Enterprise Open at Papercourt Sailing Club

The Enterprise open at Papercourt on Sunday October 20th provided the usual Ent warm welcome and tight, tactical racing.

After a 1/2 hour postponement due to a zephyr, the fleet jostled on a short start line for a nice long beat up the lake. Ten year old Kate Craig dragged her 86kg lump of a dad to a comfortable light winds win after gaining the lead from multiple women's world champion Ann Jackson & Alan Skeens on the second beat. New to an Ent, former Feva World Champion Iain Bird sailed faster as the race progressed expertly crewed by his Inland Champion mum Andy Bird to take 3rd from fleet captain David Hodgson & Sue Whitehill.

The race team quickly squeezed in another race before lunch with the Birds leading all the way round until Jackson & Skeens picked up a couple of perfect shifts and pressure to take the win on the short beat to the finish. Hodgson & Whitehill again led the charge from the chasing pack from Robin & Paul Broomfield and John Forbes/Diane Keighley.

After a very tasty lunch, which even Kate Craig ate after her dastardly dad denied her a third pot noodle of the day, the fleet launched into a building Northerly breeze. Race 3 was very close with Jackson & Skeens, the Craigs and Birds battling for every inch, with these three boats side-by-side on the last run. Jackson & Skeens found a pressure lane to break the overlap into the last gybe mark taking the win from the Craigs & Birds.

In the last race, the Birds again led most of the way, having by now perfected roll tacking adding to Iain's silky smooth sailing style honed from 29er squad sailing. However, Jackson & Skeens once again showed their Ent lake skills to gain a late lead to win the open from the Birds.

With a friendly fleet, tactical racing which has sharpened the skills of many champions and the Ent perfectly suited to the confined waters of the Thames Valley, we look forward to more close racing on the Enterprise Thames Valley circuit in 2020.

Overall Results: