International Canoe Open at Draycote Water Sailing Club
by Steve Bowen 17 Oct 2007 16:25 BST
13-14 October 2007
Competitive pressure exceeded weather pressure at the Draycote Water International Canoe meeting.
An enthusiastic atmosphere welcomed each arrival early on Saturday morning and thankfully from flat-calm, building to a steady force 2-3 by the start of Race 1 all twenty two competitors got away to a keen start.
An immediate close tactical battle emerged with frequent place changes upwind and on the downwind returns. Errors were noticeably punished with positions lost. The closeness of racing and boat speed made it difficult to identify the trend for the weekend but eventually 2007 AC Champion Robin Wood nailed Race 1 followed closely by Steve Bowen and Colin Brown. Races 2 and 3 followed a similar vein with the leaders now finding favoured pressure areas on the course and essentially pocketing gains. Wood ultimately secured the day despite an OCS but not without a considerable challenge from Colin Brown and Alistair James.
With the welcomed return of World Champion Mark Goodchild to the IC circuit, it looked to be a head to head contest with himself and European Champion Simon Allen.
However, rookie young blood Charlie Chandler arrived to upset the form, mixing it with the front runners and leading a very experienced fleet at times!
Alistair Warren now sporting his conventional rig and Andy Patterson dominated the development scene while Phil Robin’s new Phil Morrison design made an appearance on Sunday.
Overall Results:
Asymetric Canoes
1st Robin Wood (Llandegfedd SC)
2nd Alistair James (Grafham Water SC)
3rd Steve Bowen (Llandegfedd SC)
Conventional Canoes
1st Mark Goodchild (Medway SC)
2nd Simon Allen (HISC)
3rd Charles Chandler (Tewkesbury SC)