Hornet National Championship at Brixham Yacht Club - Day 1
by Dawn Barsley-Dale 17 Aug 2015 00:20 BST
15-18 August 2015
So, here we are at the Hornet Nationals in sunny Brixham. An excellent 22 boat fleet is currently sunbathing on the front. Yes, I did say sunny but utterly windless at the moment. Yesterday was a different matter, 10-17 knot led for interested and varied racing with most boats having a good race and a not so good one leaving the series still up for grabs.
The first race was 10-14 knots with a wind shift that resulted in many of the front runners fighting from the middle of the fleet. The breeze continued to rise to the heady strength of 17 knots and supplied some screaming reaches for the crews to enjoy. Will McGrath and Sam Woolner won with Tim Coombe and James Beer close behind.
The second race had more variable breeze but still sunny and warm. Another large windshift resulted in the moving of the windward mark during the race which the race crews carried off in a highly professional manner. A change in fortune for the front runners resulted in Nigel Skudder and Keith Hills winning the race with Rob Larke & Nic Barnes in second place.
The evening Commodore's reception in the club was accompanied by a lot of Pimms and excellent food. The fleet tucked in with relish and proceeded to assist the bar with shedding some of the bar stock... maybe it's a good idea that there is a postponement this morning...
So now we wait... and wait... and wait...
Results after Day 1:
| Pos | Helm & Crew | R1 | R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Nigel Skudder & Keith Hills | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Dick Garry & Matt McGrath | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Tim Coombe & James Beer | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | Will McGrath & Sam Woolner | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 5 | Terry Curtis & Kevin Francis | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 6 | Strangler & Pippa Rogers | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | Jo Powell & Corin Westley | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| 8 | Toby Barsley‑Dale & Andy Hay | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| 9 | Dave Edge & Martin Arnison | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| 10 | Rob Larke & Nic Barnes | 14 | 2 | 16 |
| 11 | Duncan West & Ewan Gribbin | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 12 | Tom Guy & Jamie Kelleway | 13 | 12 | 25 |
| 13 | Dawn Barsley‑Dale & Simon Evance | 11 | 19 | 30 |
| 14 | Dean & Adam Saxton | 12 | 18 | 30 |
| 15 | Gary & Tracey Haylett | 16 | 14 | 30 |
| 16 | Kevin Burt & Barry Miller | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| 17 | Ansell Davison & Alex Rogers | 21 | 13 | 34 |
| 18 | Roger & Natalie Kelleway | 18 | 16 | 34 |
| 19 | Eric Styles & guest | 20 | 17 | 37 |
| 20 | Eric Marchbanks & Alex/Stuart Crang | 17 | 21 | 38 |
| 21 | Barney Broatch & Jos Davison | 19 | 20 | 39 |
| 22 | Mike Owen & Paul Bottomley | 22 | 22 | 44 |