Comet Trio National Championships at WPNSA

Trio champions Andrew and Caroline McAusland © CCCA

The 3 day Comet Trio Nationals over the August Bank holiday at WPNSA attracted 22 entries. There was plenty of wind which did not ease until Monday. On the Saturday it was a good F5 with gusts in the mid 20s kts. Indeed the launch release was delayed as a squall of 28 kts passed through. All 8 races were sailed inside the breakwater using an inverted P course with 3 laps, no swell but plenty of chop.

Race 1

Port end bias. Piglet was first around the windward mark followed by Abigail Rose. Pebbles hit the mark and had to do a turn. Go with the Flow passed White Lightning on the run. Scarlet Lady hit White Lightning near the leeward mark and had to do a penalty. On the second lap Exe-t-sea, well up, capsized at the wing mark. On the third lap Spook passed Go with the Flow on the beat only to swap places on the reaches. On the final beat Spook passed again only to be pipped on the line by White Lightning.

Race 2

Exe-t-sea, Piglet, and Go with the Flow boxed each other in on the pin end, meanwhile Abigail Rose having started midline tacked onto port early and enjoyed a big lift and was first to the windward mark and went on to win, closely followed by Contagious, Scarlet Lady and Celtic Blaze. There was big congestion at the wing mark. Kingfisher passed Go with the Flow on the second beat. As the fleet was gybing the wing mark a squall came through resulting in carnage as frantic attempts were made to drop spinnakers. Contagious, Exe-t-sea, White Lightning, Red Baron all capsized. Celtic Blaze sensibly kept the spinnaker in the bag the entire race and went on to gain 3rd place, chased by Go with the Flow 4th and Spook 5th.

Race 3

Still plenty of wind F4-5 with gusts of F6. Both Piglet and Abigail Rose showed their dominance in strong winds, but Red Baron, after a poor first day, now got into gear to gain 3rd place, chased by Scarlet Lady 4th and Spook 5th.

Race 4

F4-5 with shifts. White Lightning sailed a superb race and went onto win followed by Contagious 2nd. Abigail Rose gained 3rd place ahead of Piglet 4th, so these two were now level first half way through the championship. Spook gained his consistent 5th ahead of Red baron 6th. Exe-t-sea 7th, Scarlet Lady 8th, Go with the Flow 9th all finished within a second of each other. And so to the much needed lunch break as everything was becoming too much like hard work.

Race 5

The wind began to moderate. Go with the Flow started midline and managed to tack onto port early into clear air and crossed the fleet to be first at the windward mark and held the lead for the first lap only to let Piglet sail over the top on the reach to the wing mark of the second lap. Thereafter no change. Exe-t-sea gained 4th behind Abigail Rose 3rd, whilst Red Baron 5th was ahead of Ariel 6th.

Race 6

A keenly contested start lead to a general recall. At the second attempt the fleet got away but Woozle was over the line. Piglet gained yet another 1st, but Spook sailed a superb race to gain 2nd. Red Baron finished 4th ahead of White Lightning 5th. And so to the end of an exhausting but enjoyable day's racing.

Race 7

Monday F3-4 with shifts. Red Baron chased Abigail Rose around the course to gain a 2nd place. Contagious was well up, securing 4th place. Spook reverted to type and gained yet another 5th place. Go with the Flow, having survived all the heavy weather, managed to capsize at the leeward mark in the lightest wind of the entire weekend.

Race 8

Abigail Rose approached the first windward mark on port in the lead only to hit a header and a wall of starboard tackers and dropped 8 places. Thereafter they sailed on to finish 5th. Piglet emphatically confirmed their mark on the Championship with another 1st. Exe-t-sea sailed the whole race in second position only to be pipped on the finish line into 3rd by Red Baron, who thus secured 3rd overall.

Overall Results: