Sprint 15 TT at Draycote Water Sailing Club

Fourteen visitors joined nine home Draycote sailors despite a low wind forecast.

The start of the first race was delayed, to allow the wind to fill in. This allowed the local fishing competition armada to steam past the club house and set up at several points around the lake to make it more interesting in the ever changing conditions experienced during the day.

To be fair to the fishermen, they did motor off when the fleet was flipping and flopping around them.

Race 1

The usual trapezoid course was set, and the race officer did his best to set the line and windward mark. Erling Holmberg was a sole port flyer and gained an advantage but during race 1 we all experienced a massive shift.

This proved to be the theme for the day and there were many losers and winners, then winners and losers. The most polite description from Jenny Ball who won R1 was that it was like Snakes and Ladders.

George Love managed to T-Bag himself at this point. Stuart Snell as always performing well got second and top placed local sailor Pete Slater got third.

Side note: Pete Slater was moaning in the bar afterwords about not getting a toot from the race officer but got some excellent advice from Dave Rowe, Draycote Manager, which was "if you want a toot then just win!"

Sprint 15 TT at Draycote Water 2018 - photo © Alan Howie-Wood

Race 2

Ed Tuite Dalton was first round the windward mark but then Liam overtook him and eventually won. Stuart Snell second, Pete Slater third.

Yvonne Pike had forgotten to fit her windhawk so went in on this race to get it. This significantly helped her, and she came fifth in race 4.

Race 3

In this race it became very HOT and we did three laps. Seven or eight boats had got around the windward mark on the final lap then when the wind died they finished well ahead. Steve Pell notably was first over the line, unfortunately before the gun.

The rest of the fleet just about made it round the course and crawled over the line. Paul Grattage won this race with local Draycote sailor Ant Clay getting a good second, and Mr Consistency Snell got third. At one point in the race Stuart was chasing down Paul but they were on different tacks but going in the same direction!

Derek James was in a fantastic position in 5th round windward mark in this race but lost out going past the committee boat but still managed his best result of the day in twelfth.

Sprint 15 TT at Draycote Water 2018 - photo © Alan Howie-Wood

Race 4

Liam Thom won, good show from Nigel James in 2nd, [who had been 20th in race 3] and Paul Grattage 3rd.

In other news

In the fleet is was good to see Simon Hare again and new Draycote member Lee Leech compete in his first event. Simon seems attached to the number 17 currently having come seventeenth in the Marconi Three Piers Race and seventeenth overall at Draycote.

Lee has got the bug again and hopefully we will see him again on the circuit. It was also good to see that the launching trolleys stayed where we put them after the debacle at Weymouth Nationals.

Sprint 15 TT at Draycote Water 2018 - photo © Alan Howie-Wood

Overall Results: