Hunter Formula One Nationals at Rutland Sailing Club

by John Ball 2 Jul 2005 07:47 BST 24-26 June 2005

Sixteen yachts competed for the 2005 Hunter Formula One National Championships held at Rutland Sailing Club on the 24th to 26th of June 2005. Competitors travelled from Southern Ireland, Lake Windermere and Poole to take part in the seven race series.

Day one proved tricky for Race Officer Richard Johnson and the competitors as the light NE winds were shifting through 70 degrees. Race one allowed previous National Champion and Paul Harkeness and crew sailing Enigmatic from the Royal Windermere Yacht club to quickly establish control with a sizeable lead and then take the win from local RSC boats, War Department and Kingfisher. The light shifty winds took their toll on the remainder of the days racing which was abandoned to the Saturday.

Day two provided crews with a steady Force 4 NE breeze. Jou Jou (Dermot O'Morchoe) from Courtown SC in Southern Ireland took race one when race leader Whisky Mac (Steve Pirnie) lost a diamond shroud on the final downwind leg. Race two became a battle between Enigmatic, Typhoon (John Walsh) and J Ne Mac (Bob Sherriff) with Paul Harkness and crew giving a top performance to take the race. J Ne Mac took race three from Kingfisher (Chris Wright RSC). Race four saw Paul Harkness return to form and take line honours ahead of Whiskey Mac (Steve Pirnie, Parkstone SC).

Day three produced a force 2-3 NE with Paul Harkeness on Enigmatic needing to finish in the top five to take the series. This he did with a second place in the first race to take the trophy back to the Lakes for the secong time. All the more impressive as Paul had only purchased the boat a few months prior to the event from the auction site ebay.

Thanks go to Race Officer Richard Johnson and his team and all the staff at Rutland Sailing Club for making this another sucessful year.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	Pts
1st	8048	Enigmatic	Paul Harkness	Andy/Jeff/Laura	RWYC	12
2nd	8020	J Ne Mac	Bob Sherriff	Monica/Marty/Martin	Courtown SC	27
3rd	8050	Tenacious	Paul Bankroft	Neil / Mary	RSC	27
4th	8030	Kingfisher	Chris Wright	Big Will/Dave	RSC	29
5th	8060	Whiskey Mac	Steve Pirnie	Mike/Darren/Chris	Parkstone SC	30
6th	805	Jou Jou	Dermot O'Morchoe	Jonathon/Aoibheann/William	Courtown SC	32
7th	8024	Typhoon	John Walsh	Mi Jones/C Kent	Courtown SC	32
8th	8018	Tearaway	Bruce Bonar	Andrew/Fiona/Ben	RSC	39
9th	7293	Hi Fly	Paul Doran	Jan/Pat/Simon	Coutown SC	40
10th	8044	Hitch Hiker	Tom O'Connor	Dara, Guette/Neil	Courtown SC	49