Enterprise Open at Broadwater Sailing Club

Four days before the forecast was for 22-26 knots so we are all expecting the usual Broadwater exciting sailing, with plenty of action for the rescue boat crews. By the day before this had declined to 6 knots, and 2 knots on the morning of the event. We arrived to a virtual mill pond, but the dedicated Enterprise travellers rolled in from places as far apart as Addlestone, Birmingham, Cambridge, Melton Mowbray, Milton Keynes and Southend. For the first time at Broadwater we were holding a joint Laser and Enterprise Open. This report concentrates on the Ents but there is also a Laser report on the clubs web site, www.broadwatersc.org.uk.

Race officers Dave Walford and Mike Parker were obviously in for a challenging day. After a fifteen minute delay there was a Force 1 to 2 breeze, just enough wind to set a course, but with an ever changing direction round all 360 degrees of the compass. A general decision was made to "get out there and go for it". So for a change we started the first race with a broad reach/run as the wind shifted around the clock. The Ents started 8 minutes before the Lasers as it was considered they would be faster in the prevailing conditions.

Nigel and Iain Bird and Paul Young and Phil Harrison started at the leeward end of the line while most of the fleet contested the windward end. With better apparent wind from the leeward end these two boats escaped from under the fleet and reached the first mark before the rest of the fleet, who arrived as a very sociable group and managed to round in a confused but friendly raft with no raised voices at all. When "Birdie and son" hit the front they usually stay there and this was no exception, as they went on to develop a lead that was never challenged. Paul and Phil found a big hole on the right side of the next leg and slipped back to 8th. Greg and Pam Hart escaped from the party at the mark to establish a solid second place. They were chased around the lake, in light and variable airs, by David and Maggie Beaney and Martin and Laurence Davies. This order continued until the last lap when these two husband and wife teams sailed into a hole on the run allowing Neil Parsloe and Shiv Ladyman and Graham Kirkup and Charlotte Walford to slip past 20 yards away in some wind. David and Maggie recovered to finish 4th, with Paul and Phil getting back to finish 5th, leaving and Graham and Charlotte 6th, after Martin and Laurence were seen to go the wrong side of a lateral mark of the course and ended up retiring. Colin Gent and Jane Cadd were also up with the chasing group until doing two rapid roll tacks (rule 42!!!) when helm and crew got out of sync and they nearly sunk the boat. Still it’s good to get the discard out of the way!

The fleet retired to the clubhouse for the usual high quality Broadwater lunch, with some exceptional puddings this year. As usual on these sorts of day the wind had increased while we were having lunch, but luckily some of it stayed as we re-launched. The race officers set a new course for this slightly steadier wind but still allowed for a beat for every wind direction! This time the Lasers started first as they had managed to catch the middle of the Ent fleet in the first race. However the Ents still finished well mixed in with the most of the Lasers. The race officer can never win!

With a start on the club line and a course that went round the whole lake, Greg and Pam and David and Maggie got away well at the start with Greg leading approaching the first mark. Nigel and Iain, the first race winners, has a bad start and rounded the first mark close to the back of the fleet. Birdie is used to having a clear view of whole fleets but rarely from the rear perspective! Paul and Phil got a reasonable start from the middle of the line but soon lost out by going too far right on the first beat. The wind was still patchy allowing for a fair degree of place changing throughout the fleet. Greg and Pam ran out of luck and wind as David and Maggie and then Neil and Shiv managed to pass them, so they finished 4th. Nigel and Iain made progress through the fleet (in similar fashion to Lewis Hamilton in the Australian GP earlier in the day) and finished second behind the Beaney boat. Colin and Jane with their role tacking now in sync finished 5th.

Going into the final race Greg and Pam, Nigel and Iain or David and Maggie could all win the event. Greg and Pam and Martin and Laurence started well and led at the first mark. Martin and Laurence given a sniff of the front were not going to be caught this time and drifted away into an unassailable lead. I remember seeing them half the length of the lake ahead battling past the bulk of the Laser fleet despite the fact that they had gain had a good head start on the Ent’s. Behind them a three way scrap for the trophy developed between Greg and Pam, Nigel and Iain and David and Maggie with places swapping frequently on the long run. Approaching the leeward mark at the end of this run David and Maggie combined with Greg and Pam to blanket Nigel and Iain. David and Maggie slipped through into 2nd place quickly developing a comfortable gap. Somewhere after this Greg and Pam had more bad luck and slipped back. At the penultimate mark Nigel and Iain were right on David and Maggie’s transom, in third place, which would have just been good enough to give them them overall victory. However Nigel and Iain got trapped amongst the Lasers while the "Bean machine" tacked through a narrow gap between 2 lasers to get clear air and escape to finish 2nd in the race. Nigel and Iain were so hindered that Neil and Shiv slipped round the outside of the mess to take 3rd place, which unfortunately meant Nigel and Iain loosing out on first place overall. Colin and Jane improving as the day went on finished 4th, after Nigel and Iain retired after doing a 720 due to the Laser incident. In the middle of the fleet Paul/Phil spent most of the race battling with Antony Cole and Richard Holmes, Graham/Charlotte and Peter and Elaine Dolling before sailing two brilliant last legs and pulling up three places to finish sixth.

It was very unfortunate that at the end of a days racing the influence of sailors from a different fleet could have had such an effect on the closing stages of a race and influence the overall event result. The race committee at Broadwater will be reviewing the incident to try to prevent a re-occurrence at future joint open events.

On the upside special mention for Ian and Sue Simpson and Keith King and Peter Richards who at the start of their second season at Enterprise opens did exceptionally well, in challenging and frustrating conditions that at times had the old hands struggling to get the boats to move in any direction. Despite these conditions everyone had an enjoyable and sociable day and we look forward to welcoming everyone back next year when we will try to organise some more wind.

Lastly thanks to David Beaney, Paul Young, Colin Gent, and Martin Davies for their notes that helped compile this report.

Overall Results: