Crewsaver 2000 Millennium Series Round 5 at Snettisham Beach SC

Crewsaver Millennium Series 5 at Snettisham Beach © Peter Hutchinson

Fergus and Sam during the Crewsaver Millennium Series 5 at Snettisham Beach © Peter Hutchinson

Snettisham Beach Sailing Club on the Wash was host to the 2000 Class Crewsaver Millennium Series at the weekend. This was the sixth time the club has hosted the event and it is now well established in the racing calendar. Boats and crews travelled from as far afield as Finland to join the strong local fleet for a very varied weekend of racing.

Saturday morning saw the forecast strong northwesterly winds – 21–25 mph with occasional gusts 2 or 3 mph above this. This wind direction produces large waves to add to the Wash chop, making for a very interesting and at times exhilarating sail. Launching from the shelter of one of the bays it was a short sail to the inshore start, giving the spectators on the beach a good view of the racing. Race Officer Bob Fletcher set a long start line with a port bias, giving options at either end and the fleet got away cleanly first time. The conditions caught out some of those used to lake sailing – timing tacks in the 2 m waves was critical – and there were a number of capsizes that kept the rescue boats busy. It paid to go inshore on the first lap and five boats established a clear gap by the first mark – current National Champion Fergus Barnham with crew Sam Landles in 2321, Guy Tasker and Nick Maris in 2279, Janni Ikonen and Henri Koski in 2236, Alistair and Robin Barker in 22539 and Jasper Barnham and Rosie Hill in 2933. Behind this group Mark Foley and Andy Martin in 22547 and Adrian Tebbutt and Sue Falch-Lovesey in 22535 were playing catch-up after poor starts and began to work their way through the fleet.

At the windward mark the decision to put up the gennaker was critical – those who did ended up with a significant advantage. The downhill ride was about as exciting and exhilarating as it gets, surfing and planing down the face of the waves at speeds the safety boats could not match is a fantastic feeling! Most of the fleet gybed too late on the first lap, making it virtually impossible to make the gate without putting the kite away – we tried to harden up but when my crew tells me she can hardly hold on the gennaker sheets it's time to concede! After the excitement it was back upwind and fighting the waves before the downhill fun began again. Gybing earlier made the downhill fun even better! At the end of the second lap Adrian and Mark had pulled through to sixth and seventh places respectively, but there was a big gap up to the leading boats which were, by this time, picking different routes upwind. After a third lap with even more downwind excitement the final result saw Fergus and Sam, 2321 in first place, Guy and Nick Maris in 2279 in second, and Janni and Henri, 2236 in third.

No further racing took place on day one and crews returned to shore to make repairs as necessary and to partake of the food and drink from galley and bar.

Aside – why the Finns?

The strong fleet of 2000s at the Club, together with a record of producing national champions in the class, led to Janne Ikonen and Henri Koski of the Finnish Military Sailing Team contacting Commodore Adrian Tebbutt for help in their preparation for the World Military Games, to be held in Mungyeong, Korea on 2–11 October. The sailing event will be in 2000 class dinghies, and as there were no 2000s in Finland, the club was happy to help and offered the loan of a boat, some practice opportunities, tuning help and the opportunity to race in the Crewsaver Millennium Series.

Back to the sailing...

Saturday night saw the usual Snettisham Beach social – lots of food, drink and a quiz in a packed clubhouse before a late return to bed, a lie in and a race start at 11.15 the following morning.

Sunday dawned with the promised sunshine visible in the west and with the promised 10–15mph wind. All 18 boats made the start line – a big thanks to David Crossman, not able to sail due to harvesting – for the loan of a mast and centreboard to see everyone afloat. The planned three races started on time and again the starboard side of the beat was favoured on the first lap. Fergus and Sam were again first round the windward mark, closely followed by Alister and Robin and Paul Norris and Jen Whitgift in 2231. These three remained clear for the rest of the race, but behind there was some significant place changing as the wind began to die and become patchy, with Guy and Nick moving up to fourth and Chris Hall and Ed Curl up to fifth.

Crewsaver Millennium Series 5 at Snettisham Beach - photo © Peter Hutchinson

The sea breeze developed with the sunshine and began to kill the gradient wind (still visible and raising white horses a mile off shore) as race two got under way, with the beat increasingly becoming a mixture of luck added to the skills of the sailors. David Whitmore and Dawn Moffatt in 2934 rounded the windward mark first but as the wind became even lighter the downwind run to the gate and finish line saw boats caught out having sailed off with gennaker flying only to find themselves significantly out of position. Late arrivals at the windward mark gained significantly by not using the gennaker and goosewinging straight down to the gate, making significant gains. Jasper Barnham and Phoebe Charnley in 2933 were first, Alister and Robin Barker, second and James and Jenny Macgregor in 2272, third.

After a postponement the wind finally disappeared and racing was abandoned for the day.

Thanks to sponsors Crewsaver and to the staff and volunteers at Snettisham Beach Sailing Club for a fantastic weekend.

Overall Results: