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Melges 15

4000 Open at Rutland Sailing Club

by Neil Heffernan 28 Oct 2016 11:31 BST 22-23 October 2016

Rutland Sailing Club again provided a cracking venue for the final event of the 4000 season.

Saturday saw arriving crews greeted by less wind than had been forecast, but it filled in sufficiently for racing to get underway as planned. John and Fran made a strong start to the event, scoring a first and second in races one and two, with locals Tim and Harry chasing them hard in the first and then winning the second race. The third race of the day was notable for a photo finish between three boats, with Alex and Charlotte, Richard and Alex, and Neil and Jo crossing the line with inches between them after 45 minutes of hard racing. Meanwhile Trevor and Bernoit – visiting from Belgium - continued to finish very strongly.

Day two dawned with much more wind, and with some real snakes and ladders gusts. John and Fran again started strongly with a first in the opening race of the day. Race 5 was eventful – both yellow boats turned back after the start suspecting they had been over, but Tim graciously corrected Neil and Jo and sent them back in the right direction, knowing that it had been he and Harry who had been over. Still the start shenanigans didn't affect either too badly and by lap three Tim and Harry were in second with Neil and Jo behind. John and Fran in first were clearly enjoying things too much and rather than finishing, set off on an extra lap after their third – followed by Tim and Harry. Grace of their fine counting ability Neil and Jo converted their third into a first by finishing!

The last race of the day turned into two match races. Trevor and Bernoit had secured third, but Tim and Harry had everything to race for against John and Fran, with Neil and Jo fighting Alex and Charlotte for fourth. Some incredibly close racing saw John and Fran keep first and Alex and Charlotte keep Neil and Jo (just) behind them to take a well-deserved fourth.

Special mentions to Dominic and Emily from Penine SC, great to see them at the event, and commiserations to Dave and Matt who spent the event hoping for considerably more wind to regain the big-boy pace that they demonstrated at the Europeans. Thank you to Carolyn (sailing with Russell – welcome back!) for hosting so many of the fleet!

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1st4682John RenoldsFran HowellGrafham SC1221‑517
2nd4546Tim LittHarry LittRutland SC‑2112228
3rd4423Trevor PeirceBenoit PeeterssenSNEH33‑444317
4th4600Alex CrampCharlotte HeffermanGrafham SC4‑8633420
5th4343Niel HeffermanJo MorrisonQueen Mary S C‑65561522
6th4568David MarchantMatt ReynoldGrafham SC77376(DNS)30
7th4572Richard de FleuryAlex LittYorkshire Dale SC56957(DNS)32
8th4094Russel MeadCarolyn MorganRutland SC847(DNS)DNSDNS39
9th4277Domic BarnesEmily CapplemanPennie SC998(RET)8640