K6 National Championship at Stone Sailing Club
by Dave Hall 19 Sep 2014 10:31 BST
11-14 September 2014
The K6 class held their class championship over 4 days at the Stone Sailing Club on the Blackwater Estuary. The fleet were blessed with a September heatwave courtesy of a high pressure area sitting over the UK. It also produced a NE gradient breeze that started the event off with a 5 – 8 knot wind building through the 4 days to a 20 knot thriller on the last day.
Neil Fulcher was ring master of the event, supported by a team that really went the extra mile to make the event genuinely special. ARO Wendy and her crew laid inch perfect courses, keeping the fleet smiling. Ashore, the food and entertainment were top draw with a games night, a tour of the Radio Caroline ship moored in the estuary, and a fresh fish buffet that arrived from Billingsgate market that morning thanks to Laura and Simon making a 4.00am start!
On the water, the first days racing was a gentle introduction to the regatta with a late start, 2 races and a light breeze. Laurence & Luka Crispin put down an early marker by taking the gun in both races followed by the 2013 champions David Hitchcock & Ian Nicholson. The dark horse of the day was a local boat from up the river – Phil Newman & Oli Southgate gave notice to the fleet that they should be counted by putting in two 3rd places. In the lighter winds the smaller crews were giving the front runners a hard time and Peter Kirkby & Richard Barker had one of their best days.
With the arrival of day 2 the wind had increased a little and this brought a couple of different boats into the mix, however it was Laurence and Luka still in command with two 1st places. Dave Hall & Paul Young being the only boat so far to take a first place from Laurence & Luka. Nick Jones & Mike Butler also had a good day putting in a third place behind the usual suspects.
Half way through the event and a number of teams one would have expected to be at the front had collected some high points. At this point it was Laurence & Luka 1st with Phil & Oli in the runner up spot.
As the isobars in the high pressure closed up on day 3 it was payback time for a couple of teams that had been waiting for the wind. With a strong tidal current in the same direction as the wind it meant long hard beats with very quick downwind legs. Dave Smith-White crewed my Martin Wedge and Riki used their power to get to the front and put in a respectable 1,3,3. Neil Fulcher & James Polston started sailing to form and in the second race of the day their local knowledge paid as they hit the right hand corner of the downwind leg to go from 6th to 2nd in spectacular style. Phil & Oli took a race but it was still Laurence and Luka who with a 1,2,2 were now in a commanding position and baring any mishaps were on to win the championship.
The final two races on day 4 brought a real blast. A day when the whole fleet could enjoy flying around the racecourse. The championship winners had already been decided with Lawrence & Luka taking a well deserved victory but the top 4 boats could all change places. Phil & Oli who were looking at hanging on to 2nd did not have a good day getting caught on the windward mark twice and allowing the two teams of David & Ian and Dave, Martin & Riki to each win a race and fight it out in the other races to take 2nd and 3rd place overall. In the middle of the fleet the 'bantom weight' crews were fighting it out in the breeze with Neil Davison and Andrew Yonge showing remarkable pace in the last race to secure 7th overall, and Nick Jones and crew claiming 8th on the countback thanks to a flying last lap. Maria Richards, Bryan and Ted were unlucky with a broken main halyard at the beginning of the penultimate race, but Maria did walk off with a nice bit of silverware as first female in the fleet.
All in all, a great event, and one that the fleet owes a real thanks to Neil and the great team at the club!
Overall Results:
1st Lawrence and Luka Crispin, 159 (Stone S.C.)
2nd Dave Hitchcock and Ian Nicholson, 155 (HISC)
3rd Dave Smith-White, Martin and Riki, 208 (HISC)
4th Phil Newman and Ollie Southgate, 230 (Blackwater S.C.)
5th Dave Hall and Paul Young, 220 (Blackwater S.C.)
6th Neil Fulcher and James Polston, 222 (Stone S.C.)
Full results can be found here.