Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club Tipsy Icicle - Week 8
by Paul Heath 12 Mar 21:44 GMT
8 March 2020
After losing two weekends of the series due to storms, and a further two windy weekends when we should have known better but went out anyway, last Sunday saw the penultimate weekend of the Tipsy Icicle series.
Due to the cancellations the last few weeks have seen racing starting half an hour earlier than usual so we can squeeze in three races per day which, given the conditions, has been tiring on all competitors and the race teams.
This week the sun was out but a cold south westerly and blustery Force 4 breeze was back again with some very large gusts for the 47 boats to contend with. As the day went on, and the capsizes and gear failure piled up, the starters in the various fleets were gradually reduced in number.
Handicap - 11 boats
The 11 boat fleet was first away and, with series leader Andy Flitcroft missing, Phil Worth (Delph SC - Phantom) took the opportunity to score a 2, 1, 2 to move to the top of the leader board. Louise McKeand/Nigel Hall (LLSC - Wayfarer) placed a 1, 2, 1 to move into third overall. Three different boats scored a 3rd in each race namely Alan Burton-Roberts/Alex Pilkington (LLSC - Merlin Rocket), Martin Tubb (LLSC - Solution) and Tim Coleman/Paul Prichard (LLSC - Albacore).
Lasers - 14 boats
Series leader Oli Blackburn was away at Weymouth for a Laser qualifier so second placed George Graham (Burwain SC) closed the gap to 1 point by scoring a 1, 1, 4. Paul Heath (LLSC) scored a 2, DNF, 1 to stay third in the series. In the increasingly windy conditions Charlie Fensom (Pennine SC) stuck it out in her 4.7 rig to finish all three races with a brilliant 5, 2, 2 scorecard. Sam Cooper (WLYC) found the breeze to his liking as he sailed his Radial rig to score 3, 3, DNC.
Asymmetric - 11 boats
It was a day for the RS400s as they blasted up and down a windward/leeward course to take the top three places in all races. Mike Sims (Carsington SC) made one of his infrequent visits and together with Mark Lunn won the first two races of the day. Hamish Gledhill (WRSC) and on loan crew Gary Coop came in second in both races and Dave Exley/Andy Dawson (LLSC) scored two thirds and climb to the top of the leader board. All three, and a few others, sat out the final race of the day and Jon Willars/Todd Brameld (Weston SC) took advantage to take the win followed by Mark Dingsdale/Ness Evans (LLSC) and Stuart Halman/Anna Walsh (LLS).
Solo - 7 boats
The battle at the top of the fleet continues with series leader Tom Welz (LLSC) scoring 1, 6, 2 and nearest rival Nik James (LLSC) with a 4, 1, 3. There is one point between them going into the final weekend. Steve Ferrington (WKSC) made his first, and last, appearance in the series and scored 3, 3, 1.
Juniors - 4 boats
A fair few boats missing this week due to training commitments elsewhere but for the four boats that went out they had great racing. Chloe Mills (Pennine SC - Topper) revelled in the conditions to score 1, 1, 1. John Bridgeman (LLSC - RS Tera Sport) only sailed the first race and took second, Ben OBrien (Elton SC - RS Tera Pro) sailed all races scoring 3, 2, 2.
As we go into the final weekend there's all to play for in all fleets as the largest gap between the top two in a fleet is just 3 points with the lowest being 1 point.
Results at www.llsc.org.uk/LLSC/Results/2020/Tipsy.htm