Blaze open meeting at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club

Winner Ian Smith being congratulated by Club Secretary and Blaze sailor, Tim Heaton in the Blaze open meeting at Yorkshire Dales © Paul Hargreaves

Very little wind welcomed the visitors and local members to Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club for the Blaze Open. Undeterred, Race 1 was held in a faltering SW whisper, which then changed direction many times with each leg of the course, allowing everyone in the fleet to be heroes and zeroes at different times.

Pip Warner overtook Ian Smith just yards before the finish line to lead the event overnight.

The evening curry and beer in the Clubhouse appeared to solve the wind problems for day 2, with a bumpy Force 2-4 breeze from the NE allowing 3 good races over the excellent course set by Race Officer Mike Saul over the full diagonal length of the glorious Grimwith Reservoir.

In Race 2 Tim Heaton overtook Ian Smith just at the finish line, with Pip Warner and Gareth Hyland close behind so that any of these four could win the event at this stage.

The third race saw much place changing on the shifts upwind and on the gusts downwind, with Ian Smith eventually taking line honours and Gareth Hyland, showing excellent boat speed in his new Hartley, second.

At the start of the fourth and final race, Gareth Hyland port tacked most of the fleet but after much place changing was overtaken by Ian Smith and Pip Warner who finished in that order, allowing Ian to win this exciting event, with Pip second and Gareth third.

Despite the disappointing Saturday racing, everyone really enjoyed the racing, the courses and competition. More entrants would have come, we believe, if the wind forecast had been better...which is what we hope for next year's Blaze Open at Yorkshire Dales.

The next event that the Blazes intend to attend is the Inlands at Chase SC in October.

Overall Results: