Flying Fifteen Southern Traveller Series at Aldeburgh Yacht Club

by Alison Moor 11 Jul 2019 13:08 BST 6-7 July 2019

For the first time since 2004 the F15 fleet at Aldeburgh Yacht Club hosted an open weekend on the tidal River Alde. Appropriately fifteen 15s took part. Seven locals were delighted to be joined by eight visiting boats from Broxbourne, Bewl, Datchet, Grafham, Draycote and Ipswich (RORC).

On the Saturday afternoon, Race Officer Robert Mulcahy took advantage of the high tide to run 2 excellent windward/ leeward races upriver on the tidal flats at Blackheath. Light and shifty conditions led to close and interesting racing. In the first race Pip Hudson and Steve Stewart (3889) from Broxbourne mastered the conditions to win comfortably from local boat True Luff (3844) - Duncan Matthew and John Chalker - with a special mention to Jerry and Charlie Young who sailed their Silver Fleet boat Ffully Focussed (3139) into 4th place on the water.

In the second race, following a delay to reposition marks as the wind shifted to the right, Grafham sailors Tim O'Brien and Colin Ferra in Ffoxy Lady (4042) put behind them their 13th place from Race 1 to win, ahead of Datchet's John Hanson and Helen Selden (3954), with the first two boats from race 1 coming third and fourth respectively. The steady drizzle and dying wind put paid to any chances of a third race and the fleet followed the tide back downriver to the AYC clubhouse - for plentiful drinks and an informal dinner.

The following morning, with racing set to take place at low tide and in a north easterly wind, Robert took the start boat downriver to Blackstakes where the bend in the river allowed a decent windward/leeward course to be set for two further races. A short start line dictated by the narrowness of the river led to general recalls in both races, whilst the change from an ebb to flood tide saw differing conditions in each race. Pip Hudson and Steve Stewart showed the way again in the third race but were convincingly pipped into second place in the fourth race by John Hanson and Helen Seldon.

However, Pip and Steve had done enough to win the Ratcliff Trophy from John and Helen, with top local boat True Luff in third.

In the silver/classics section, the Flamingo Tankard was won by locals Jerry and Charlie Young in Ffully Focussed (3139) ahead of Broxbourne's Brian Turner and Jackie Burns in Windcheetah (3031).

Thanks again to Race Officer Robert Mulcahy, ably assisted by Caroline Donsworth for the whole weekend, and a big shout out for the youngest sailor in the fleet, 16-year-old Freddie Fulford, who said he "mostly enjoyed" sailing with his Dad.

Overall Results:

Pos	Fleet	Boat name	Sail No	Helm, Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	OPEN		3889	Pip Hudson, Steve Stewart	Broxbourne SC	1	‑3	1	2	4
2nd	OPEN	Hakuna	3954	John Hansen, Helen Selden	Datchet	‑3	2	3	1	6
3rd	OPEN	True Luff	3844	Duncan Matthew, John Chalker	AYC	2	‑4	2	4	8
4th	OPEN	Ffoxy Lady	4042	Tim O'Brian, Colin Ferra	Grafham Water	‑13	1	5	6	12
5th	OPEN	Forget me Not	3467	Nick Barker, Matt Lis	AYC	‑5.5	5	4	5	14
6th	SILVER	ffully Focussed	3139	Jeremy, Charlie Young	AYC	4	7	6	(DNF)	17
7th	CLASSIC	Windch	3031	Brian Turner, Jackie Burns	Broxbourne SC	5.5	9	8	(DNF)	22.5
8th	OPEN	Forgone Confusion	3699	Henry Gordon Jones, Tikkii Mawson	AYC	10	‑13	10	3	23
9th	OPEN		3626	Richard Marshall, Geoff Parkinson	Grafham Water	12	8	‑13	7	27
10th	OPEN	Ffartissimo	3410	Stephen, Freddie Fulford	AYC	11	‑12	7	9	27
11th	OPEN	Fflash	3689	David Copp, Geoff Sinton	AYC	8	‑15	11	8	27
12th	OPEN	Ffido	4041	Simon, Alastair Cooper	Bewle SA	7	6	15	(DNF)	28
13th	OPEN	Miffysoffeles	3487	Johnny, Anna Dawson	AYC	9	10	‑14	12	31
14th	OPEN	Mojo	3583	Mike, Jean Wilczynski	RORC	‑15	11	9	11	31
15th	OPEN		3971	Raymond Flanagan, Toby Bushell	Draycote Water	‑14	14	12	10	36