Osprey Inland Championship at Carsington Sailing Club

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water © Nick Arran

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water © Nick Arran

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water © Nick Arran

The May bank holiday weekend saw the Osprey fleet land at Carsington Water for the Inland Championship. With a training day on the Friday, which was led by Tim Rush, a small fleet of 8 boats got the hang of what to expect in the coming days.

Day 1

Race 1

The first race saw 15 knots with possibly mid 20 knot gusts appearing at different locations on the lake. The start saw Alex and Nick Willis complete a very well executed port tack flyer which led to them working the right hand side of the course whilst the main bulk of the fleet carried on to work the left hand side. However neither side seemed to have a huge advantage so close quarter boat handling and looking for a gap came into play.

On the reach Ben and Simon managed to sneak into the lead however performed a perfect demonstration of how to not to gybe and capsized. Which allowed Alex to take the lead. At this point Ben and Simon lost a top batten so what happens next is very vague. As they needed to swap mains. Terry Curtis and Peter Greig got into the lead with a cunningly restored Mark 3. And stayed there until the finish.

Race 2

After a brief pause between the races the fleet started to stack up for the start. The battle for the pin was on with Alex and Ben, with Ben winning the pin. They were 1st to the windward mark with Terry and Peter close behind followed by Kev Francis and Phil Male. At the wing mark Terry rolled Ben but had to give room. This then allowed Terry to try the roll manoeuvre again. However an incident occurred between the top 3 which resulted in a broken mast and minor injuries to crew. Ben and Simon were able to just about to escape the carnage, after Simon had to get back into the boat from being knocked off the wire by a shroud. However as in the 1st race they capsized. This time on the beat. This allowed Stevan Leney and Andy Watterson along with Paul Heather and Jonathan Osgood to have a battle for 1st. However Stevan and Andy, I believe, had a kite issue when dropping and allowed 2 boats through. Resulting in Paul and Jonathan to get the bullet.

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water - photo © Nick Arran

Race 3

With Terry Curtis and Kev Francis out after the last race it was all to play for. This start saw another battle emerge between Alex and Ben on the line. However Alex got the better of Ben. The main bulk of the fleet continued working the left hand side. With a much less predictable race result everyone wanted to take the opportunity. The wind had steadily built through the day and a goof force 4-5 possibly more started to spread its way across the course. Allistair and Rob got to the windward mark 1st with Ben and Simon hot on their heels. As the fleet went onto the 2nd lap Ben and Simon sailed for even more wind and adjusted the rig accordingly. With this they powered into the lead and finally managed to stay up right. Taking the win. Allistair and Rob held onto 2nd with Ian and Jonathan taking 3rd.

Consistency was key for the event as Ian and Jonathan had 2 podium finishes they were the overnight leaders as nearly most of the fleet had one bad race.

Day 2

Day 2 brought an earlier start with a lighter breeze, about 15 knots, the race committee wanted to get in 3 more races as soon as possible as 30 knots in the afternoon was predicted.

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water - photo © Nick Arran

Race 4

With the competition still as undecided as Brexit it was still too early tell who would win it. As everyone lined up for the start a windsurfer decided to go for a swim right on the line therefore causing the race team to postpone the start. Once the windsurfer was clear of the line the starting procedure started again. Allistair and Rob won the pin and put themselves in a good position. The battle for 1st came between Ben and Simon with Kev and Phil. Kev and Phil led the race until the final windward mark when Ben and Simon gained enough to stick their noses in front.

Race 5

The wind had now picked up to a steady force 5. With the start gun gone Ben and Simon had a lead of 100 yards as they went off the pin. They managed to get around the course without tipping it in. Allistair and Rob managed to get into the lead however the boat speed of Ben and Simon proved too much and they took the win. However the action was happening behind them as Alex and Nick Willis made the finish line with the kite up but capsized just after.

Osprey Inlands at Carsington Water - photo © Nick Arran

Race 6

The final race was part of the Symmetric Open with an all in start for the Javelins and the Ospreys. Ben and Simon once again showed the fleet how not to gybe at the wing mark and after a brief swim were pushed down to 2nd to last. Allistair and Rob took the lead and tried to keep Alex and Nick at bay by keeping a Javelin between them. At this moment in time it looked like Allistair and Rob would take the race win, which they deserved. No one expected what would come next. Shippy Mc-Ship (Ben and Simon) were having the comeback of their lives. It all came down to the last lap with Allistair and Rob trying desperately to hold onto the lead. It all came down to the last mark before the line. Allistair and Rob went high from the mark to protect from being rolled but Ben went low and shot out underneath taking the race win, symmetric win and the championship win.

Thanks to Carsington Sailing Club for hosting a great event and to Hartley Boats for sponsoring the prizes. A special mention to Allistair Raynard for providing some great food for when racing and training were finished.

Overall Results: