Flying Fifteen Mercedes Trophy at Datchet Water Sailing Club
by Michael Clapp 16 Apr 2018 18:23 BST
7-8 April 2018
Seven visitors from as far afield as Yorkshire, Cowes and Ireland, joined an injury depleted seven-strong local fleet at Datchet Water Sailing Club to compete for the Mercedes Trophy in the first Flying Fifteen open meeting of the year over the weekend of 7th/8th April.
The weather on Saturday was glorious (at least by comparison with recent weeks!) with wind of 10-15 knots from the south and streaky gusts giving advantage to both sides of the course at different times. Racing was tight at the top with Simon Kneller and Dave Lucas winning the first two races before being pipped in the third race by Charles Apthorp and Alan Green.
Sunday brought a glassy calm which would have yielded a great reflection of Windsor Castle if it had been visible through the mist! The Race Officer very wisely abandoned racing to allow the travellers to save a few Brownie points by returning home early after coffee and prizegiving. Overnight leaders Simon and Dave received the Mercedes Trophy for the second time while Charles and Alan were the leading Datchet boat in second place, closely followed by Brett Dingwall and Tim Scarsmark in third.
There was general agreement that Saturday's champagne conditions and racing more than made up for any disappointment on Sunday.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 4024 | Simon Kneller | Dave Lucas | Grafham Water | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 2 |
| 2nd | 3957 | Charles Apthorp | Allan Green | Datchet Water | 2 | ‑5 | 1 | 3 |
| 3rd | 3875 | Brett Dingwall | Tim Scarsmark | Aldenham SC | ‑4 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 4th | 4055 | Ian Cadwallader | Ellie Devereux | Chew Valley | 3 | ‑4 | 3 | 6 |
| 5th | 4052 | David Tabb | Chewey Sherrell | Parkstone | (DNC) | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| 6th | 4041 | Bill Chard | Amy Chard | Chew Valey | 5 | ‑7 | 6 | 11 |
| 7th | 3954 | John Hanson | Helen Selden | Datchet Water | 6 | 6 | ‑7 | 12 |
| 8th | 3391 | Mark Weston | Andy Weatherspoon | West Riding | ‑11 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 9th | 4027 | Mike Clapp | Peter Morris | Datchet Water | 7 | (DNC) | 10 | 17 |
| 10th | 3563 | Alastair Stevenson | Jeremy Valentine | Datchet Water | 8 | 10 | ‑11 | 18 |
| 11th | 3904 | Mervyn Wright | Howard Shawyer | Datchet Water | ‑9 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| 12th | 3583 | Mike Wilczynski | Jean Wilczynski | RORC | 10 | 11 | ‑12 | 21 |
| 13th | 3316 | John Christensen | Jonathan Baggott | Datchet Water | 12 | 12 | ‑13 | 24 |
| 14th | 3888 | Mike Firth | Allison ? | Datchet Water | (DNC) | 13 | DNC | 28 |