Bala Easter Regatta 2018
by Mike Allen 6 Apr 2018 07:31 BST
31 March - 1 April 2018
Twenty-four competitors made it to the start line for the first race of the Easter Regatta. It was great to see plenty of keen visitors despite the poor forecast.
With the team of Dan Partington and Sarah Haywood running the racing it was a prompt midday start for the Handicap and Asymmetric fleets.
Race 1 of three back to back on Saturday started in 10 knots with at times gusting around 16 knots. The Handicap fleet went first led round by two A- Class Catamarans of Mike Allen and Owen Cox who exchanged places throughout the race with Owen always having the edge downwind as he pulled away, only for Mike to break his boom late on in the race spoiling the rest of his day! Behind the cats there was plenty going on in the mixed fleet, it was Daniel Johnson from Blithfield who took the win in his Laser. Daniel went on to win race 2 and finished the day off with a 4th place putting him 1st overall on Saturday night. Race 3 was won by Kath and Thomas Broach in a Fireball.
The Asymmetric fleet consisting of five RS Vareos who were also competing for their Inland Championship trophy and were joined by a K6, SB20 and Laser Vago, who all enjoyed a good sizes windward leeward course in some shifty and gusty winds. It was Luke Fisher who sailed the perfect day with three bullets giving him the lead overnight and a big smile for the curry on the Saturday evening.
The Easter Bunny brought competitors some well needed sunshine on the Sunday morning, especially for those who had camped! Competitors started to rig up as the wind filled to a calm force 2. In the handicap fleet Owen Cox again led the fleet round the course in his A-Class with Mike Allen constantly chasing behind. Race 1 was won by Kath and Thomas in the Fireball. Race 2 was won by the very well sailed Flying Dutchman of Julian Bridges considering the variable wind conditions. The final Handicap race of the Regatta was taken by the GP14 team of Maciej and Szymon Matyjaszczuk, who sailed a very consistent Regatta with their worst result being a 3rd place.
In the Asymmetric fleet, Steve Bales in the K6 was the quickest out of the blocks in race 1, maybe his early night on Saturday had something to do with this?! Race 2 was taken by Bala's Steve Williams in a Vareo. It was Nick Crickmore in a Vareo who took his first win of the series in the final race of the Regatta to top off his very consistent weekend.
Overall Results: (top three in each fleet)
Asymmetric Fleet
1 Luke Fisher, Vareo (Emberton Park)
2 Nick Crickmore, Vareo (Waveney and Oulton Broads)
3 Steve Bales, K6 (RAFSA / Rutland)
Handicap Fleet
1 Daniel Johnson, Laser (Blithfield)
2 Maciej and Szymon Matyjaszcuk, GP14 (Welsh Harp)
3 Kath and Thomas Broach, Fireball (Port Dinorwic))
Overall it was a great weekend at Bala SC, the club would like to thank all the visitors who made the trip, the race, rescue and galley teams who made it a success.
The next open event is the Windward Leeward Open for all classes of dinghy which is running alongside the Catamaran Open on 26th/27th May.