Junior 12 Hour Race at Southport Sailing Club
by William Birch 26 Jun 2003 19:42 BST
21st June 2003
The Race started in the gentlest of breezes at 0800 hrs with no premature starters.
There were several areas of flat calm on the lake created by the wind shadows of the islands, therefore light air sailing skills of the teams were severely tested.
During the very early stages of the race 'pumping' was seen to be a problem,
fortunately this ceased after a Race Notice was published.
Royal Windermere Yacht Club had obviously been honing their light air
sailing skills, winning the 'West Wind Cup' for the fastest first two laps
of the course. RWYC also won the Noon Race for the 'Northwest Sailboat
Centre Trophy'. While the Noon Race for under eighteen teams 'The
Sandgrounder Trophy' went to Budworth Sailing Club.
A few teams found themselves becalmed and had difficulty in coping with
these conditions.
By late morning the wind had freshened slightly and the GP14's and Bosuns
were using their spinnakers along the western and southern legs of the
course.
From a spectators point of view the day could not have been more perfect
with its warm sunny atmosphere. Many had come prepared with folding chairs
and tables of their own. The conditions were also excellent for those of
the fifteen competing teams who had camped overnight.
The overall winners of the event were Budworth Sailing Club who were awarded
the 'SSC Junior 12 Hour Race Trophy' and also the 'SSC Junior Trophy' for
the first GP 14. RWYC came a very close second gaining the 'McDonald Cup'.
Both Budworth SC and Royal Windermere YC finished with the same number of
laps, 46 and no penalty points.
West Lancashire Yacht Club entered two under eighteen teams both winning trophies. Dovestone Sailing Club came in at fourth position wining the 'McDonald Plate'.
For the first time the Bosun Dinghy has taken part in this event and we were pleased to see entries from Merchant Taylors' School and from Sedbergh School and MTS Combined Cadet Force. The 'Simon Dawkins Trophy' for the first Bosun was won by Sedbergh School.
The under eighteen team entered by Rudyard Lake Sailing Club, did extremely well at the start of the race as winners of the 'Rogerson Trophy' for the fastest first two laps by an U18 team, and again at the end winning 'The Last Gasp Trophy' for the fastest last two laps by an U18 team.
Merchant Taylors' School 'B' team won the 'Anderson Canon' for the third placed U18 team.
We would like to thank Merchant Taylors' School and Southport Sailboard Association for the loan of their safety boats and also Southport Water-ski Club who provided safety boat drivers. Our thanks also to two members of WLYC for assistance with the race scoring.
This event was sponsored by Taylors Transport of Banks near Southport who made a very substantial financial contribution to our costs.
For an unabridged report, race positions and cup winners visit www.southportsailingclub.org.uk