Comet Open at Chipstead Sailing Club
by Richard Sammons 22 Jun 2014 21:46 BST
14 June 2014
Chipstead Sailing Club held its annual Comet Open meeting on Saturday 14th June. After the survival conditions encountered by compeditors in the past three years it was something of a relief to be greeted by warm weather and relatively light winds.
6 visitors joined 15 Comets from the home fleet making 21 boats to start the first race. Guy Wilkins and Mark Wilkins both made the best of a biased line, starting at the starboard end and tacking quickly to port. The rest of the fleet seemed a little line shy which allowed Guy and Mark to build a good lead. At the midway point the leaders had a tussle which resulted in Mark taking a 720 penalty. This allowed the chasing pack of Michael Ettershank, Brian Welham and John Sturgeon to catch Mark whilst Guy built up an unbeatable lead. The four contenders for 2nd place spread out, taking different courses, on the long reach up the lake. Mark fought off Brian in a luffing battle which left Brian in a calm patch. It was then a close fought battle between Michael and Mark which was resolved when they both sailed into weed approaching the finish line near "Duck Island". So the finishing order was Guy, Mark and then Michael.
The course was changed for race 2 to allow a single beat for the whole length of the lake. John and Mark were the early leaders and had a battle up the beat. Mark came out on top and lead for the remainder of the race, just managing to cross the line before a fast closing pack caught him. It was Bob Dodds who came through to claim 2nd place.
This set things up nicely for the final race with Guy, Bob and Mark all having the chance of victory overall. Bob got away first and, when things settled down, Guy was 2nd and Mark 3rd. Mark avenged his defeat in race 1 and overtook Guy but having caught Bob was unable to pass and decided to split tacks. This turned out to be a mistake and Bob came out with a lead which he was able to hold to the finish. Mark was 2nd and Guy 3rd which was also the overall finishing order.
A special mention gors to Bob's son, Izac who is one to watch for the future. Izac came 10, 4th and 7th, giving him 7th place overall.
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Bob Dodds, C869 (Crawley Mariners)
2nd Mark Wilkins, C657 (Chipstead)
3rd Guy Wilkins, C806 (Chipstead)