Wayfarer Nationals at Weymouth Sailing Club
by Toby Mace 2 Sep 2006 01:00 BST
25 - 28 August 2006
The Wayfarer class holidayed in Weymouth for their first Nationals to be held there, and despite the uninspiring weather forecast conditions were in fact perfect for sea sailing in the bay. Light winds on Friday for the first race (Force 2/3) increased steadily over the weekend culminating in force 6 gusts for the final race on Monday afternoon. With beautiful sunshine throughout (in defiance of the gloomy forecast) the 27 boats entered enjoyed an excellent four days of racing.
With predominantly Westerly and North-Westerly winds the waves in the bay were not too daunting. This wind direction also produced some unpredictable shift patterns and many competitors were flummoxed by the beats, trying to understand which side paid off. The general consensus seemed to be to head for the right, but it was probably best to take each shift at face value and hope for the best. This of course is no guarantee that a tail-end boat might not suddenly pop up near the front - so there's hope for us all.
Mike MacNamara and Simon Townsend didn't let the beats trouble them (a right is as good as a left) and merely decided in the ever-increasing winds to plane their way over the horizon on every downwind leg. They duly won every race with consummate ease until they capsized in race 7, succumbing to a 30 knot gust on the run and letting in Martin Collen and Terry Palmer in to win that one and get second place overall. Collen and Palmer were in fact one of the few leading boats not to go for a swim at some stage in the event.
The increasing wind conditions suited Colin May who had been joined this time (such are the vagaries of Colin's crew rota) by Paul Frey, this team being a time-proven strong wind combo. They duly notched up consistently good scores to come third overall, but even they managed a capsize in race 6, with Toby Mace and Rachael Rhodes collecting the same gust for a show of synchronised capsizing. That put paid to Mace and Rhodes' final score since they had foolishly decided to test the water temperature the day before and duly run out of discards.
4th, 5th and 6th places overall went to boats from Waldringfield (Harris/Condie, Challis/Johnston, Fletcher/Edwards) and they won the team trophy for the best combined score from one club. Congratulations in particular to "multi-years (and then some) of experience" Gordon Harris, who with ace crew Beth Condie, finished strongly, given that Gordon normally prefers light and flat conditions.
Congratulations also go to Rick Pegrum and Rick Bowers from Castle Cove SC who came in 9th overall in their first Nationals to win the Newcomers Trophy. They showed their potential with a brilliant second place in race 6.
Many congratulations also to Weymouth Sailing Club and their large team of volunteers for their fantastic organisation both on and off the water to give us one of the best championship events for the class, that was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us.
Overall Results:
1st, 8868, Michael McNamara and Simon Townsend (Norfolk Broads), 6pts
2nd, 88, Martin Collen and Terry Palmer (Upper Thames), 15pts
3rd, 9068, Colin May and Paul Frey (Parkstone YC), 23pts
4th, 968, Gordon Harris and Beth Condie (Waldringfield SC), 27pts
5th, 9174, Roger Challis and Mark Johnston (Waldringfield SC), 31pts
6th, 9644, Neil Fletcher and Chas Edwards (Waldringfield SC), 42pts
7th, 8888, Graham Barker and Robin Barker (Norfolk Broads), 42pts
8th, 8686, Guy Hacon and Dan Watson (Waldringfield SC), 48pts
9th, 10222, Rick Pegrum and Rick Bowers (Castle Cove SC), 55pts
10th, 8244, Adam Bowers and mandy Henderson (Weymouth SC), 58pts