707 Northern Championships at Scarborough Yacht Club

For the second year running the Elvstrom 707 Northern Area Championships were held at Scarborough Yacht Club. With four local boats and five visiting boats entered the crews gathered on Friday evening for the briefing and the free beer and food laid on by the club.

Racing took place in the bay outside the busy seaside town with eight windward / leeward races planned over the three day event.

Day 1 started in very sunny conditions with a 30 minute delay as the officials waited for the SE breeze to fill in. When the racing started the visiting boats were quick to seize the initiative. 2007 Nationals winning boat Cacciatore, now owned and helmed by Stuart Robertson on the Forth in Scotland, rounded the first mark in the lead, closely followed by Feeling Touchy, owned and helmed by Geoff Kimber from Burnham. On the second lap Feeling Touchy and Hempel Blowfish owned by Phil Bennett and helmed by Mickey Wright had stretched away from Cacciatore and the following pack. At the finish Feeling Touchy went the wrong side of the finish line while Hempel Blowfish quickly altered course to avoid the same mistake and took the first race with Cacciatore in second and local boat Second Fiddle in third. Feeling Touchy managed to rectify their blunder and get a fourth place after turning back although following a protest against the committee they were given the 1st place after all thus moving the rest down a position.

With the wind building the scene was set for some great racing in spectacular surroundings. Race two saw Cacciatore lead from the start and win by several lengths over Class Chairman Paul Gray helming Beaver Hunter from Burnham.

Again in race three Cacciatore was unstoppable and lead from start to finish without putting a foot wrong in terms of crew work and helming. Beaver were again in second very closely followed by Hempel Blowfish in third.

Cacciatore fell to third in the last race of the day following an untidy rounding of the windward mark which both Beaver and Hempel Blowfish took full advantage of. Beaver won the race with Hempel following up behind in second.

Day 2 was a completely different picture with an overcast sky and a force seven just around the corner. Only one race was completed as the swell and wind increased by the minute. Cacciatore managed to restore their former composure and won by a huge margin with Beaver a distant second and Second Fiddler an ironic third.

The best, most exciting sailing was held on the last day. The wind had dropped marginally and the teams were determined to get all three races in before lunch in preparation for some long journeys home. Cacciatore, Beaver and Hempel Blowfish traded position over the remaining races with Feeling Touchy a consistent fourth throughout and that was how the final results stood: Cacciatore 1st, Beaver Hunter 2nd, Hempel Blowfish 3rd and Feeling Touchy 4th.

As with last year’s regatta a great deal of hospitality was shown to visitors by the local club and its members and with the numbers of 707’s on the East Coast growing it looks like the venue will figure highly in future year’s calendars.

The next event is the 707 Eastern Area Champs being held at W Mersea Yacht Club in Essex July 17th and 18th. Let us hope it can equal the Northerns as a fantastic weekend of sport.

Overall Results: