Stratos National Championships at at Bala Sailing Club
by Ken Hull 24 Jun 2014 07:44 BST
21-22 June 2014
Not a cloud in the sky, and just a hint of the breeze to come, promised a great day's racing for the Stratos fleet for their first National event at Bala. The race officer got the first race started bang on time and a steady force 3 saw the fleet away to do two rounds of a triangle sausage course.
There was a little controversy over whether the windward boat on the start line responded to a call of "Up, Up", but once away the fleet soon settled down into what was going to become fairly consistent positions i.e. Malcolm & Howard Noyce at the front, followed by either Phil and Chris Smith or Andrew Meek and Ash Burton. Races two and three were almost carbon copies of the first, as the wind was shifty enough to make it interesting, but strong enough to provide good speed.
After dinner in the clubhouse the talk in the bar was of whether anyone could possibly catch Malcolm and Howard Noyce, the overall leaders at that point, who with 3 first's looked pretty invincible.
Sunday dawned with clear skies again but this time not a breath of wind, so after a short postponement, all further racing was abandoned and an early prize giving arranged. Malcolm and Howard Noyce were crowned Stratos Champions, with Andrew Meek and Ash Burton second, and locals Phil and Chris Smith third.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Club | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Malcolm Noyce | Howard Noyce | Seafarers SC | 332 | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | Andrew Meek | Ash Burton | Manor Park SC | 217 | ‑3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 3rd | Phil Smith | Chris Smith | Bala SC | 710 | 2 | ‑3 | 3 | 5 |
| 4th | Lynfel Owen | Ian Valentine | | 1069 | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5th | Derek Richards | Peter Wilson | Chelmarsh | 256 | ‑5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 6th | Mark Jones | Kevin Edwards | Bala SC | 745 | (DNF) | 6 | DNF | 13 |