Crewsaver 2000 Millennium Series Round 7 at Bala Sailing Club

2000 Welsh Championship at Bala © John Hunter

2000 Welsh Championship at Bala © John Hunter

The final installment of the 2000 Class Association Crewsaver Millennium Series incorporating the Welsh Championships took place over the weekend of the 10 - 11th October 2015 hosted by Bala Sailing Club. 19 boats made the journey to Bala, including Richard Harvey and Mick Steer who won the Welsh Championships at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club in 2014 and current Millennium Series leader Ali Barker with crew James Sargent.

The forecast had been very unpredictable until days before the event and the forecast was light variable winds, with the topography surrounding Bala Lake this made for tactical racing and required crews to be surveying the water for opportunity's and not to get caught out sailing into areas of no wind.

Saturday the 'Bala mist' greeted the competitors, which was typical of the forecast. The crews congregated on the foreshore rigging boats and with the mist lifting small patches of wind started to develop and eventually after the race briefing the competitors launched. The wind direction from the east was not ideal but afloat the 'AP' flag was displayed to allow a little more time for the wind to establish.

Race 1 eventually got under way and with the 2000 being the 3rd start of the schedule, following the Blaze class inlands, this provided the competitors vital information on how to tackle the first beat. The first beat was testing and a majority of the fleet opted to sail towards the left hand side of the beat in order to pick up the port layline and benefitting from the lift, however this plan came a little more difficult the further towards the mark you sailed as the wind shadow and shifts became more pronounced, some boats opted to sail the shifts up the middle left and the more accomplished sailors who could maintain boat speed in the tacks benefitted, but the lifts were few and far between and it was a matter on 2-3 boats lengths of being in a lifting breeze or not which proved to be frustrating to many. The first run was notably a small group of boats that managed to stretch away from the main pack. The first boat to cross the line was Richard Harvey with crew Kate Franklin, second went to RAFSA's Ali Barker and James Sargent and taking third were the husband and wife team of Chris and Gillian Jordan.

2000 Welsh Championship at Bala - photo © John Hunter

The wind was continuing to be an issue for race 2 and 3 the shifty and light winds with pockets of gusts proved again to have big gains and losses around the racecourse. After 3 races the overnight leaders were Ali Barker / James Sargent on 5 points and the lying second on 6 points were Richard Harvey / Kate Franklin. Saturday night the club provided a fantastic Italian themed 3-course dinner for £10 per head which coupled with the local free flowing ale all made for a great night.

Day 2 started on a clear Bala Lake with a light breeze in the morning and there was an excitement that the wind would build during the day. However this breeze didn't materialise but continued to be a few knots more than the previous day. Competitors launched, some with plenty of time to gain that vital local knowledge needed to capitalise on the small variations on the water.

2000 Welsh Championship at Bala - photo © John Hunter

Race 4 got under way and again there was a noticeable gain on the left hand side, but it was down to the nerve of the crews on whether to take to 10 degree header to sail towards the breeze and the lifting left hand side of the course. This was clearly the case when after a poor start at the pin end of the line in race 5, Richard Harvey / Kate Franklin decided to sail to the left and rounded 2nd at the windward mark.

So with a master class in light wind sailing and gaining two bullets on day 2 Richard Harvey and Kate Franklin managed to finish 1 point in front of RAFSA's Ali Barker and James Sargent to take the Welsh Championships for the second time. Ali Barker and James came second but took the overall winner of the 2000 Class Crewsaver Millennium Series showing that with consistent results Ali has made a significant impact in his first season sailing the 2000, certainly one to watch for the Nationals next year, which is taking place at Castle Cove Sailing Club, Weymouth 13-19th August 2016.

Overall Results: