Challenger UK National Championships 2016 at Rutland Sailing Club

by Richard Johnson 30 Aug 2016 17:24 BST 26-29 August 2016

Challenger UK National Championships 2016 at Rutland © Richard Johnson

Friday 26th of August was a fine day at Rutland, with perfect conditions for racing. Most of the regulars were there, plus newcomers Peter Lawrence from Essex and Stephen Thomas Bate from Scotland. Hansa sailors Zoltan Pegan from Hungary, the 2015 European Champion, and Chris Atkin from Essex were also competing. Notably absent was our 2015 Champion, Val Millward, because of an imminent hospital appointment.

A tight battle between Zoltan and Graham Hall in Race 1 was resolved by a luffing incident resulting in Graham straddling a mark with his crossbeams, turning a potential 1, 2 score into a 4, 7 and allowing Ogston's David Driffill to take the first race. Chris Atkin set the standard for the Silver fleet, sailing around a stranded Graham on the last mark to score 6th overall.

In Race 2, the mark huggers were more careful, with the win going to Graham but a consistent Alex Hovden scored another third place with some brilliant tactics making up for having to do all the work with one arm. Chris Atkin faded to 12th but Stephen finally sorted his borrowed boat for a creditable 8th.

For Saturday, the wind changed from West to East, effectively reversing the racetrack. The fleet started and all headed left. At the mark it was Ogston's Mick Brown and David Driffill leading, with yesterday's leaders buried in the pack. Graham Hall is fast offwind and caught them on the last lap, overtook David but didn't look as though he would take Mick. As they rounded the last mark, Mick looked safe but Graham found an extra gear, pointed slightly higher and made straight for the line. Mick had to tack and lost by a few inches! In Silver, Chris had his worst race, losing to Alan Bradley.

Challenger UK National Championships 2016 at Rutland - photo © Richard Johnson

Again in Race 4, the fleet headed left, except Pauline Shaw and Jane Houchin, who tacked into a slight lift. At the mark, it turned out that Right was Might, as Pauline was leading by 30 metres, with Jane third. Down the reach Pauline extended her lead, gybed round mark 2 and headed off at speed, then disaster! She was aiming at mark 4 instead of 3 and lost several places getting back on track, then the mainsheet tangled around the rudder and she went from Hero to Zero, finishing 12th. The weather struck in the afternoon, with two dramatic cloudbursts affecting both races and the day ended in thunder and lightning but, incredibly, the wind remained steady, leaving Hall the clear overnight leader.

The final two races were very different. The fleet was split into A and B, based on the series results. Non-discardable Medal Races on windward-leeward courses would make a nail-biting finish, with the Top 10 (A) starting before The Rest (B) and scoring double points, just like the Olympics!

The A fleet raced down the final run, most indulging in the "compulsory" sail pumping that is so dramatic for Finns and Lasers. Mark Fletcher out-trimmed the others and nearly fell out of the boat with the excitement of crossing the line first. B fleet winner was Pauline Shaw, making up for the previous navigational hiccup by just snatching it from Christine Spray on the reach to the line. The 10-boat starts, 1,000 metre beat / run and reaching finish did cause changes. Peter Lawrence won the last B fleet race, to claim Silver, Christine Spray won Gold with two second places and Pauline's win, plus an 8th was enough for Bronze.

Challenger UK National Championships 2016 at Rutland - photo © Richard Johnson

Overall Results:
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R1	Gold (A)	Graham Hall	R270	Rutland	Gold	R4	R1	R1	R5	R1	R1	R8	R2	R18
2	Silver (A)	Zoltan Pegan	263	Hungary	Gold	7	2	4	1	2	2	4	6	21
3		David Driffill	179	Ogston	Gold	1	5	3	4	9	3	6	10	32
4		Jack Alderdice*	281	Rutland	Gold	2	4	7	2	3	4	14	4	33
5		Alex Hovden	188	Papercourt	Gold	3	3	5	6	4	5	12	12	44
6	Bronze (A)	Mark Fletcher	298	Rutland	Gold	5	10	6	3	10	10	2	14	50
7		Chris Atkin	261	Hanningfield	Silver	6	12	13	7	5	9	10	16	65
8		Mick Brown	134	Ogston	Gold	8	7	2	8	13	11	18	18	72
9		Alan Bradley	297	Rutland	Silver	9	9	11	11	11	8	16	8	72
10		Diana Faulks	288	Rutland	Gold	13	6	8	9	6	7	20	20	76
11	Silver (B)	Peter Lawrence	87	Hanningfield	Silver	14	13	14	10	7	14	28	22	108
12	Gold (B)	Christine Spray	228	Rutland	Gold	12	16	15	13	8	13	24	24	109
13	Bronze (B)	Pauline Shaw	266	Grafham	Gold	10	11	9	12	16	15	22	32	111
14		Stephen Thomas Bate	122	Annandale	Gold	19	8	12	14	15	6	36	28	119
15		Dean Abra	218	Isle of Sheppy	Silver	18	15	16	20	14	12	26	30	131
16		Jane Houchin	254	Oxford	Silver	15	17	18	15	12	17	32	26	134
17		Caz Jerromes	301	Rutland	Silver	16	18	17	20	17	16	30	34	148
18		John Roberts	290	Rutland	Silver	11	14	10	20	20	20	40	40	155
19		Mark Ashley	303	Rutland	Silver	17	19	19	16	20	20	34	36	161