Lark Open at Frensham Pond Sailing Club

by Chris Ellis 13 Oct 2020 06:30 BST 11 October 2020

The Larks kicked off their season unusually late this year, hosted by Frensham Pond SC on 11th October.

The Larks reached their Covid-19 entry quota of 14 boats in record time and those lucky enough to get a place were rewarded with a fantastic day of racing in beautiful surroundings.

In race 1, Sam Bailey and Finlay Morgan were quick out of the blocks and built a good lead from Harry Pynn and Gemma Cook. The lead was exchanged a few times and the race was settled when Bailey and Morgan headed to the wrong leeward mark. Nigel Hufton and Matt Wood took 3rd.

In race 2, a 4-way battle ensued between James Stewart crewed by Roger Gilbert, Hufton and Wood, Bailey and Morgan, and Pynn and Cook. Hufton and Wood proved to be the best at handling the up and down wind and navigating through the other fleets on the course to take the win from Bailey and Morgan. Pynn and Cook just managed to sneak past Stewart and Gilbert on the final run.

With 3 boats tied going into the final race, all was to play for. John and Vicky Brickwood were adjudged to be over the start line and had to return. Pynn and Cook started at the committee boat end and quickly built a big lead over the other rivals, although it was Dan Watson and Sophia Kuhnert who rounded the windward mark first. Pynn and Cook then held a good lead to the finish to win the event. Bailey and Morgan were in hot pursuit, but unable to catch Pynn and Cook. Although the consistent Bailey and Morgan scored 3 seconds, they had to settle for third overall on countback (and first Youths) from Hufton and Wood.

The Lark class are grateful to Frensham Pond Sailing Club, particularly Chris Ellis and the General Committee for the huge effort to organise the event; and PRO Keith Videlo and family for excellent race management. They successfully proved it's possible to run a safe, compliant and enjoyable event that surpassed the expectations of all competitors.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1st	2520	Harry Pynn	Gemma Cook	Waldringfield SC	1	‑3	1	2
2nd	2538	Nigel Hufton	Matt Wood	FPSC	3	1	‑5	4
3rd	2468	Samuel Bailey	Finlay Morgan	South Staffordshire Sailing Club	‑2	2	2	4
4th	2492	James Stewart	Roger Gilbert	Netley	‑4	4	3	7
5th	2528	John Brickwood	Vicky Brickwood	Netley SC	5	‑6	4	9
6th	2531	Daniel Watson	Sophia Kuhnert	Waldringfield	‑8	5	7	12
7th	2537	Neil Firth	Sue Firth	Banbury	‑10	8	6	14
8th	2530	Chris Ellis	Judith Young	FPSC	7	7	‑8	14
9th	2379	Bridgitte Nee	Sarah Mcewan	FPSC	6	‑11	11	17
10th	2521	Simon Cox	George Cox‑Olliff	Brightlingsea	9	9	(DNF)	18
11th	2502	Steve Chatten	Ryan Harris	Netley SC	11	‑12	10	21
12th	2472	Toby Slump	Fiona Nee	FPSC	‑14	13	9	22
13th	12	Philip Whitney	Lynda Williams	FPSC	12	10	‑13	22
14th	252	Ian Brown	Felicity Brown	FPSC	13	‑14	12	25