Shearwater class at the Stokes Bay Sailing Club cat open
by Derek Williams 14 Sep 2005 08:01 BST
10-11 September 2005
The Shearwater road show rolled into Stokes Bay on Friday night to compete in the Cat Open.
Due to worries over recent ‘Traveller activities’ the club stopped us from camping on the grass, as is the norm, Alan Howland fought and won a verbal battle with all and sundry winning us the right to camp in the public car park! I know this sounds a bit grim but actually it wasn’t that bad.
This event receives a mixed reception from the Shearwater fleet, mainly due to the huge range of cats travelling at different speeds, at angles that suit their own individual sail plan. It becomes very confusing on the water when all the entries are on the circuit, you need to stay alert and know your rules, which made the “Handy guide to racing rules” handed out by the Dinghy Magazine to all entrants very good bedtime reading. The Race committee did a fantastic job keeping the two main fleets apart
There are two things that surprise people about our Shearwaters when we attend this kind of event. The first is that there are no two alike, due to the fact that we are a development class and we put a lot of ourselves into our boats.
The second being that the Shearwater is 50 years old next year! Still looking good and able to hold its own in handicapped racing against the newer more nondescript boats with Alan Howland and Lee Saunders proving the point on board Ally Cat, being placed 4th overall!