CSC 505 Worlds at Hayling Island Sailing Club- Overall
by Chris Thorne 4 Aug 2006 20:35 BST
29 July - 4 August 2006
Race Seven:
Once again the Hayling weather tempts and teases like Mata Hari. On the final day of racing the morning dawns with a gentle breeze off the land. The warm and sunny weather means the prospects of a counter sea breeze are high. The chances of fitting in the final race ahead of championship deadline of 14.00 hrs do not look good. All efforts must be made to fit in the final race, with the title finely poised between the British team of Mark Upton-Brown and the American duo of Howard Hamlin and Jeff Nelson. Just three points separate the two.
The fleet is released from shore. Boats first drift out on a fading northerly. Flags hang limp from the Race Committee vessels. Then a gentle stirring, as subtle as a bustle in a hedgerow, brings the fleet forward to the designated race track in Bracklesham Bay, on a barely perceptible westerly. The pressure builds to an irregular six knots, but that’s enough gas to get the fleet away just half an hour before the time limit. The breeze is behaving like a drunkard, zagging from lamppost to lamppost, but remarkably, it acts sober long enough for the pathfinder to open the starting gate. A big right shift threatens a recall, but then it’s back to the left. Boats from both sides are arriving at the top mark. First round are the German team of Sophie Soellner and Wolfgang Stueckl.
The German pair are sailing well and worthy of their time under the spotlight. But with the title so close, the attention is on the series leaders. Hamlin and Nelson must have feared for the worst when rounding in 21st place. But where were Upton-Brown and Mitchell? Back in the forties, that’s where. If the Americans could pull back through into the top three they could still clinch the title. The left shift makes the run to leeward one sided, with limited overtaking opportunities. However the contenders stick to their task. The pressure starts to build further from the left. The British pair spot this and sail into the header, and triumphantly tack back onto port tack, clearing much of the fleet and, most importantly for them, climbing through Hamlin and Nelson in the process. By the second windward mark they have gained an extraordinary thirty seven spaces into sixth place. Hamlin and Nelson have done well but are back in eleventh.
Apart from a brief challenge from the Swedes, Magnus Nilsson and Andreas Carlsonn, Soellner and Stuckl are reigning supreme at the front. A measure of their achievement is that the places behind them are changing like the numbers out of a lottery machine. The wind is still well left on the reaching legs, making the first a two sailer and the second broad enough to require a second or third gybe as the wind was becoming more convincing, gusting at over 12 knots. By the end of the third upwind leg, it is the Germans, then the Swedes, then Upton-Brown and Mitchell and, to keep the tension wound up in this tightest of contests, Hamlin and Nelson.
All the Americans can do now is to get back in front of Upton-Brown and Mitchell, finish in the top three and then hope that the Britons make mistake that drops them to sixth place or lower. On the final beat they achieve the only part in their control, squeezing into second place on the last leg. However, the British pair hold onto third spot, enough to secure the title by two points. This is the second time the same team have been World Champions, their previous win being in Denmark in 1997.
Race 7 Results: (top six)
1: Sophie Soellner, Wolfgang Stucl, GER 8901
2: Howard Hamlin, Jeff Nelson, USA 8266
3: Mark Upton-Brown, Ian Mitchell, GBR 8908
4: Dietrich Scheder, Rainer George, GER 8728
5: Ian Pinnell, Steve Hunt, GBR 8882
6: Jan Saugmann, Morten Ramsbaek, DEN 8620
Overall Results: (top six)
1: Mark Upton-Brown, Ian Mitchell, GBR 8908 16pts
2: Howard Hamlin, Jeff Nelson, USA 8266 18pts
3: Jens Findel, Johannes Tellen, GER 8875 39pts
4: Tyler Moore, Jesse Falsone, USA 8883 42pts
5: Jan Saugmann, Morten Ramsbaek, DEN 42pts
6: Michael Quirk, Geoff Lange, AUS 8886 43pts
More information at www.505worlds2006.com/news