National Twelve Open at Twickenham Yacht Club
by Frances Gifford 17 Oct 2006 06:53 BST
15 October 2006
In the 70th year of National 12s and the 70th year of the Twickenham open meeting, (which was held every year during WWII) the trophy was raced for in a NE force 3-4. This being the most stable wind direction at Twickenham, only a few boats got hit by 40 degree headers, resulting in a couple of swims.
Race one was hard fought at the front, with David Wilkins and Adele Cameron, and Frances Gifford and Mandy Thornton swapping the lead throughout, until the final run, when Gifford and Thornton snuck ahead to win by half a boatlength.
Race two saw Wilkins and Cameron sail away in a large lead to be held to the finish, with Gifford and Thornton in second, followed by Mike Hoyle and crew in third.
The third race didn’t prove to be the showdown the spectators had hoped for with Wilkins and Cameron having an early swim, which allowed Gifford and now John Thornton, to establish a healthy lead to take the open meeting. In third were Andy Douglas and his usual merlin helm Mike Stevens, which was enough to give them third overall.
A 70th anniversary dinner took place afterwards attended by many with stories to tell of Burton Weeks of eras gone by.
Overall Results:
1st 3431, Frances Gifford and Mandy/John Thornton (Aldeburgh YC)
2nd 3481, David Wilkins and Adele Cameron (Spinnaker SC)
3rd 3493, Mike Stevens and Andy Douglas (Tamesis Club)
1st Admirals Cup – 3274, Mike and Alex Storey (Desborough SC)