Enterprise Open at Frampton on Severn Sailing Club
by Phil Kirk 9 Sep 2014 08:06 BST
7 September 2014
Kirk's 10 year reign is over
As the saying goes every dog has his day and it appears that there is a new top dog in Frampton's Enterprise fleet. 8 boats including 3 visitors enjoyed close racing in light but shifty winds on Sunday 7th September for Frampton's annual Enterprise open.
The day started with a general recall followed by several boats having to round the ends on the restart. Ian Wakeling and Sean O'Neil led at the first mark but were under pressure from Phil Kirk and Lewis Bennett who took the lead by the end of the lap. They held the lead to finish ahead of Paul Young and Nancy Gudgeon who won a close battle with Ian and Sean on the last lap. Race 2 was led from start to finish by Andy and Rowan Smith of Frampton followed by Phil and Lewis and Paul and Nancy. After lunch the fleet had to tack to cross the line and Phil and Lewis took an early lead and built this to the finish. The second upset of the day was brother sister team of Daniel and Hannah Callen in sail no. 5030 which sported a wooden mast and cotton sails and were keeping the back half of the fleet honest and often challenging for 5th place.
The last race was to be the decider for the top spot. Andy and Rowan got a clean start and led at the first mark. Down the run and the reach they kept clear air and slowly built a safe lead. After a lap they were nearly a leg ahead of Phil and Lewis and seamed to safe. As always in shifty conditions a lead is never safe and Phil and Lewis were able to close right up on Lap 3 in new wind. However there was only one correct way up the beat and splitting tacks did not reward the chasing pair. Andy and Rowan won the race and with it the event.
Phil with various crews has been the first home boat since 2004 and won the event over the same period with 2 exceptions. Now there is a new top dog. Phil's weak excuse could be that he's more used to turning right, from sailing round Britain this summer, whilst Frampton's course had 3 port hand marks and only 1 starboard one. Andy and Rowan were congratulated on their win. Frampton's Solo fleet were thanked for running the day so efficiently.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Sail No | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Andy Smith | Rowan Smith | 20567 | FOSSC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Phil Kirk | Lewis Bennett | 22975 | FOSSC | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Paul Young | Nancy Gudgeon | 22901 | Midland | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Ian Wakeling | Sean O Neil | 21067 | BCYC | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Richard Leach | Alison Culverwell | 23140 | Penarth YC | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | Daniel Callen | Hannah Callen | 5030 | FOSSC | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 7 | Nicola Barrett | Ann Widdows | 19083 | FOSSC | 6 | 7 | 7 | (DNS) | 20 |
| 8 | Henry Beck | Daisy Beck | 22366 | FOSSC | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 |