The Bartley Beast at Bartley Sailing Club - Round 3
by Nigel Hudson 29 Jan 2022 06:12 GMT
15 January 2022
A light wind forecast met a merry band of club members and visitors who gathered for the third of the four of the Bartley Beast events on Saturday 15th January.
After the big winds that greeted the first two events the day was set to be great as the wind gradually built from almost nothing to a steady 8 - 10 knts southerly for the start of the first race. The format of four races in the day alternating between double and single handers was by now well established. The OOD's for the day Steve Ward and Ollie Ridgway and the duty crew set challenging racecourses using the full extent of the reservoir.
Race 1 double handers got under way at 11 a.m. prompt. A challenging start line and first beat saw Matt Biggs with Mark Fowler and Mark Reddington with Lewis Fowler in the Albacores round first and second. Tom Gillard and Rachel Grey were round next in their Merlin and nearly crossed swords with the Javelin of Ruth Walker in full flight. The scorpion of Pete Grey and Richard Pepperdine followed on with the pack close behind. The downwind legs allowed the Merlin's and RS400 of Sam Knight to stretch their legs to drive through the pack. Sam Knight gradually overhauled Tom to lead the final lap, but while taking line honours was caught on handicap by the lead Merlin of Tom and Rachel, the Scorpion with Matt Biggs fourth and Chris Martin and Michelle Evans fifth in their GP14.
The second double handed race saw 12 - 15 knt winds with some exciting racing throughout the fully powered up fleet. With line honours again going to Sam Knight and Chris Bownes in the RS400, the overall results at the front was as per the first race, with the Merlin of Paul Hollis and Paul Keeling close behind and well sailed GP14's and Enterprise of Paul Young and Jan Kimber continuing to secure good results.
The single handers race 1 set off with a rising breeze, and as always at Bartley it led to some tight racing. John Ling was checked on the start and snared his mainsheet on Simon Hardiman's bow which was all part of the normal cut and thrust of ILCA and Laser racing. Andy Davis put in an impressive appearance in his OK, whilst Bartley members Debbie Degge in her Streaker, Les Druyf and John Ling in ILCA7 and a Lasers and the Supernova fleet led by John Knight and Mike Gibson were all in hot pursuit, but to no avail as the first three came home clear on handicap. Andy Davis won followed by Andy Couch and Charlie Chandler in third.
The second single handers race started in good wind and they say fortune really favours the brave! Well, Steve Thomas in his Laser pulled off a superb port flyer. The OOD team were guarding the pin when the radio crackled to ask if they had seen 'the optimistic sailor' on the left... Steve's timing was spot on. He hit the line at full speed, bang on time, cleared the fleet and tacked clear, so impressive! The race was closely fought initially, however, a sudden drop in wind with two legs to go allowed the leading boats to just ghost home in a zephyr. It was fitting that Andy Couch in his Phantom took the race win after crossing the line 6 minutes ahead of the OK of Andy Davis, leaving a consistent third for Charlie. However, this dramatic wind change also meant the visiting RS300's of Ritchie Adams & Rob Kennaugh could take 4th & 5th followed by Richard Nurse in his Phantom. This means the overall winning positions are wide open and will therefore come down to the last event.
Thanks must go to HD Sails and Midland Dinghy Services for continued sponsorship of the Bartley Beast, the team at Tilly's Galley led by Leanne who kept everyone fed and warm throughout the day, while attention now moves to round four and the final Bartley Beast on February 15th 2022. Visitor entries are still open for the last round, while the overall series will run its course and see the Bartley Beast tamed!
Results after Round 3: