Christchurch Sailing Club Easter Series

by Chris Arnell 25 Apr 2014 11:16 BST 18-21 April 2014

Christchurch Sailing Club's Summer racing programme began in fine style over the Easter Weekend with more than 40 dinghies taking part.

Race Officer Jim Newman and his race team got the fleets away cleanly on each of the 4 days and some great racing was enjoyed in all classes.

We were also joined by 12 sailors from the JETS Topper Squad for their Easter training camp on Friday & Saturday while the Hawk 20 fleet and the cruisers raced in Christchurch Bay.

Below is a summary from each fleet:

Slow Handicap Fleet (Class 5)

Benn Cobb, aged 15, won the Topper fleet Easter Series. Despite not winning a race, Ben's determination and consistency paid off with two 3rd places and a second place being enough to secure his first ever series win. Sam De La Feuillade managed 2 first places to finish second overall and 1st in the Optimist fleet.

Slow Handicap Results:

Pos	Helm	Boat Type
1	Ben Cobb	Topper
2	Sam D L Feuillade	Optimist
3	Jack Acton	Topper
4	Darren Walker	Topper
5	Drew Barnes	Optimist
6	Nick Milton	Topper
7	Sophie Walker	Topper

Fast Handicap Fleet (Class 4)

A hard fought win in the final race secured overall victory for Jack Arnell in his Finn on countback with Rory Barnes (Laser) in 2nd.

Fast Handicap Results:

Pos	Helm	Boat Type	Sail No	PY	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	Jack Arnell	Finn	644	1050	20	1	4	1	6
2	Rory Barnes	Laser	139351	1088	3	2	1	5	6
3	Luke Ridout	RS300	419	990	2	3	7	20	12
4	Liam Cure	Laser	193224	1088	6	5	3	7	14
5	Keith Anstey	Solo	5046	1146	8	7	2	20	17
6	Jenny Barnes	Laser Radial	186027	1122	12	8	5	8	21
7	Gary Mehson	Laser	185309	1088	10	20	6	9	25
8	John Ridout	Solo	4713	1146	4	4	20	20	28
9	Paul De La Feuillade	Laser	None	1088	5	20	20	6	31
10	Peter Howard	Laser Radial	162788	1122	9	6	20	20	35
11	Laurence Peters	Finn	620	1050	1	20	20	20	41
12	Jim Lawrence	RS Vision	636	1116	11	20	20	10	41
13	Simon Percival	Finn	635	1050	20	20	20	2	42
14	Joey Arnell	Splash	1118	1184	20	20	20	3	43
15	Andy Denison	Finn	20	1050	20	20	20	4	44
16	Luke Mehson	Laser Radial	122512	1122	7	20	20	20	47
17	Stuart Percival	Wanderer	1485	1160	20	9	20	20	49
18	Gail Howard	Laser Radial	136041	1122	20	10	20	20	50
19	Richard Beasley	Laser	157612	1088	13	20	20	20	53

Avon Scow Results:

Pos	Helm	Sail No	R1	R2	R3
1	Graham Fairbrass	555	4	1	1
2	Brian Crocker	1	1	2	3
3	Euan Barnes	11	6	3	2
4	Steve Cocker	121	7	7	4
5	Dave Tanner	1111	2	5	14
6	A Rushwarth	113	3	6	14
7	Ian Wright	25	9	14	5
8	Paul Macklenburg	404	14	4	14
9	Stuart Percival	99	5	14	14
10	Steven Coutler	1001	14	14	6
11	Linda Bedford	1100	8	14	14
11	H Cook	424	14	8	14
13	Jim Collins	103	14	9	14

Hawks

The first race of the Hawk 20 season took place during Bank Holiday Monday at Christchurch Sailing Club, 6 boats took part it near perfect conditions, an Olympic course was set out in the bay.

A good start was had by all, Steve Ayling onboard “Red Kite” started the new season were he left off last year and was ahead by the windward mark, a lead that was his until the conclusion of the race, further down the field Nick Watts (Hawk 40) and Colin Jamison (Hawk 301) enjoyed close racing trading positions until the final leg when Mr Watts finally pulled ahead after some slick spinnaker work.

Cruisers

With many yachts enjoying an early season rally to Yarmouth, 7 boats raced on Saturday and Monday, Chiron (D. Webber) first place in class three. Bluemoon (D. Yeabsley) first place in class one.

JETS training

12 members of the JETS Topper Squad arrived at Christchurch for training on the 18th and 19th April. The mild weather allowed the sailors to train in Christchurch bay, spending more than 4 hours on the water each day. Led by coach, Matt Goodbourne, the focus of the training camp was to refine starting techniques and to work on pre-start preparation and planning. This was the last JETS weekend of the winter and provided a great opportunity for sailors to make their final preparations for the forthcoming major Topper events.

“The JETS training focused on starting technique, in particular ‘trigger pulls’ and ‘stop tacks’” says Jack Acton, of Christchurch Sailing Club. “The training took place outside of the harbour near Mudeford in great learning weather conditions. The excellent instruction from Matt Goodbourne and Chris Arnell made sure everyone enjoyed themselves and developed their technique."