Fastsail Regional Open at Southwold Sailing Club
by Jeremy Taylor 30 Jun 2005 09:12 BST
25-26 June 2005
Action from the Fastsail Regional Open at Southwold Sailing Club © Jeremy Taylor
Southwold Sailing Club hosted the first Fastsail regional Open over the weekend 25th/26th June. Fastsail is the umbrella organisation formed 2 years ago to provide big fleet racing for the symmetric classes. The classes belonging to the organisation include the Javelins, Ospreys, FD’s, Fireballs, 5o5’s, Hornets and 470’s. Three of the classes made the trip to Southwold with a fleet of 26 boats including 11 5o5’s 12 Javelins and 3 Hornets.
Racing on Saturday was held in fantastic conditions, with the wind ranging from 18-26 knots and a lively sea. The course for the day was an inverse Olympic (sausage-triangle sausage) with the fleet split into two separate starts, 5o5 and Hornet/Javelin.
The 5o5’s were first away and Martin Hodgson and Adrian Miles from Stone SC showed great mastery of the conditions beating current National Champion Charlie Walters and Dougal Cram by 17 seconds. Walters/Cram were a further 2 minutes ahead of 3rd placed Rob Napier and Matt Bristow.
In the handicap fleet it was a Javelin 1-2 with Richard Smith and Ed Dyson winning from the Earl brothers, the Hornet of Strangler and Simon Evance took 3rd.
With the wind increasing and tide about to turn and a third of the fleet having headed in already it was decided to finish the racing for the day.
Much like the laser 4000/5000 fleets a fortnight ago most took the opportunity of the early finish to explore the town and sample the Adnams before returning to the club for an evening barbeque.
Racing on Sunday started promptly at 10:30, with 3 races planned to catch up. Racing took place on a traditional Olympic course, with the legs slightly shorter than the previous day to reduce the race time in the lighter conditions. The weather was in contrast to the previous day’s strong winds and cloudy skies the sailors were treated to superb conditions with a 10 knot Northerly breeze, sunshine and flat seas.
In the 5o5 fleet Terry Scutcher and Christian Diebitsch dominated the days racing winning all 3 races with the rest of the fleet having a mixture of results. In race 2 Scutcher/Diebitsch won from Walters/Cram, with Hodgson/Miles 3rd. Race 3 saw Scutcher/Diebitsch winning again this time ahead of Christopher Dando and Donald Sloan in 2nd and Walters/Cram 3rd.
Scutcher/Diebitsch completed their hat-trick in race 4 beating Walters/Cram by 23 seconds with Rob Napier and Matt Bristow taking 3rd.
Results in the handicap fleet were dominated by the Javelins and Smith/Dyson in particular. They took a 2nd in race 2 behind the Earls with Brian Dixon and Kathryn Partington-Smith taking 3rd. In race 3 Dixon/ Partington-Smith took their first win of the weekend with the Earls adding another 2nd place and Smith/Dyson 3rd. This left things very close going into the final race with the Earls holding a narrow 1 point lead over Smith/Dyson. Smith/Dyson made sure of things by taking the final race win ahead of Dixon/ Partington-Smith with Tim Greenaway and Liam Packham making it a clean sweep for Glossop boats in 3rd place.
Overall the winners of the first Fastsail Regional Open were Terry Scutcher and Christian Diebitsch from Shotley SC with fellow 5o5 sailors Charlie Walters and Dougal Cram 2nd and Richard Smith and Ed Dyson the first javelin and 3rd Overall.
Overall Results:
5o5 Fleet:
1st Terry Scutcher and Christian Diebitsch (Shotley SC)
2nd Charlie Walters & Dougal Cram (Datchet Water SC)
3rd Rob Napier & Matt Bristow (Bowmoor SC)
Javelin Fleet:
1st Richard Smith & Ed Dyson (Glossop & District SC)
2nd Brian & David Earl (Chichester YC)
3rd Brian Dixon & Kathryn Partington-Smith (Glossop & District SC)
Overall Handicap:
1st Terry Scutcher and Christian Diebitsch, 5o5
2nd Charlie Walters & Dougal Cram, 5o5
3rd Richard Smith & Ed Dyson, Javelin
For full results and photos from the weekend see the websites of Southwold Sailing Club or Fastsail.