Miracle Open at Girton Sailing Club

by Gillan Gibson 25 Jun 2019 06:47 BST 22-23 June 2019

With a forecast of sunshine, seven visiting boats joined two club boats for this popular weekend meeting.

Saturday

Sunshine, however, brought little wind, and what there was was distinctly shifty. The ability to spot what there was and avoid the flat patches was key, as was the skill to take advantage of any gain luck brought your way. As well as the changing direction and windspeed there was the local wind effects found on inland waters and being in the right place at the right time mattered. Places chopped and changed in both Race 1 and Race 2, which were sailed back to back in the afternoon, and there was a mix of final placings so nothing could be forecast for the next day.

The only dependable forecast was that of a delicious pie and pea supper appreciated by all.

Sunday

Wayne Atherton and Angela Sweeney joined the fleet for the Sunday which had a bit more wind, but not much more! Again the wind was notable for its flukiness so places frequently changed during the races. The variety of finishing positions for the two back to back races in the morning, added to Race 1 and Race 2 results meant a number of boats had the opportunity to win overall. The fleet launched for the 5th and final race after lunch. As with the other races the Race Officer used the whole area of available lake and there was the opportunity for a good long spinnaker run back to the Committee Boat.

Overall

With three races to count Graeme Watts and Helen Jacks were the clear winners, but it took countback to place Jonathon and Jess Willard second ahead of Wayne Atherton and Angela Sweeney.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm & Crew	Club	Sail No	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	Graeme Watts & Helen Jacks	Staunton Harold	3813	1	2	1	5	4	4
2	Jonathon & Jess Willars	Welton	3834	3	1	5	3	1	5
3	Wayne Atherton & Angela Sweeney	Delph	3383	DNC	DNC	2	1	2	5
4	Simon Reddecliffe & Mark Atherton	Delph	4007	2	4	3	2	3	7
5	Ben & Zac Williamson	Welton	4009	4	3	4	4	6	11
6	John Tippett & Kathy Boulton	Draycote	4020	6	5	6	6	5	16
8	Dave & Jean Reed	Girton	4052	5	7	7	7	DNC	19
7	Andrew & Beth Addington	Girton	1358	7	6	DNF	DNC	7	20
9	Gillan & Kenneth Gibson	Thornton Steward	3670	8	8	DNC	DNC	DNC	26