505 Open at Shotley Sailing Club

Two dozen hardy sailors braved the flooded roads of the UK to drive/float their way to Shotley. We were greeted with blue skies, perfect wind and well set windward leeward courses.

Saturday (3 races, 13-20 knots, wind easterly out in Dovercourt Bay)

Jim Hunt/Norman Byrd won all 3 races, although the first race was a closely fought battle, with Simon Lake/Ben Iliffe and Charlie Walters/Dougal Cram overlapped for the lead at the first mark. The lead changed hand a further three times before Hunt/Byrd led around the final leeward mark, and up to the finish.

Race 2 was a three way affair, with Chris Dando and Adrian Miles leading right to the final mark, and Iliffe/Lake were in close order in third place. A poorly executed spinnaker drop by Dando/Coates let in Hunt/Byrd again for the win, and Iliffe/Lake in for a second place.

Race 3 saw an easier win for Hunt Byrd, although behind them the emergence of Terry Scutcher and David Barnes in 8381 was impressive, as they challenged Dando/Coates for the second place. Ultimately, though, they had to settle for third.

Tom Clayton manned the BBQ that evening. No cases of food poisoning were reported.

Sunday (2 races inside the Estuary)

The PRO wisely sent the fleet to race inside the estuary, with the wind in Dovercourt Bay failing to convince.

The first race was a closely fought battle between Walters/Cram and Hunt/Byrd. These two broke to the left on the first beat, and pulled an immediate 200 yard lead on all the other boats. Chris Dando with his lighter weather crew, Martin Hodgson (their words not mine), chased gamely in third place. Ultimately Walters/Cram prevailed, although there were never more than about 6 boatlengths between the two boats, and the tacking duel on the final 200 yard beat was a close and tense affair.

The final race saw another breakaway. Byrd and Hunt swapped roles having won the event and soon established themselves in last place (Jim complained of dizziness following several turns...). Dando/Hodgson played the shifts on the right, to lead by a good minute at the top mark. The lull in the wind ensured that they didn't run away with the race too soon, although a decent gust towards the leeward mark meant that their 100 yard lead (into the tide) was magnifed to race-winning proportions on the following beat. Behind this, Walters/Cram battled hard to make places through the fleet, establishing themselves in second place only during the final run. Tony Power/Stuart Howells from nearby Stour SC finished an excellent weekend with a third place, and Iliffe/Lake sailed the shifts consistently to challenge the other pursuivants behind the disappearing Dando/Hodgson. Byrd/Hunt salvaged some pride pipping Iliffe/Lake to the line but failed to catch Arthur George/Dennis Cartwright from Burton.

A well run event in splendid conditions. The local burger van was well used, although the sausage and chilli bap was a little technical without a knife and fork!

Overall Results:

1st Jim Hunt & Norman Byrd, 8908
2nd Charlie Walters & Dougal Cram, 8835
3rd Chris Dando & Adrian Miles, 8909
4th Terry Scutcher & David Barnes, 8381
5th Ben Iliffe & Simon Lake, 8885
6th Greg Brown & Ollie Boyes, 8532
7th Tony Power & Stuart Howells, 8305
8th Tom Clayton & Laurance Milton, 8678
9th Arthur George & Dennis Cartwright, 8497
10th Matt Hart & Craig Hurrell, 8881
11th Terry Self & Alan Montague, 8650
12th Hugh Feilden & Richard Symes, 8490

Hugh Feilden from Southwold SC writes:

"I enjoyed the meeting very much - would have liked to have been there on Saturday, but Richard my crew is a farmer and could only come because it had rained! We have occasionally raced at open meetings before, but I bought a newer boat this year 8490 largely because we couldn't keep up at the Shotley open last year in 7800. 8490 has had some interesting modifications made and we rather like her. Great fun, and still learning."