Sprint 15 TT and Northern Championships at Carsington Sailing Club

by Nick Pulman 13 Oct 2021 15:21 BST 2-3 October 2021

As the storm clouds gathered over the Derbyshire countryside, an intrepid bunch of dedicated TT racers assembled on the shores of Carsington for the penultimate event of the summer series.

Despite Covid confusion and panic buying at the pumps travellers came from as far as North Devon, Worthing and the Marconi SC in Essex. Giving an eventual fleet of 17 sailing Unarig, one Sport Mode boat and one two up on the start line for the two day event.

The race officer Henry Wright ably assisted by his team Keith and Liz Appleby laid out a superb trapezoid course which enabled two days of exciting competition. Six races, four on Saturday and two on Sunday were completed despite gusty winds and torrential rain on Saturday and force 7 gusts on Sunday in sunny conditions.

The conditions made for exciting racing with some notable performances across the fleet and some memorable moments.

In Race 1, Jason Clarke (Marconi) nailed a superb start and demonstrated his consummate skill by leading the whole way until he was knocked over by a most viscous gust a few yards short of the finish. The chasing pack alerted, Ed Tuite Dalton (Draycote) took the gun from Jenny Ball (Marconi) and Hector Bunclark (North Devon Yacht Club).

Race 2 and Jan Elfring (Draycote) was starting to revel in the conditions which saw him finish a close second to Jenny with Hector again in third spot.

Race 3 was a battle at the head of the fleet from the young contenders. Jason was back in great form and finished a close second to Hector. Ed and Jenny were keeping consistent pace in third and fourth respectively.

Race 4, the last on Saturday, and the cold, wet and windy conditions were starting to have a strength sapping effect. Ed took the bullet from Hector and Jan before the fleet headed for home.

Sunday dawned sunny, still cold and the wind had increased with even fiercer gusts.

Race 5 and Jenny was pushed all the way by Jason with Paul Craft (Worthing) completing the top three.

In the final Race 6 Jenny's skill and experience came to the fore. A pack of port flyers and a drifting windwark mark could not put her off her stride and she took the gun from Paul and Hector.

A few memorable moments were recorded:

• Which sea based sailor said - "I imagine you don't get very big waves on here." Not true on Sunday!
• Paul Craft for starting nearly every race on port at the pin end. The bravery of it!
• Some of the more experienced helms who took a swim on the Sunday. No names, no pack drill.
• The RO's comment midway through the last race - "Let's give them one more lap and call it a day. This is getting a bit manic!"

The races really separated the boys from the girls with a triumphant Jenny Ball from team Marconi raising the trophy on Sunday afternoon. Narrowly behind was Hector Bunclark, taking a short break from his studies at Southampton Uni to give an amazing display of flying a hull through the finish line. Third overall was Ed Tuite Dalton managing to win two of the six legs.

Event photographer Pauline Love's amazing pictures are well worth a look - https://www.sprint15.com/picture-gallery-120_Carsington.php - and demonstrates the capabilities of these small craft and their helms in really challenging conditions.

As the skilled champions battled for podium positions at the front of the course, a more sedate but equally challenging contest was going on at the rear. As this year saw three home club newcomers to the Sprint15 family...

A couple of months earlier George Love and Ray Gall were sat in the teaching room at Carsington, patiently going through the basics of race strategy with their motley crew of novices. Answering questions like "Why do I need a race watch again?" and "So, who has the right of way when you get near that floaty thing?"

Forward track to the race line and the three newbies Sam Wood, Nick Pulman and Russell Briggs were dutifully assembled, all rather nervous and trying not to get in anyone's way.

As the gun sounded and the rest of the race set off at pace, Russell was first off the mark. With skills worthy of the Titanic quartermaster he ploughed perfectly into a large orange club fixed buoy that someone had left on the start line (Pauline's photography is again recommended).

Meanwhile some 100yds back from the start Nick and Sam battled courageously against the weather conditions. Sam mastered the three point turn technique by reversing his rudders and finally got going. Nick on the other hand managed a gybe and travelled another 50 yds back humming air on the G string and reminiscing about a cigar called Hamlet.

Despite this, all three managed the course, learnt a lot about sailing, and made some new friends by taking part. Race winners should beware, Russell has finally got his cat off the buoy and Nick has now bought a race watch and a waterproof hat, ready for the next series!

The club hosted a great event on Saturday evening with a hearty dinner and some impressive dad dancing at the disco. Particular thanks to the staff at Carsington, the race and safety teams who ran a superb event on the water and to George Love for bringing the event together, including a spectacular prize-giving ceremony on Sunday.

The summer series concludes on the 30th and 31st October at Grafham Water Sailing club.

Overall Results:

Pos	Class	Sail No	Helm	CrewName	Club	PY	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	Sprint 15 Una rig	2025	Jenny Ball			926	2	1	4	‑8	1	1	9
2nd	Sprint 15 Una rig	1951	Hector Bunclark			926	3	3	1	2	‑9	3	12
3rd	Sprint 15 Una rig	2023	Edward Tuite Dalton			926	1	4	3	1	‑10	10	19
4th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1913	Jan Elfring			926	7	2	‑8	3	5	6	23
5th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1982	Paul Craft			926	9	‑17	5	6	3	2	25
6th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1776	Kevin Kirby			926	5	5	‑9	5	7	5	27
7th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1917	Jason Clarke			926	11	6	2	7	2	(RET)	28
8th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1988	John Pearse			926	6	7	6	‑11	6	4	29
9th	Sprint 15 Una rig	2019	George Love		Carsington SC	926	4	8	7	9	‑11	9	37
10th	Sprint 15 Una rig	2015	Nigel James			926	8	12	10	4	12	‑13	46
11th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1914	Ray Gall		Carsington SC	926	12	11	‑15	13	8	7	51
12th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1339	Jemma Clarke			926	10	9	13	14	‑15	11	57
13th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1744	Derek James			926	14	10	12	12	13	(RET)	61
14th	Sprint Sport	1424	Keith Heason			894	13	13	16	10	14	(DNC)	66
15th	Sprint 15 Una rig	2022	Stuart Snell			926	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	4	8	72
16th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1877	Nick Pulman			926	‑17	15	11	16	17	14	73
17th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1717	Samual Wood			926	15	14	‑17	17	16	12	74
18th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1635	Russell Briggs			926	16	16	14	15	(DNC)	DNC	81
19th	Sprint 15 Una rig	1923	John Ball	David Ball		926	(RET)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	100