Bart's Bash at Draycote Water Sailing Club
by Jeremy Atkins 18 Sep 2018 16:47 BST
16 September 2018
Ian Walker and Caroline Noel during Bart's Bash at Draycote Water © Jeremy Atkins
As usual, Draycote Water Sailing Club celebrated Bart's Bash by incorporating the Bart's Bash Race with a pursuit race to form the Club Regatta. We were fortunate enough to be joined by double Olympic silver medallist and Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, Ian Walker, who sailed both races with club member Caroline Noel in her RS200. We also had the 420 teams training at the Club, so they took a break from their training to join in the Bart's Bash Race.
Perhaps inevitably, these top youth sailors, in perfect 420 conditions, took the chocolates (literally) with 420s occupying the top 4 positions and 7 of the top 10 slots. The winners were Matteo Farina and Johnnie Thompson from Frensham Pond. They were followed by Draycote sailor, Jack Lewis, and his crew Frazer Hemmings in their 420. First non-420 Draycote boat was Peter Wood and Paul Rowe in their Fireball in fifth place.
Martyn Lewis and Richard Byne would have been the first non-420 as they reunited in a Fireball after a long gap. Unfortunately, so long a gap that they didn't realise that the Fireball starting sequence had changed and started a minute early!
In the afternoon, with the 420 sailors back in training, a 100-minute pursuit race was held which was won convincingly by Martyn & Richard, followed by Jeremy Davy and Martin Huett in their Flying Fifteen.
The Club regatta combines the results from both races and, in the end, it was Jeremy and Martin ahead of Peter and Paul by a whisker!
Club Regatta:
1st: Jeremy Davy & Martin Huett, Flying Fifteen
2nd: Peter Wood & Paul Row, Fireball
3rd: Richard Pye, RS Aero
4th: Richard Le Mare, RS300
5th: Nigel Davies, Solo
6th: Ian Walker & Caroline Noel, RS200