Pennine Sailing Club 60th Anniversary Handicap Open

Overall winners of the Pennine Sailing Club 60th Anniversary Handicap Open, Pete Crowther and Dave Thompson in Scorpion 2031 © Jerry Hannabuss

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Pennine sailing Club in the Peak District held a celebratory open meeting on 20th October. Free entry was given to anyone who had attended a previous open meeting at the club, and this was rewarded with a fantastic turnout of 53 boats (from RS300 to Optimist) from nine different local clubs making this an amazing event for all involved.

The first race was delayed slightly to allow all competitors to get launched in time, as water levels in the Peak District are at full capacity, so space for launching was restricted to the two slipways, but with 'trolley dollies' to hand, this was slickly done.

Race 1 saw the light force 1 -2 breeze start to shift to the north on the first beat, leaving the committee boat starters with an advantage, that was capitalized on by Dave Walker in his Finn, who rounded the windward mark in first place, and pulled out a lead on the water, finally caught by the faster RS300 of Huw Maddocks, but victory on handicap in the 1hr 20minute race was still taken by Walker in a Finn, 2nd by Phil Priestley in a streaker and 3rd to Chloe Mills in her Topper from the home club.

Lunch Break saw an athletes lunch of large slabs of Lasagne with piles of chips, and a nominal lettuce leaf provided by the catering team. This gave the competitors ample energy for the 2 afternoon races sailed back to back in a freshening breeze force 3 with dark gusts giving planing conditions - each race around an hour in length.

Race 2 gave a long first beat allowing plenty of time for the fleet to spread out over the water, making a wonderful sight for any sailing enthusiast with the back drop of the Pennines making this extra special. Pete Crowther and Dave Thompson in a Scorpion rounded the windward mark 1st with the Phantom of Craig Rastrick in close chase. Walker in the Finn was also round in the leading group as was Chris Massey and Tom Daniel of Hollingworth Lake SC in another Scorpion. This leading group managed to stay clear of the chasing pack, and by the end on handicap, Crowther/ Thompson took the victory, Rastrick 2nd, and Walker 3rd. Once again though Chloe Mills in the topper performed well in the main group, and hence in dirty wind, taking 4th on Handicap.

Race 3 saw the lead at the windward mark taken by Massey/ Daniel in a Scorpion, with the same group fighting out for line and overall honours. This time the battle was also joined by Ian Escritt and Phil Whitehead of Yorkshire Dales SC sailing a Scorpion for the first time. Massey and Daniel scored a 1st on Handicap from Crowther/Thompson, with Chloe Mills in her Topper once again coming out well on handicap.

Yorkshire themed prizes were handed out to the top 20 overall, so Yorkshire ales and Yorkshire tea bags along with celebratory anniversary glasses and pens were well received by the competitors.

Pennine Sailing club would like to thank ALL the competitors for their great support for this event.

Overall Results: (top ten)

1st Pete Crowther / Dave Thompson, Scorpion 2031 (Pennine S.C.)
2nd Dave Walker, Finn 00 (RDNBYC)
3rd Craig Rastrick, Phanom 1421 (Pennine S.C.)
4th Chris Massey /Tom Daniel, Scorpion 2026 (Hollingworth Lake S.C.)
5th Chloe Mills, Topper 48258 (Pennine S.C.)
6th Phil Priestley, Streaker 1502 (Yorkshire Dales S.C.)
7th Ian Escritt / Phil Priestley, Scorpion 2033 (Yorkshire Dales S.C.)
8th Oliver Mills, L.Radial 201853 (Pennine S.C.)
9th Ian Lees, D Zero 107 (Scammonden Dam S.C.)
10th Robbie Langford/Matt Bird, Laser3000 3418 (Pennine S.C.)