Hornets at the River Exe Regatta at Topsham Sailing Club

River Exe Regatta © Heather Davies / www.fotoboat.com

River Exe Regatta © Heather Davies / www.fotoboat.com

River Exe Regatta © Heather Davies / www.fotoboat.com

Most of the top contenders for the upcoming Hornet European Championship gathered at Starcross for the Exe Regatta, all vying to get the psychological upper hand.

There were some bleary eyes after long drives from Essex and Wolverhampton, but Saturday dawned sunny, with a nice sea breeze setting in before the start. In the first race, Strangler, sailing Duncan West's boat, took the first windward mark, but Dick Garry and Matt McGrath, in the beautifully refurbished Mr Wiggly, broke through downwind followed by local legends Tim Coombe/Jayne Smith, and Peter Bennett/John Shelton from Shoreham. The conditions seemed to suit the Lovett boats, and while Coombe kept a cover on Bennett, Garry was able to use his local knowledge to the full by sneaking into the corner by the railway to build an unassailable lead. Bennett crossed the line to silence, having missed the limit mark on one round, leaving third place to Strangler, crewed by Duncan West.

The second race was more of the same, with the Starcross boys showing the way round the course, ducking and diving out of the tide and hugging the trees.

Garry's speed was by now causing consternation, but with the tide turning, the course was changed to a figure of eight for race three, with the second mark tucked in the corner. Everyone arrived at the windward mark together, promising a raft at the next mark, but Coombe found some extra speed, and rounded clear ahead, followed by Strangler and Bennett. The long reach split the fleet, with Garry going low, but Coombe held on, with Bennett passing Strangler to take second. The last half of the fleet were left stranded by the dying breeze.

After an excellent pig-roast at Topsham SC, the following morning offered a brisk south-westerly, with some vicious gusts coming off the shore to make life interesting. The PRO laid the windward mark a bit further offshore, but it was never going to be comfortable sailing. Dave Edge and Martin Arnison from Weston were seen to be tweaking spreaders and rake, in a bid to correct their mediocre results so far. They certainly looked a bit sharper in race 4, rounding the mark with Garry and Bennett in pursuit. A hairy long run, often by the lee, provided some fun, and it was nip and tuck between these three boats all the way round. At the last mark, Garry got through Bennett, who was knitting a nice scarf under the boat with the spinnaker sheets.

Some decided to sit out the last race, including Tim Coombe, who didn't want Jayne's lovely legs to get any more bruised. As it turned out, the wind had eased somewhat, but the gusts were just as lethal, and Bennett squeezed a nice lead at the first mark, having fetched up from the line. Edge and Garry were in hot pursuit, and the lead changed several times with some truly hairy downwind gusts. Further down the fleet, Duncan West scored multiple style points with a back-flip out of the boat, and it was Mike Owen's moment of glory, crewed by GP14 rock star Adam Froggatt, bringing in the venerable Francessa in 4th place.

It was all down to the last mark, where Bennett decided to go for the difficulty points, with a nicely executed double-gybe-and-drop which was always likely to end in tears, leaving Edge to take another bullet, and Garry almost grabbing second.

In the final analysis, over an excellent tea again provided by Topsham, all now looks set for a very close championship at Sandwich. Dick Garry looks the man to beat, slotting back into the groove after some time in a plastic boat; Dave Edge could do well with a bit more boat fiddling; Tim Coombe is always difficult to dislodge, and current champion Peter Bennett needs to avoid ambitious manouevres at the wrong time. Strangler will undoubtedly be up there, when he's back in his own boat, and perhaps Steve Cooke needs to find a bit more pace with his new sails.

All in all, our thanks go to Starcross and Topsham for an excellent regatta, and we will certainly be back for more!

Overall Results: