Streaker Sail Register Northern Paddle Series Round 2 at Shotwick Lake Sailing Club

Shotwick Lake Sailing Club held its first ever Streaker open meeting on Sunday 22nd April. It was also the first Northern Paddle event to be held in Wales for a number of years. Visitors from 5 clubs across the North of England and Wales joined the growing 5-boat local fleet for a day of competitive but friendly racing.

Torrential rain and strong winds on the drive to the event showed that the early summer was over and spring had definitely returned. However, on arriving at the club competitors were greeted by relatively benign conditions, if a little colder than recent days.

Race 1 was started in a force 2-3, which shifted significantly to the right in the first ten minutes of the race. Ian Priest and local sailor Paul Newman took advantage of this to gain a significant lead over the rest of the fleet, which they maintained and extended throughout the rest of the race. Racing was much closer for the remainder of the fleet, with Guy Wheeler taking 3rd place at the finish. Paul Newman finished 2nd and Ian Priest 1st.

After a short break for lunch, the two remaining races of the day were sailed back to back on a course which had been adjusted to compensate for the change in wind direction, which had settled on a direction more from the north-west.

Race 2 was sailed in the windiest conditions of the day, with some fierce gusts catching some competitors out and keeping the safety boat busy. With a starboard biassed line, space was most definitely at a premium at that end of the line. Ian Priest, Paul Newman, Pete Lawson and Guy Wheeler were all vying for the optimum position at the starboard line, and came out of the start in that order. Repeated place changes between Paul, Pete and Guy for the first couple of laps allowed Ian to break clear of this main group, and maintain this lead until the finish of the race. At the finish Pete was in 2nd place and Paul in 3rd, with Guy unfortuately having to retire due to gear failure.

Race 3 started in similar conditions to Race 2. Again, there was very close racing througout the fleet, with many changes of position during the first 2 laps. The wind then dropped off significantly, almost to nothing for a while before recovering enough to enable the fleet to get to the finish. This change in wind spread the fleet right out, and at the finish Ian Priest was 1st, Pete Lawson 2nd and Guy Wheeler in his rapidly repaired boat in 3rd.

The next event in the Northern Paddle Series is at Beaver Sailing Club on 28th April, which is also the Northern Area Championships and first event in the national Rooster Super Series.

Overall Results: