Graduate Nationals at Bala Sailing Club

Graduate nationals at Bala © John Hunter

Graduate nationals at Bala © John Hunter

19 Graduates travelled to North Wales to compete in this year's National Championships, which were hosted by Bala Sailing Club in their August Regatta. In the last 12 months the fleet have added 6 new epoxy foam sandwich boats to their fleet, 5 of which had made the journey to Bala for the National Championships.

Of the 19 there were a large number of father/daughter and father/son teams. It was mentioned over the weekend, what other sport can keep a father and 14 year old daughter competing together against a 72 year old, and at times with just a match box between them.

Day 1

Race 1 saw the wind coming from the West Southwest - not an easy direction for sailors or the race officer - as wind rolled off the hills and could be simply westerly - or come from the lake to the Southwest.

The first mark was cleverly set in the middle of the lake, to avoid the dead spots under the windward shore. With a healthy starboard bias on the line Steve Cockerill and Harry Kennedy started at the committee boat and lead to the first mark, closely followed by Chirs and Jamie Parker. Steve and Harry held the lead until the first long run that required the sailors to avoid the start line on the downwind leg. A large windshit on the run gave the advantage to those who gybed early. Howard Astley-Jones and his crew Barney Proud were the first to take advantage of this shift, coming through from 4th to first at the leeward mark. They were under no pressure from the fleet until the last lap when Steve and Harry took some smart shifts to almost cross Howard, but instead opted for a lee bow which Howard tacked away from. Steve's covering tack took him back in front of a smart tack from Howard that Steve considered to be too close to avoid. Steve opted for a 720 rather than facing the vagaries of a protest and so left Howard to take the gun, with Steve and Harry holding off Chris Parker on the downwind before the short beat to the finish.

Race 2 - The wind became even more patchy as the sailors approached the start line. Despite the race officers efforts the line had a good deal of starboard bias at start time. However, he must have had second sight, as it was those who started at the port end who benefited from the first very large shift to the left with some more pressure too. John Moore and Andrew Henstock were those who took the most gains from this shift and were leading the early part of the race. David Ivans and Lesley Johnson were pressing for the lead but Howard and Barney worked their way through from finding themselves at the wrong end and took the lead on the second beat. Steve and Harry were also in contension until the jib started to fall slowly down so it resembled a bed sheet rather than a sail leaving Andy and Sue Flitcroft to take 3rd and James Bridge & Steve Blackburn 4th.

At the end of day one we had an early leader with Howard and Barney with 1,1 from David Ivans with a 4,2 followed by Steve and Harry with a 2,6. The teams relaxed by enjoyed the exploits of a local band at the club.

Day 2

Race 3 - The forecast was for winds from 10- 12 knots , building as it veered from Northwest to North 14- 36 knots. Winds in the Northwest come over the hills, particularly further up the Lake where we were sailing. The early morning breeze was patchy with none of the promised strength.

Race 3 got underway with Steve and Harry winning the Committee boat again and took an early lead to the first mark. With a total crew weight of 115 Kg they were by far the lightest crew and were able to hold the lead on the off wind legs. As the wind started to shift towards the end of the race, the wind also started to become ever more patchy. James Bridge and Steve Blackburn had crafted themselves a deserved 2nd with Steve and Harry in a comfortable lead into the last run. However, with the wind dying, the back of the fleet came through to the front on the last run. with the wind filling from behind. Howard and Barney were the most ambitious on the outside of the bunch and were paid back rounding just outside Chris and Jamie Parker and just behind Steve and Harry. Howard was able to pinch them off to take second Chris, with Steve and Harry taking line honours. That was one of the most stressful boat races I have ever sailed, Steve reported later. "I could see what was happening on the run - and I could also see the 'S' flag being prepared. Our only hope was to gybe to the inside of the bunch and hope we got the inside overlap at the leeward mark."

The teams went in for lunch and hoped that the wind would become more steady for the afternoons two races.

Race 4 - The long plane out to the start line at 'max chat' was an indication that the wind had now veered and the wind was finally up to about 25 knots plus in the gusts.

