K1 Open at Burwain Sailing Club
by Hilly King 13 Oct 11:52 BST
10 October 2021
Hilly King wins the Burwain K1 Open © Geoff King
The latest K1 open meeting was held on 10th October at Burwain Sailing Club which is situated on a picturesque lake near Colne in Lancashire. The Reservoir feeds the very popular Leeds and Liverpool Canal so water levels vary throughout the year.
A windless, misty morning greeted the competitors and wisely Race Officer Kath Dobson and her able assistant Tom Partridge postponed the races to allow the promised westerly breeze to fill in and chose to race the three proposed races back to back.
Race one was a clean get away with Jeremy Hudson (Frensham Pond) and Ian Duke (Datchet Water) the early pace setters, closely followed by Hilly King (Frensham Pond) and a very fast Geoff King (Tewkesbury) who had been trapped at the start. As the race progressed the wind veered and increased in strength allowing gains to be made by keeping in pressure and being mindful of the cloud movements and associated lifts. At the finish Ian took the gun closely followed by Hilly, Geoff and Jeremy.
The wind had increased for the second race and after a change of course to accommodate the slight directional change the fleet was away. Jeremy was unlucky being over at the start and hemmed in before being able to return. The leader at the first mark this time was Hilly closely followed by Ian, Geoff and Mike Deane (Windermere). The place changes again were numerous with Hilly, Ian and Geoff breaking away and even getting some fast off wind reaches when the gusts hit. At the finish Hilly took the win followed by Ian and Geoff with Jeremy recovering to 4th.
The last race had everything to play for with Hilly and Ian level on points. With the lake bathed in sunshine and the holding breeze the fleet were clean away. At the first mark Hilly led again with Glyn Howson from the home club and Ian in close attendance. At the leeward mark a degree of confusion reigned regarding whether it should be taken to port or starboard. Indeed the leaders were correct and those following went round incorrectly causing subsequent retirements. After continually swapping places Hilly and Ian developed a large lead and the race could have gone either way. At the finish Hilly held on to win and with it the open meeting.
All agreed the meeting was a great success and good to see the interest in the Ovington K1.