Volkswagen Touareg European SB3 Championships
by Clare Molloy 25 Jun 2007 17:55 BST
19 - 22 June 2007
And so it came to pass, Geoff Carveth is crowned European SB3 Champion for 2007, to go along with the UK Nationals title he won in September last year, defining himself as the king of big-breeze SB3 racing.
After three days of flight racing in windy Weymouth Bay, he built an almost unassailable lead going into the final day’s Gold Fleet series. With points continuing to count, he was discarding a bullet from the 8 preliminary races, with Marshal King in second, and Paul Lovejoy in third, after an impressive double win on Thursday. Carveth had it all to do though, and it became evident that the Gold Fleet final showdown would provide some of the toughest racing many of us have experienced since the start of SB3 racing in 2002. In 6-10 knots of breeze, and flat water, if you didn’t get your bow out and clear from the start, which had pretty much no second row, you were spat out the back and struggled to get back from the thirties. Yet it was Carveth who led to the first mark, and held on to win the first race, and pretty much settle the matter. A tenth and seventeenth in the next two races for him showed how much pressure there was, so he wisely headed to shore before his brain went into meltdown, and let the reality sink in whilst the rest of the fleet battled on for the remaining places.
The Silver fleet fought a tough battle of their own, on a separate windward leeward course, in parallel with the Gold Fleet course; the trapezoid being dropped to allow easier course adjustment. It seems likely that with the ongoing growth of the fleet, it may well be that this is the format that will be used for future events. As ever, the fleet will review and reassess the new programs, and take the view of the members, to see what the likely best way forward is. Watch the chat forum at www.lasersb3.com to see how the process unfolds.
Racing on the final day was held in the Harbour at Portland, with flat water inside and out in the bay, and convergence squeezing and increasing the pressure in the harbour, the true versatility of the venue was demonstrated. It was a tense affair, with black flags being flown, and shifts of up to 15 degrees and short duration filtering across the race area, meaning heads needed to be out of the boat, and conservative tactics were the way to go. Craig Burlton finally got into his stride, though it was a little too late for the former European Champion, in Team Touareg, to make any meaningful impression on the top three, and Glenn Bourke equalled him, but likewise, the damage was done, and no-one could match the superiority demonstrated by Carveth. With redress being granted for Marshall King in the last two races, he was able to take second place, whilst Lovejoy dropped to fourth. Top ladies team, Team Maclaren showed excellent form to secure ninth.
But when all is said, there was no doubting the result, with Carveth and his team displaying a turn of speed in the big waves and breeze of the first three days, that no-one could match. It was reminiscent of last year’s UK Nationals in Abersoch, and sets a new standard for heavy air SB3 performance. It was a very popular victory, and one which he rates amongst his best, as Carveth gave respect to his fellow competitors, and proposed that this class really is where the top competition in one design keelboat sailing rests for the foreseeable future. With 20 boats being bought into Australia, and North America due to kick off later this year, things have never looked better for the Class.
Thanks are due to the great team at WPNSA, under management of Phil Gollop, and direction of the fantastic Rosie Julian, who laid on a seamless event, in what were the best conditions for SB3 racing many of us have ever seen, with a dreamy 5-6 foot swell and 20-30 knots of breeze, and wild downwind sleigh rides. That is what we went for, and that is what Weymouth Bay provided.
Also worthy of mention is James Lund-Lack of Laser, who worked tirelessly to support the fleet, in fairly difficult circumstances given the amount of gear damage in the lively conditions. There were a series of rig failures, with 4 rigs coming down, and many more suffering mast crane failure, needing at least temporary full rig replacement. Laser stepped up to the mark, and whilst they only had 5 rigs on site, the entire fleet was up and running by the following morning after Laser grabbed a load of extra rigs and shipped them down to Weymouth. It is hard to see this sort of service being provided by any other manufacturer, so to them, we are extremely grateful.
2008 sees the Europeans moving to Dublin Bay in September, where the Irish Fleet of over 75 boats will be keen to welcome the established fleets from across Europe. There should be a World Championships by 2009, and discussions are ongoing in preparation for that.