Catapult Northern Championships at Carsington Sailing Club
by Stuart Ede 4 Oct 2010 13:19 BST
25-26 September 2010
Wired for speed - Gareth Ede winning the Catapult Northern Trophy © Catapult Class Association
The Bill Graham Northern Trophy passed from father to son at the Carsington Cat Open on 25-26 September, when Gareth Ede posted a perfect score at the front of a fleet of 11 Catapults competing in the gusty force 4-5 winds.
Father Stuart led for the first lap, until Paul Ellis and then Gareth got past on lap two. By lap three Gareth was in front, while Ellis and Ede Senior raced neck-and-neck. Stuart held off Ellis’s challenge on the last reach to claim second place.
Gareth pulled off a risky port tack start in Race 2 and went right up the beat to be just ahead of Ellis at the windward mark. These two stretched their lead, while Stuart Ede worked his way through the fleet to third after an incident at the start.
Ellis was lying second behind Gareth in Race 3 when he capsized allowing Stuart into second place. Pressing him hard were George Evans and Cliff Antill, who eventually overtook on the last beat to claim second and third places.
A good first beat saw Gareth Ede ahead in Race 4 with Ellis and Alastair Forrest on his tail. Cliff Antill climbed to third, while Forrest held off a challenge from Evans for fourth.
Ellis got away cleanly from a pile-up at the start of Race 5. Picking his way around the carnage Gareth Ede got a late start but went right into clean air to be pressing Ellis. Antill recovered well, having taken a penalty at the start, to move into third place. After a close fought duel, Ellis just managed to deny Ede his fifth win.
Meanwhile Evans held off a challenge from Stuart Ede for fourth place that left these two and Antill having to be split by tie-break for third overall.
Top five results
1st Gareth Ede (Filey SC), 4 pts
2nd Paul Ellis (Marconi SC), 8 pts
3rd Stuart Ede (Filey SC), 14 pts
4th George Evans (Bala Cat Club), 14 pts
5th Cliff Antill, 14 pts