2015 Bottle Boat Championship at Waldringfield Sailing Club
by Roger Stollery 15 Sep 2015 06:44 BST
13 September 2015
A warm break in the weather allowed another great radio sailing event, this year sponsored by 'Gone Sailing - personalised mugs from the coast'. It was sailed in a very relaxed atmosphere by 14 competitors from all over the country and provided a marvellous spectacle for family supporters and friends that lined the banks of the beautiful River Deben.
The scene
20 races were run in front of Waldringfield Sailing Club in ideal conditions: unusually warm and sunny weather with a NNW wind blowing 3-8 in mph, initially with the tide, but in the afternoon against the tide. The course was parallel to the shore in front of the clubhouse, which gave the opportunity for these colourful one designs to use the strong tide in the middle of the river for easy 'beating' on the 120 m sausage course, sharing the water with big yachts that were cruising by.
The morning racing
Racing against tide and wind was tricky to start with because of the strength of the tide and many kept going aground as they hugged the shoreline to keep in the slackest tide. The reigning champion, Rob Vice looked set to do well by winning the first 2 races. Alan Viney won the third and young Brilly Vice won the forth, but Rob had technical difficulties in Races 6 and 7 so that the leaderboard at lunchtime was headed by Bernard Kufluk, who won those two races to score 15 points, followed by Graham Viney with 17 and CJ Vice with 18.
The barbecue
A relaxed lunch was enjoyed by 79 competitors, their families and new WSC members thanks to the efforts of Jo McArdle, Rani Pert, Mick and Margaret Lake.
The afternoon racing
As the tide had turned, the pace of racing speeded up as it was much easier to beat with the tide and run against it. Rob continued to dominate with 5 more wins, but Graham was very consistent with 4 wins, as was CJ with 3 and Alan picking up another win in Race 18. It was good to see the youngest competitors really enjoying the event and improving their skills by the end of the day.
The prize giving
The two Championship trophies and the prizes, in the form of mugs with a BOTTLE boat image, sponsored by 'Gone Sailing' and made in Waldringfield were presented by WSC Commodore, David Copp. PRO Roger Stollery thanked Margaret Lake and the barbecue team and his family for making up the race team with John Smith doing some boat rescue and mark moving. Rob thanked the organisers for making such a good job of this very special event.
Overall Results:
1st Rob Vice (Guildford) 31pts
2nd CJ Vice (Guildford) 45pts
3rd Graham Viney (Guildford) 52pts
4th Bernard Kufluk (WSC) 67pts
5th Alan Viney (Guildford) 72pts
6th Noel Fraser (WSC) 75pts
7th Mike Pert (WSC) 98pts
8th Matthew Lake (WSC) 127pts
9th Brilly Vice (Guildford) 133pts
10th Simon Kernthaler, 148pts
11th Sarah/Oliver Stollery, 154pts
12th Dot Fraser (WSC) 171pts
13th Gary Sanderson (Abington Park) 198pts
14th Henry Kernthaler, 240pts
Junior Championship
1st CJ Vice, 45pts
2nd Brilly Vice, 133pts
3rd Oliver Stollery, 154pts
4th Henry Kernthaler, 240pts