3000 Travellers Trophy Round 5 at Carsington Sailing Club

The wind was up for the fifth 3000 open of 2010 at Carsington, with a F.5 gusting 6 on the Saturday, but with a F.3-5 occasionally dropping off to almost nothing on the Sunday. The more variable winds plus shorter courses on the second day meant that while the first day rewarded high-wind boat handling, day 2 required more technical skills.

Unfortunately for the rest, Joe Pester and Paul Murphy proved top dogs in all departments, and racked up a score of straight firsts. Locals Nick Arran and Mick Steer secured 2nd in each of the races they finished, but a DNS in the first race while patching up a below-par rudder, and a DNF in the last race when the aforesaid rudder failed, meant that they were beaten overall by club-mates Stewart Patience and Jenny Persson, who were consistent in 3rd place until the last race, which Joe and 'Murph' sat out, when they notched up a first.

Stewart and Jenny didn't have things as easy as their results would suggest, however, and they were frequently harried by the remaining boats, including those of Ed Walker and Chloe Tucker, and Will & Matt Archer. The latter were leading the last race until a capsize on the last beat interrupted their charge, while Chloe was suffering from transatlantic jet-lag.

Allen Bradley from Pennine SC sailed with two different scratch crews to secure 6th place, while Chris and Kathy Williams travelled all the way from Gloucester just to sail on the Sunday only to suffer from a rudder pintle failure, and had to settle for 7th overall.

Overall Results: