Crewsaver Phantom Series at Sutton Bingham Sailing Club

by Pete Barnstable 3 May 2006 13:59 BST 29-30 April 2006

Sutton Bingham S.C. played host to the first round of the Crewsaver Phantom Super Series on Sunday April 29th. A sizable proportion of the competitors turned up on the preceding Saturday for a Phantom training day under the watchful eye of Mr Red Eye Sails, Andrew Elliott.

Twenty one competitors prepared for an 11:00 start on Sunday. Race Officer Tom Abbott however held the fleet on shore for a further 30 minutes whilst what little wind there was settled into some sort of consistent direction. A fitful breeze held up just long enough to complete a single lap before fading away again. Roger Battersby and Colin Walters made the early running and reached the penultimate mark in that order. The final leg changed from a beat, to a reach and finally to a run as the wind swung and faded. Colin held on for a win, Roger came becalmed and finished well down, as the pack behind was reshuffled. Pete Barnstable slipped through for 2nd place and Simon Heuson took 3rd.

Thankfully a useable breeze appeared after lunch and two sensible races took place during the afternoon. Ian Jay from the home club was now able to stamp his authority on the event winning both races. The first involved a tussle with Nick Orman and the second required the chasing down and eventual passing of the, luckless in race one, Roger Battersby.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	Pts
1st	1194	Ian Jay	SBSC	2
2nd	1247	Nick Orman	SBSC	6
3rd	1215	Simon Heuson	Lyme Regis	6
4th	1136	Colin Walters	Lyme Regis	7
5th	1201	Gavin Young	Cotswold S.C.	7

Full results at www.phantomclass.org.uk