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CARRS Land Rover Flying Fifteen UK Nationals at Falmouth - Day 3

by Jonny Fullerton 30 Sep 2017 10:51 BST 27-30 September 2017

By mid-morning as the fleet went afloat for day 3 of the 2017 CARRS Land Rover Flying Fifteen National Championships in Falmouth, the odd rain shower cleared and the breeze shifted to a Westerly direction for three more races in superb sailing conditions.

With 6 races completed the championship will be decided on the final day with the top three boats separated by only 2 points. Two outstanding performances stood out today, in some slightly fresher and gusty winds. Richard Lovering and Matt Alvarado from Hayling Island SC, scored an impressive 1,2,3 to finish the day tied for the overall lead with Charles Apthorp and Alan Green also representing HISC.

The other standout crew of the day was Ian Cadwallader and Dave Sweet from Chew Valley Lake SC, who followed a 6th with two bullets, to climb up into 4th position overall.

PRO Peter Saxton again managed to get racing started bang on time at 1200 noon with another T2 Course (w/l leg followed by a triangle). The breeze began around 8 knots slowly building up into the low teens by the finish. Another well behaved start and an even split up the course on both legs of the w/l lap suggested Race Management had set a good course.

Lovering/Alvarado were the early leaders on lap 1 from Apthorp/Green and a great performance by Graham and Ben Scroggie in the mix. By the second lap, Lovering/Alvarado had established a safe lead to take the gun, but cutting through the fleet like a knife through butter was Christopher Avery and John Rohde from Draycote Water SC, who scored their best result of the championship by far crossing 2nd. The Anglo/Irish duo Apthorp/Green settled for 3rd.

The early haze began to clear and again the breeze pushed up a notch tempting race management to lengthen the course for the second race of the day. Again another clean start and again the upwind split was fairly even. Gusts begun to appear across the course and the fleet of Fifteens were able to get on the plane on the broad reaches.

This time although Apthorp/Green were the early leaders, it was Cadwallader/Sweet who was the team that seemed to be reading the conditions the best. The Chew Valley Lake crew got away with the hammer down to take their first win of the championship and become the 5th different race winner in 5 races. Lovering/Alvarado moved up to 2nd and current UK title holders, Jeremy Davy and Martin Huett (DWSC) gained places to finish 3rd. Apthorp/Green dropped to 5th and with the first discard coming into play the overall positions were very tight at the top.

Ian Cadwallader sums up his performance edge today:

"We have sailed here in Falmouth quite a bit and Dave is a local Falmouth boy so it is pretty special to get the wins and with all the hard work we put in, we enjoyed it, so yes a good day at the office."

"I have never been quite so close to the fuelling tankers that were out there and the tide was quite interesting, so there were lots of things to think about. The wind was Westerly so quite shifty, that suits a lake sailor like me. The last race was quite open out there, a bit different to the conditions we get on the lake."

The final race of the day started in slightly fresher conditions up to 14-15 knots with higher gusts. Because the PRO had done such a good job of getting races completed in the target time, the final race was stretched to 3 laps, (w/l, triangle, w/l).

The closest start of the championship to date but the direction remained fairly steady at 255 degrees. Again the form boats of the day were the leaders, Cadwallader/Sweet were on fire, extending their lead on every leg of the course from the Scroggies and Lovering/Alvarado who fought it out for the other podium places.

Richard Lovering felt he had a bit of lady luck on his side:

"We had a bit of luck in the first race of the day, we saw a bit of pin bias and popped out and had reasonable pace. The second race got a bit funky but we were fast and got a bit of luck. We managed to get some clean lanes. The third race we were very fast in the first downwind, and that got us out of jail, but we were also a bit lucky, to be honest as some of our competitors ahead of us had gear breakdowns and one guy got yellow flagged (Davy/Huett) so that gave us a few places.

We like the breezier conditions and we felt pretty fast both up and downwind today. We will have a couple of beers tonight and get a good nights sleep for the final day."

The other top contenders, Apthorp/Green struggled for pace in the final race of the day but managed to pull back to a respectable 7th, their discard. Davy/Huett also had to fight back from a yellow flag penalty on the triangle, to finish with a banker, 5th. However, the current World Champions, Steve Goacher and Tim Harper (Royal Windermere YC) had a day to forget (by their own high standards!), dropping to 6th overall with 10,7,15 for the day.

The final day of racing on Saturday has a maximum of 2 races with no start after 1500 hrs so the title will be decided on the last day.