There were still patches as the wind was bouncing onto the water some distance from the Northern shore, and these patches of wind were more like rolling breeze fronts that could tack you, knock you flat in a lift or more often both at the same time!

Steve and Harry took control of the first beat taking the first shift to port off the start line with Chris and Jamie Parker and Howard and Barney in their window, but still in contention, but with the likelihood of another larger shift to the right Steve and Harry opted to footed over the other two to take control of the right. Howard tacked off to the left and came back with an even larger port lift to take the first mark in the lead from Steve. The downwind was a game between going high to get the wind first, or play it cool to get it later but also to get it stronger for longer as the wind was more consistent to the middle of the lake. Steve and Harry were able to take the first gust down low with the jib stick and came back to the gybe mark with enough speed to take Howard and Barney to leeward. The next leg was a tight fetch to the leeward mark and then another roller coaster beat. A couple of laps of this course, Steve and Harry finished relieved that they had won a race by a large margin giving them confidence to try even harder, and opted to tuck into a power bar to energise their tired bodies.

Race 5 - With points still close between Steve/Harry and Howard/Barney the last race of Sunday was still crucial. It was pretty much a repeat of race 4 but this time Steve/Harry had an even more comfortable lead as the wind started to moderate slightly. Behind them Andy and Sue Flitcroft were showing the fleet their transom as they blasted off on the downwind legs. Despite rounding the last leeward mark in second, they were passed by Howard/Barney who took an even more extreme Northern Shore route and gained the smallest gust to sneak round Andy/Sue, finishing in 3rd behind David/Lesley who took the right hand route with more wind. With Andy and Sue becalmed - they finally made it home in 7th after watching James Bridge and Steve Blackburn, Chris & Jamie Parker, James Bottoms & Anne Hulbert sneak by to take 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

Sunday evening was the Graduate Annual General Meeting which was well attended. The Class are keen to find ways to get more Graduates back to the racing circuit. Then followed the traditional Graduate Meal and raffle to take the minds off the coming forecast of light winds on the last day. The leaderboard now showed Steve and Harry narrowly in front of Howard and Barney - with David Ivans firmly in 3rd place. With all to play for the last race on day three would have to count.

Day 3

Race 6 - With the winds forecast to be very light - but now slightly more to the North, there was some hope that sensible conditions might return to the race course. The race started in a fairly steady 4-6 knots, with Steve and Harry launching off the start line, closely followed by Calum and Rory Mackensie. Steve and Harry's lead increased to the first mark - and then the wind dropped for everyone. This played into Steve and Harry's hands as they were by far the lightest crew and they managed to trickle away to a nice lead which was nearly reduced to nil on the second lap as Howard& Barney crept down the run on some fresh breeze. On the next beat Steve put a loose cover on Howard and extended their lead again. On the next downwind it was Steve and Harry's turn to get some luck with a nice breeze that took them down the lake and back to the finish whilst Howard was still stuck in a hole at the windward mark. The conditions remained frustrating for all as the fleet. Andy and Sue Flitcroft finally got their reward for a hard fought weekend by crossing the line in 3rd place just ahead of Calum and Rory Mackenzie in 4th.

The results tell a tale of some hard fought tactical racing but also of families enjoying racing together. Out of the 19 boats that entered a race 15 teams were from a family group, demonstrating that Graduates are great boats for Parent and Child and Husband and Wife teams - and perhaps even more interesting is the interest in the youth sailing scene as it is still an ideal boat for a couple of teenagers to learn race.

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Graduate nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here

1st Overall - Steve Cockerill (first over 45) and Harry Kennedy (1st Crew)
2nd Overall and Lowton Trophy Winner (no discards) - Howard Astley-Jones and Barney Proud
3rd Overall and 1st Tonne Up Trophy (fist with age of helm and crew added to over 100) - David Ivins and Lesley Johnson
8th Overall and 1st Junior Crew - Andrew and Emma Hubble
11th Overall and 1st Youth Helm - Alex Jardine and Steven Jardine
First Team - Chipstead Sailing Club