 14th | 221 | Mark Smith | Helen Suttie | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | 13 | 14 | 10 | -16 | 13 | 50 |
| 15th | 106 | Freddie White | Ed Gibbons | Brightlingsea SC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 12 | 3 | 53 |
| 16th | 196 | James Trott | Matt China | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | 14 | 13 | 11 | -18 | 16 | 54 |
| 17th | 22A | Nick Williams | George Williams | North Devon YC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 13 | 7 | 58 |
| 18th | 98 | Ricky Whitmore | Claire Grierson | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | (DNC) | 15 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 58 |
