National 12 Royal Thames Trophy at Ranelagh Sailing Club
by Charlotte Ibbotson 22 Jan 2003 11:08 GMT
19th Jan 2003
Photo © John Thornton
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A small but select group of National 12 sailors, including current and past National Champions, and current and past Thames Area champions, turned out for the first event in the 2003 Thames Area, the Royal Thames Yacht Club Trophy, held at Ranelagh Sailing Club on Putney Embankment in London on Sunday 19th January.
In a lull between the forecast gales, the fleet got away on a balmy afternoon in bright sunshine and a gentle F1-2 on a traditional starboard hand sausage course with legs of approximately a mile. Bim Daser and Katy Meadowcroft in 'Feeling Foolish' were anything but, acing the reaching start, but were quickly overhauled by current National Champions Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne in 'Thanks For All the Fish'. Five boats arrived at the first mark pretty much together with 'Fish' leading away followed by 'Foolish' and then Chris Edwards and Rachel in 'Queen of Puddings' in close pursuit. The return leg was mostly on starboard, close to the bank to avoid the incoming tide, however getting too close could be your undoing as in the shifting winds a costly tack was sometimes necessary to get away from the shore. On the long fetch back 'Puddings' got through 'Foolish' however the leading three remained close until close to the turning mark where the vagaries of the wind allowed the gaps to open up.
On the fetch of the second lap 'Foolish' retook second place from 'Puddings' in a bit of tacking and were able to stretch away to pursue 'Fish' who had opened up a good lead. On the following lap, 'Foolish' halved the time deficit to 'Fish ' but were unable to continue the chase as the race was shortened after an hour and a halfs racing. 'Puddings' came in third, but a great race was going on for fourth with long time fourth place boat 'Flying Saucer' steered by Nigel Edwards getting overhauled by David Kenyon and Ben in 'Cheshire Cat' on the last leg.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Boat Type | Helm | Crew | Club |
|---|
| 1st | 3469 | "Thanks For All The Fish" | Numinous | Graham Camm | Zoe Ballantyne | Burghfield SC |
| 2nd | 3410 | "Feeling Foolish" | Feeling Foolish | Bim Daser | Katy Meadowcroft | Ranelagh SC |
| 3rd | 3362 | "Queen of Puddings" | Final Chapter | Chris Edwards | Rachel | Ranelagh SC |
| 4th | 2750 | "Cheshire Cat" | Cheshire Cat | David Kenyon | Ben | Ranelgh SC |
| 5th | 1277 | "Flying Saucer" | Flying Saucer | Nigel Edwards | Crew | Ranelagh SC |