Harken 29er Grand Prix at Dabchicks Sailing Club
by Rob Allan 11 Oct 2011 10:42 BST
8-9 October 2011
Harken 29er Grand Prix at Dabchicks © Pete Bucktrout
The penultimate Harken 29er Grand Prix of 2011 was hosted by Dabchicks on the Essex Coast. Saturday began with a moderate 12-15 knots forecast to progressively drop throughout the day and a ripping tide throwing in another variable to add to the frequently shifting breeze.
Race 1 saw fleet veteran and current National champions Phil Walker and John Mather lead the fleet from start to finish, with a big lead on Ollie Cooper / James Poyner. Phil and John then continued their winning streak putting in 2 more bullets and leaving them in first place overnight, closely followed by Jack Hawkins / Chris Thomas and Ian Payne / Chris Berry.
Having a live band perform on Saturday night as well as the galley making an excellent dinner, everyone was up bright and early on Sunday morning, ears still ringing.
Sunday morning started with a light but rapidly building breeze, with 17 gusting 25 knots forecast as well as the usual strong tide, it looked set to be an exciting day. Jack and Chris continued their good form and won the first two races of the day, with Phil snapping at their heels. The breeze settled down at about 14-16 knots for the last race after a lighter 2nd race and Callum Ellis and Will Harris leading from start to finish after a great start under the black flag.
Overall winners Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas from Restronguet SC, sailed an extremely consistent event, just piping Phil and John who were 2nd with Callum and Will (Queen Mary) 3rd, Ollie and James (HISC) 4th, and Chris and Ian in 5th ,(despite a DSQ) all separated by a meagre 3 points, with a protest, being the deciding factor. First girls went to Vicki Payne and Stephie Orton and first juniors were Matt Venables & Will Alloway.
Thanks must go to the series sponsor Harken, the great welcome and organisation from Dabchicks and the Bolingbroke’s for their great hospitality and support for the event.
After 6 events only 1 point separates the top 4 boats in the Grand Prix series and also 1 point between the top 2 girls as we approach the final non discardable final event. See you all in Northampton!
Full results can be found here.