Byte Open at Bowmoor Sailing Club
by John Banbrook & John Saunders 4 Nov 2015 14:57 GMT
30-31 October 2015
Bowmoor Byte Open © John Saunders
Halloween Bytes!
Bowmoor hosted an Open event for our fastest growing fleet this weekend, Byte CII, CI and Standard Rigs. The forecast was a little scary on Friday, with strong wind and heavy rain; however, 15 sailors turned-out to brave the weather and they were rewarded with some excellent training led by 4-times National Champion, Rick Whitehouse from Combs SC in Derbyshire. The training day was followed by a trip to the Kushi Restaurant in Lechlade for a curry and a good chance to meet and greet our travelling guests.
On Saturday, 17 sailors entered the Open; this is the largest fleet of Byte's since the UK hosted the Worlds in 2008. There are some good photos on the Bowmoor Facebook page showing all the fun! Race Officer John Banbrook and his race team ran two races back-to-back prior to lunch in a very light and shifty breeze. The weather on Saturday was closer to a warm Spring day than mid Autumn. The Fleet of 17 comprised 13 CII boats, 2 CI boats and 2 with Standard rigs. All sailors went on a single start.
Youngster Ryan Bush from Bristol Corinthians, took the first race from Rick Whitehouse, Combs SC with Andy Sant also from Combs in third. Charlie Sansom, came a very credible fourth after pushing his self bailer through the bottom of his boat and thereafter adopting some comedy positions to try and avoid filling his cockpit full of water! Matt Banbrook in his CI shared a 6th position with Zoe Bazen and Teresa Doran finished in 9th in her Standard Rig - an excellent result!
In race 2, Rick Whitehouse reversed positions with Ryan to put them equal on points going into lunch, closely followed by Andy Sant with his second third place. Charlotte Hitchmough finishing 4th as the top Bowmoor sailor. After a Pat & Stan lunch taken on the patio in the sunshine the wind dropped even more for race 3 and the race officer altered the course slightly to shorten the beat and to try and get a better reach. Rick Whitehouse won the race from his club mate Andy Sant with Charlotte finishing in 3rd. Ryan had a difficult start and whilst he pulled through the Fleet, he was only able to finish in 7th place. With temperatures rising, and the wind disappearing, the race officer was forced to abandon the final race.
Congratulations to Rick Whitehouse as overall winner and also to Charlotte Hitchmough finishing 4th and highest placed Bowmoor sailor. Matt Banbrook was the highest placed CI and Standard Rig.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 3561 | Rick Whitehouse | Combs | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 891 | Ryan Bush | BCYC | 1 | 2 | ‑6 | 3 |
| 3rd | 1677 | Andrew Sant | Combs | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4th | 0 | Charlotte Hitchmough | Bowmoor | ‑5 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 5th | 2957 | Charlie Sansom | Bowmoor | 4 | ‑5 | 4 | 8 |
| 6th | 3583 | Emily Milne | Bowmoor | 8 | ‑9 | 5 | 13 |
| 7th | 3588 | Zoe Bazin | Bowmoor | 6.5 | ‑7 | 7 | 13.5 |
| 8th | 3584 | Matt Banbrook | Bowmoor | 6.5 | ‑10 | 8 | 14.5 |
| 9th | 3577 | Rachel Moore | Weston | ‑12 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| 10th | 3563 | Maggie Futcher | Weston SC | 10 | 8 | ‑12 | 18 |
| 11th | 3568 | Tom Cooke | Bowmoor | ‑11 | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| 12th | 3591 | Ollie Cooke | Bowmoor | ‑14 | 13 | 9 | 22 |
| 13th | 447 | Teresa Doran | Bowmoor | 9 | 14 | ‑15 | 23 |
| 14th | 3572 | Angela Oakley | Haversham | 13 | 12 | ‑14 | 25 |
| 15th | 3130 | Josh Relph | Bowmoor | 15 | ‑17 | 13 | 28 |
| 16th | 457 | Carline Doran | Bowmoor | ‑17 | 15 | 17 | 32 |
| 17th | 664 | Elspeth | Bowmoor | ‑16 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
The Byte is an ideal boat for lighter helms. We now have 14 active Byte sailors at the Club and Emily Watson is our new enthusiastic Fleet Captain. Please contact Emily or John Banbrook if you think you might be a Bytesize sailor.
From the point of the Byte Class Association this was an excellent weekend with a good turnout of enthusiastic sailors encompassing all ages. The competitors both male and female had one thing in common - reasonable weight. Be they an enthusiastic child or an experienced neo-veteran, everyone enjoys these frisky little boats. Bowmoor has realised this and with commendable enthusiasm they have grown the fleet to a sustainable level. 17 boats looked great out there on such a lovely day. It was also good to see a couple of C1's sailing. The C1 has a smaller rig than the C2 but to the watching eye looks identical, unlike another single handed class with a variety of sail sizes which looks odd and awkward! There were also two 'Classic' rigs sailing which was good to see. This is a cheap way into the class as these boats can be purchased very cheaply the later updated to C1 or C2 with little modification.
Rick Whitehouse was an excellent winner sailing in his usual reliable unflustered style but harried by Ryan Bush who won the first race with his entertaining 'try anything' style. Andrew Sant was a creditable third.
After the racing the results for the traveller were announced with Louis Saunders taking the trophy. Louis was not present the trophy being received by Louis father from retiring Class Chairman Eddie Pope. We all thank Eddie for his enthusiastic services and look forward to a new era with Rachel Moore in control.
The year ends on a positive note with increased numbers and vibrant enthusiasm. The future's bright... the future's Byte!