PODD 2018: 50,000 lightning strikes and 6 Fireballs

by Arthur Phillips 31 May 2018 06:47 BST 26-27 May 2018

PODD 2018, the only sailing event in the south west for solely for double handed dinghies, took place over the bank holiday weekend of 26th/27th May and attracted an eclectic mixed fleet of Albacores, 4000s, RS200s, RS800s, B14s, Ospreys, Merlin Rockets and the largest fleet was 6 of the perennial Fireballs.

Saturday being the better sailing day was warm and sunny with a steady 15knot wind from the north-east, and with a 1.00 pm start time the fleet was sent around a trapezoid course. The 3 planned races for the day were easily run and the fleet returned to shore ready for the included-in-the-entry-fee evening reception and dinner.

Sunday dawned misty and murky with a north easterly, eventually swinging right to an easterly, and it was good to see that the alleged 50,000 lightning strikes overnight in the UK hadn’t deterred any of the competitors whatsoever. Nevertheless the full 3 races were run, albeit a little later than planned before the wind died completely.

The final results were pleasantly mixed with no fleet dominating the score sheet. Overall bragging rights went to Tom Gillard and Geoff Edwards in Fireball 15127 from Sheffield Viking Sailing Club with 3 firsts on the Saturday. 2nd was Jon Turner and Katie Frost in Merlin Rocket 3774 from Lyme Regis Sailing Club with two firsts on the Sunday. 3rd were John Reynolds and Fran Howell in a 4000 from Grafham Water Sailing Club.

Paignton Sailing Club would like to thank PRO for leading the race management team in what turned out to be an excellent event, and all the competitors for turning up too, see you next year and hope you had a great time!

Rank	SailNo	Helm	CrewName	Club	Class	PY	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	15127	Tom Gillard	Geoff Edwards	Sheffield Viking Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	1	1	1	(3)	2	2	7
2nd	3774	Jon Turner	Katie Frost	Lyme Regis Sailing Club	MERLIN-ROCKET	9	5	3	(8)	1	3	1	13
3rd	4682	John Reynolds	Fran Howell	Grafham Water Sailing Club	LASER	917	3	5	2	2	1	(6)	13
4th	14941	Derian Scott	Andy Scott	Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	2	2	4	(6)	5	5	18
5th	14928	Anthony Willcocks	James Willcocks	Portishead Yacht & Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	4	4	(7)	4	4	3	19
6th	3585	John Fildes	Charlotte Fildes	Alderney Sailing Club	MERLIN-ROCKET	9	12	(14)		5	7	4	38
7th	149	Chris Thorne	Russell Thorne	Lyme Regis Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	6	()	5	9		9	39
8th	145	Christine Slater	Graham Slater	Paignton Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	7	11	6	(12)	8		42
9th	764	Tony Blackmore	Charlotte Cooper	Starcross Yacht Club	B14	862	(17 DNF)	8	3		13	13	47
th	1312	Mike Murray	Pam Murray	Tata Steel Sailing Club	OSPREY	928	13	(15)	15	8	6	7	49
11th	14889	Barry Smith	Rick Spring	Thornbury Sailing Club	FIREBALL	953	9	9	(12)	11	9	11	49
12th	52	Russell Mead	Jo Morrison	Hillhead Sailing Club	LASER	917	14	7	(16)	14	11	8	54
13th	2999	John Maynard	Morag Aiken	Paignton Sailing Club		19	8	12	13	7	(17 DNC)	17 DNC	57
14th	4546	Tim Litt	Charlotte Heffernan	Rutland Sailing Club	LASER	917	15	13	11	(17 DNF)	12	12	63
15th	21216	Tony Procter	Emily Procter	Paignton Sailing Club		19	11	6	14	(17 DNC)	17 DNC	17 DNC	65
16th	14789	Hannah Showell	Gordon Finlay	Starcross Yacht Club	FIREBALL	953		16	9	13	(17 DNC)	17 DNC	65