Catapult Open at Grafham Water Sailing Club
by Stuart Ede 20 Oct 2005 08:26 BST
15-16 October 2005
The Grafham Cat Open on 15/16 October also formed the final Catapult TT event of 2005. Sun and force 3-4s made for an excellent hull-flying climax.
Paul Ellis dominated the event with five wins in five races. The real competition was for second place between Cliff Antill and Stuart Ede. Each took it in turns to take second place behind Ellis, so that the final race became a decider between these two.
Antill tried a port tack flyer at the pin end, but Ede came down the line on starboard and forced him to tack. After the first lap Ede was lying third behind Ellis and Alastair Forrest with Antill in fourth. Ede moved up to second on the next lap, but on lap three Antill leapfrogged both Forrest and Ede. The front order stayed Ellis, Antill, Ede until the last lap, when Ede found more pressure and a lift on the final beat to overtake Antill and claim second place.
Ellis’s victory in the event not only confirmed his dominance of the Catapult fleet as winner of the 2005 TT series (in which Antill came second and Fred Woodley third) but also earned him second place in the Cat Open’s Medium Handicap fleet.
Overall Results:
1st Paul Ellis, 4pts
2nd Stuart Ede (Filey SC), 9pts
3rd Cliff Antill, 10pts
4th Dave Jennings (Aquarius SC), 17pts
5th Fred Woodley (Emberton Park SC), 17pts