Results after Day 3:

PosSail NoBoat NameHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1st4002Richard LoveringMatt AlvaradoHayling Island SC7‑8212315
2nd4004FoofCharles ApthorpAlan GreenHayling Island SC and National YC41335‑716
3rd3760Jeremy DavyMartin HuettDraycote Water SC12‑773518
4th4055Ian CadwalladerDave SweetChew Valley Lake SC‑104961121
5th4039Mark LongstaffBenjamin LongstaffGrafham Water SC8‑11459430
6th4021Steve GoacherTim HarperRoyal Windermere YC691107‑1533
7th4005Fiery CharriotDavid McKeeMal HartlandDovestone SC‑146124131045
8th4052David TabbChewey SherrellParkstone YC220‑21941247
9th4020Freakin' FantabulousGraham ScroggieBen ScroggieParkstone YC11‑1711817249
10th4024Really FlyingSimon KnellerDave LucasGrafham Water SC5‑141011121351
11th3922FootlooseCrispin Read WilsonSteve BrownParkstone YC123‑171661653
12th3793Fanfare IIPete AllamJo AllamParkstone YC1676(RET)101857
13th3994Mad SparksChris WaplesTom WaplesHayling Island SC‑211281514958
14th3776Dream of White HorsesChristopher AveryJohn RohdeDraycote Water SC22‑2720215867
15th4056P&B Race TeamAndrew FarmerSteve GrehamNotts County SC326(DSQ)1381969
16th3914Defying GravityAdrian TattersallRichard PopperParkstone YC‑265512252370
17th4033Sparks & Bubbles Take TWOJustin WaplesAmanda WaplesRoyal Corinthian YC‑32221914111177
18th3736WavebreakerPeter BannisterJonathan ClarkHayling Island SC1310142120(RET)78
19th4054Fiesty FerretSimon SpoltonGrant MurphyParkstone YC241313‑26181482
20th3949GofforthArthur GeorgeAndrew GeorgeBurton sailing club2016‑222021683
21st4044WindwhistlerSimon PattersonSimon ThompsonDraycote Water SC18‑231517162086
22nd4041QuindiciBill ChardJosh PreaterChew Valley Lake19151819‑241788
23rd4013More MischieffChris BowenMarion BowenNorthampton SC2518232423‑26113
24th3902Deffiant IIRichard HopeMike StensonDraycote Water SC15‑3230221929115
25th3936MaggieJeremy ArnoldAngus WrightNotts County SC23242425‑2921117
26th4048VENGeoff BaylissSimon HuntHayling Island SC27251632‑3425125
27thAUS3845Glass Half FullJohn HassenBruce BarnardSouth of Perth YC1719‑40373330136
28th3904Ffizzbuzz TooMervyn WrightHoward ShawyerDatchet Water SC29‑3029292227136
29th3513Anger ManagementWill BrooksMel BrooksFlushing SC‑363525272724138
30th4042FFoxy LadyTim O'BrienColin FerraGrafham Water SC‑372127352631140
31st3643FfizzGeof GibbonsNick GibbonsParkstone YC2828‑33233233144
32nd3939Athol KingTrevor BellisDerwent Reservoir SC3031283028(DNS)147
33rd3631FfollyChris WrightNicki HooperRutland SC‑392934283522148
34th3843SamffireMike PearceSandie AndrewsChew Valley Lake SC3133(DNS)1830DNC164
35th4027VaqueroMichael ClappPeter MorrisDatchet Water SC34‑3835313635171
36th3903VitalstatistixKeith JamiesonPatrick CondyRoyal Windermere YC4036313431(RET)172
37th3947Nick TaylorGedas PetrauskasGrafham Water SC333926(RET)DNC28178
38th3652Joint EffortMike PartridgeClaire DavisHayling Island SC‑494032393932182
39th3778Typhoon LarryGeoffrey PoveyGeoffrey PoveyBewl SC353739‑403734182
40th3463Firth of FifthJohn ThornleyMegan ThornleyUllswater YC43‑4542334036194
41st3703The 'FF' WordNick WoodleyTim JulianRoyal Cornwall YC38(RET)DNC363837201
42nd3816KIFFSJon LeeMatt Metcalf‑SmithCarsington SC42343741(RET)DNC206
43rd3971FFlanersRaymond FlanaganRobert VickersDraycote Water SC(DNS)4438434140206
44th627formerly Silver FoxBobby SalmondDavid HillRYA41413638(RET)DNC208
45th3421Wild AffairAbigail RickardMark RickardRoyal Cornwall YC‑454343424238208
46th4016Waldorf & StatlerHamish MackayAndrew LawsonRoyal Highland YC9(RET)DNCDNCDNCDNC217
47th2660FForemarkPeter NeedhamBrian WestBurton SC47‑4845444341220
48th3953No IdeaNoel WestJane MitchellNewhaven and Seaford SC444241(DNC)DNCDNC231
49th2611Fflash HarryHugh WhatleyAlex WhatleyChew Valley Lake SC484746(DNC)DNC39232
50th3732OutsiderIan HockeyValerie HockeyBlackpool and Fleetwood YC464644(RET)DNCDNC240
51st3597NymffJuliet RutherfordRuth HamblingRoyal Cornwall YC50(RET)DNC4544DNC243

For more information visit www.royalcornwallyachtclub.org/flying-fifteen-nationals

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