707 Nationals Championship at Scarborough Yacht Club
by Julia Batchelor 11 Sep 2011 11:19 BST
21-24 July 2011
It was the turn of Scarborough Yacht Club to run the Nationals for the resurgent 707 fleet. With a local fleet of 9 boats and visitors from Scotland, Hartlepool, Burnham and Hamble, it made interesting competition for those involved.
Titled sponsorship from The Barbican and also Gill, Harken, Elvstrom and many others, gave the venue a competitive edge on and off the water.
Mixed weather and shifting winds, not only gave RYA Race Officer John Poulson some difficult decisions to make but also the whole fleet a chance, rather than the usual front runners.
Defending three times champion Jon Powell sailing “Betty” from Warsash Sailing Club with our class secretary aboard, showed why a fourth year win was on cards as his boat handling and speed took him quickly to the front of most races with local boat “Storm Chaser”, Tom Patrick, hot on his heels.
Scottish Champion Stewart Robertson in his well prepared “Cacciatore” and class chairman Paul Gray from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham in “Beaver Hunter” fresh from winning both the Eastern and Northern Champs pursued them with good boat speed, waiting for an excuse to pounce on any mistakes.
Team “Outlaw”, Dave Boatman and sons, another local boat, who have recently joined the fleet from the success of the Sonatas was constantly getting better throughout the series.
Race wins in this twelve race series were shared between Betty, Cacciatore, Storm Chaser and Hartlepool based Sharky.
Day one with winds of force 4 saw dominance from Betty with two wins and a second; Cacciatore taking the other win with a second and a third; Beaver Hunter a second and third; and local boat Second Fiddle a third.
Day two saw lighter winds, but Betty still claimed two wins and another second. Storm Chaser a first and two seconds, with Beaver Hunter and Cacciatore a third each. Team Outlaw climbed up the fleet to third.
Day 3 had four races in a medium shifting breeze - Betty two firsts and two seconds; Storm Chaser a first and two seconds, a win from Sharky; a third from Cacciatore and another third from Team Outlaw, also a third from Beaver Hunter.
Day 4 saw force 2 wins. With Betty wrapping up the series with a day to spare, Jon Powell was banished to foredeck duties! With second and third places still very much to play for, Cacciatore took a win and a third; Storm Chaser also a win and a third, with Beaver Hunter splitting them with a couple of seconds.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Owner | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 7091 | Betty | Jon Powell | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑12 | ‑5 | 14 |
| 2 | 7112 | Stormchaser | Tom Patrick | ‑5 | ‑4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| 3 | 7115 | Cacciatore | Stewart Robertson | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 6 | ‑7 | 1 | 3 | 30 |
| 4 | 7046 | Beaver Hunter | Paul Gray | 3 | ‑6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 31 |
| 5 | 7062 | Sharky | Andrew Hughes | 7 | 5 | ‑8 | 5 | ‑9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 50 |
| 6 | 7041 | Outlaw | David Boatman | 6 | ‑11 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | ‑8 | 7 | 51 |
| 7 | 7024 | Second Fiddle | Anthony & Jo Dearden | ‑8 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | ‑9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 60 |
| 8 | 7059 | Humdinger | G Simpson | 4 | ‑8 | 6 | 7 | ‑10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 65 |
| 9 | 7061 | Sin Bin | R Plowright & R Littlewood | 9 | 9 | 9 | ‑11 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | ‑13 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 88 |
| 10 | 7079 | G‑Spot | B Temple & M Eade | (15 OCS) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | ‑11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 93 |
| 11 | 7069 | Swallow | John Giles | 10 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 13 | ‑14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | ‑14 | 11 | 106 |
| 12 | 7021 | Blue Rusher | Sam Usher & Tony Owen | (15 OCS) | 13 | 12 | ‑14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 121 |
| 13 | 7075 | A Grand Day Out | Steve Bramham | (15 OCS) | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | ‑14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 121 |
| 14 | 7099 | Shameless | Roger Buxton | 11 | ‑14 | ‑14 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 125 |