505 Open at Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club
by Ben Iliffe 21 Apr 2016 15:34 BST
16-17 April 2016
The weekend welcomed 11 505's to the Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club (IOSSC) who shared the course with 8 Cherub Class boats. The forecast was for 15-20 knots WSW and it didn't disappoint.
Saturday saw tight racing between all the boats. The older local boats sailed by Mick Greenland/Chris Goymer and Russell Wheeler/Lee Marriott sailed within a boat length of each other from the start to finish. Wheeler/Marriott just pipping the local rivals at the finish of race one and snapping at the heels of the newer modern fleet ahead won by Scutcher/Diebitsch.
Race 2 had a similar pattern with all boats rounding the windward mark all with a minutes of each other. It was make or break whether to go left or right of the course down wind. Those opting to go right found the advantage, but not by much. It was busy at the leeward mark and it was those who kept their cool and had the better drills who rounded the mark first. As it was the first event of the season the winter cobwebs where quick to disappear but not without errors. Scutcher/Diebitsch took there second win of the race comfortably.
The final race of the day saw many tired faces, The experienced boats having the advantage. The start was clean by all, but more school boy errors at the windward Mark saw at least 3 boats on their side, including the locals. Scutcher/Diebitsch maintained their composure to take a third win.
Sunday's scheduled 3 races was cut short by lack of wind. The forecast was for 10-15 knots but it never arrived.
Race 4 of the original 6 took place and saw the heavier boats near the back of the fleet and more frustration as the tide started to take hold. Race 4 saw the shock result for the classic of Greenland/Goymer taking 5th place proving that all boats of any age are competitive.
Race 5's sequence was started but postponed with 1 minute to go and then abandoned as the wind dropped further.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 9124 | Terry Slutcher | Christian Diebitsch | Stotley | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 3 |
| 2nd | 8514 | Ben Idlle | Richard Nurse | HISC | 3 | 2 | ‑5 | 2 | | 7 |
| 3rd | 8963 | Martin Hodgson | Adrian Miles | Stone SC | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | | 8 |
| 4th | 9093 | Tudor Owen | Tom Bruton | Whitstable SC | 2 | ‑5 | 3 | 4 | | 9 |
| 5th | 9156 | Mike Pickering | Mike Priddle | Restronguet SC | 5 | 4 | 4 | ‑9 | | 13 |
| 6th | 9158 | Paddy Lewis | Tom Holland | Datchet Water Sc | 6 | ‑7 | 6 | 6 | | 18 |
| 7th | 9125 | R Deane | Tim Williams | Rock SC | 7 | 6 | (DNF) | 8 | | 21 |
| 8th | 8991 | Nick Meadow | Jules Knights | Royal Middle Wallop Sailing Club | (DNF) | 8 | 7 | 7 | | 22 |
| 9th | 8243 | Mick Greenland | Chris Goymer | IOSSC | ‑10 | 10 | 9 | 5 | | 24 |
| 10th | 8432 | Russ Wheeler | Lee Marriott | IOSSC | 9 | 9 | 8 | ‑10 | | 26 |
| 11th | 9039 | Hamish Gledhill | Adrian Thear | West Riding SC | 8 | 11 | (DNS) | DNC | | 31 |