Mirror Open at Ripon Sailing Club

The 25 strong Mirror fleet sail upwind at the Ripon Open © Steve Benn

25 boats from 10 clubs enjoyed a challenging days sailing in the penultimate event of the North Eastern Mirror Travellers Series at Ripon on September 6th.

The first race was led to the windward mark by Tim Gatti (Yeadon), followed by youth sailors Tim and Rob Smith (Bassenthwaite). Alasdair Rattray (Ripon) took the lead by the end of the first lap and steadily pulled ahead of the Smiths, but a failing wind meant that a number of boats at the back of the fleet were timed out.

In Race 2, Gerry and Luke McGill led from the busy line. Mike Chappel (Bassenthwaite) and youngsters Gareth Hughes and Hannah Mitchell (Hollingworth Lake) chased hard, but McGill sailed clear away. Behind, Hughes and Mitchell took second with the Smith brothers coming through strongly to finish third.

Going into Race 3, the score sheet was wide open but McGill?s enthusiasm again got the better of him with a second premature start. Although Gatti held the lead on the water, Tim and Rob Smith won the race on handicap, and took the trophy. First under 16?s were David and Jack Moore from Blithfield in eighth.

Thanks to OOD Richard Brook and his team for their efforts against a fluky wind, and also to Gerry McGill for his drive to make a success of this new Series.

Overall Results: