Mirror Nationwide Series at Mounts Bay Sailing Club

Beautiful scenery at the Western Area Championships © Wendy Kennan

The Western Area Championships © Wendy Kennan

Beautiful scenery at the Western Area Championships © Wendy Kennan

On local sailor Tony Clee’s 84th birthday, Mount’s Bay Sailing Club had the great pleasure of hosting the Mirror dinghy Western Area Championship over the weekend; an event sufficiently prestigious that people travelled from as far afield as Yorkshire and Kent to compete.

Unfortunately neither of the clubs in the bay provided the champions but, it is a pleasure to report that all bar one race was won by Cornish sailors and the overall champions were only from Restronguet. The class has seen significant changes in the design and materials of the boats over recent years as they have deviated from the original Daily Mirror idea to become everything you would hope for in a modern design: It was therefore a great result for the tradition of the Mirror as the winners triumphed in the previous design of wooden boat.

The lightest of winds and the serenade of Mazy Day music wafted across the bay as the first race began and Va Va Voom lived up to its name as Tom Cosier and Scarlet Shepherd smoothly and expertly piloted their way up what little wind there was to be four boat lengths clear ahead by the first mark; at that level of sailing the equivalent of the first corner in Formula One.

From that point on it was them all the way and, as the wind died out so completely that the tail enders became marooned, nobody could even get close giving them a fine opening victory.

A long delay ensued while the competitors enjoyed themselves, the music and sunshine and Race Officer Peter Greig waited for enough breeze to be able to set another race in motion. Eventually he was rewarded for his patience and persistence and a little wind returned.

Within the first length of the first leg it soon became apparent that the delay hadn’t done Tom and Scarlet any harm as they picked up where they had left off and led the fleet once more, this time with Matthew and Benjamin Lulham-Robinson hot on their heels and giving them a run for their money. Valiantly they held them off and eventually fed them just enough dirty air to get away for a second victory.

Race three gave something resembling a bay victory. Former Mount’s Bay sailor James Wilkinson, with new crew Esme Shepherd, remembered enough of the way the bay works to realise that a wind bend from Newlyn was building and sailed off in a different direction to the rest of the leading boats. The course they had set seemed to take them impossibly wide compared to normal racing lines, but worked a treat as they were going so much faster than everyone else that they had such a big lead at the turn that from then on the result was almost a foregone conclusion.

Day two began with unexpectedly black clouds overhead and a shifting wind which delayed the start by nearly an hour and caused a change of course during the first race. Matthew and Benjamin having come so close the previous day, and being determined Yorkshire men, took advantage of the more familiar grim conditions and had the sense to look out for local knowledge, followed Simon Chapman and Amy George up the first beat before taking them just ahead of the mark and sailing away.

James and Esme had a similarly good beat but, by the time they overcame Simon and Amy to get into second the game was up as far as winning went and they had to settle for second.

The second race was marked by incredible competition and a lot of tempers being lost at the start line as the fleet had two false starts and several boats were placed under the threat of disqualification if they offended again. The third time lucky start was a success and the sky brightened, this brightening reduced the wind and light wind experts Tom and Scarlet duly took their chance.

Once again it was Simon and Amy who played pathfinder for the fleet up the beat before being swamped by the leaders ahead of the turn. The reaches were closely fought out between half a dozen boats but up the next beat Tom and Scarlet held firm and by the start of lap three had only two others on their tail. At this point the wind lightened a little more and they fully employed their weight advantage, sailing away from the others and clinching their third victory of the regatta.

The final race was another one for the older boats and once again it was a Cornish winner. Having lost out to Tom’s weight in the previous race and engaging in a close battle with James and Esme up the first beat, local stalwart Martin Egan with crew Ruth Smith managed to remain in the leading group for most of the race before employing superb lines on the final lap to get ahead of Peter and Tom Smith, both in a ten year old wooden boats, and secure a well deserved win.

Overall Results: