Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Starcross Yacht Club
by Ben Cutler-Sharp 24 May 2022 17:51 BST
21-22 May 2022
Hurricanes at Starcross © Heather Davies
Starcross Yacht Club on the banks of the River Exe hosted the first Hurricane event of the year on the 21st and 22nd of May. The Devon club welcomed 12 travelling crews from Essex, Yorkshire and Hampshire joining 8 from the home club.
Saturday dawned with no wind and glorious sunshine. Holding the boats ashore for an hour gave time for some needed boat fettling and allowed the sea breeze to build. Keen to get some races in before the tide dropped, the 20 Hurricanes drifted out but were soon greeted by a solid force 3-4 blowing up the river.
Race 1 saw Harry & Sophie Boygle get the jump on the fleet to take the win, with the top four changing places throughout.
Race 2 saw local boat and fleet veteran John Donovan & Harry Durrant take the lead on the first beat and not relinquish it until the line, despite being chased hard by Thorpe Bay YCs Julian Reichert & Jeremy Sandford.
Race 3 again saw Harry and Sophie hit the left hand side of the beat on the first upwind whilst the rest of the fleet headed more up the right hand side. It paid off and they took a healthy lead at the first mark and were never going to give it up despite Jeremy & Julian chasing hard and holding off Alex Farrell & Miles Mawditt and George & Howard Warrington.
After a full day of solid twin wiring weather and frantic action, the fleet enjoyed a leisurely afternoon followed by a BBQ over looking the estuary in the sun! The leader board was tight with 4 boats on 11 points.
Sunday dawned and despite a short hold on shore the fleet were keen to get on the water as the sea breeze filled in again, knowing they were in for another day of racing in idyllic sailing conditions.
The first race saw Alex & Miles take the lead and fought off Ben & Kez Cutler-Sharp for as long as they could. Ben & Kez sneaked passed on the lay line into the last downwind gate and took the win. The second race of the day saw the same story with John & Harry and Doug Smith & Freddie Tweedle in the mix at the top mark with Ben & Kez and Alex & Miles. The first downwind went well with the four closing up and round the same gate mark inches apart. Ben & Kez did eventually get by and held the others off for the next few rounds.
The last race saw some tired bodies but the racing was still great. Ben & Kez this time chased John Ready & Will Power around the first mark. It was close all the way round until a slight mistake downwind let Ben & Kez by to take their third bullet of the day!
In the end it was Alex & Miles who took the win showing great consistency on both days. Ben & Kez managed to drag themselves up to second and Jeremy & Julian in third. All in all, a great weekend of racing in fantastic weather and great conditions. The Hurricane is proving itself to be a versatile boat with crew ranges from 13 to 70 plus and a special mentions to Miles who is 15 years old (and won!), our youngest sailor Oliver Fellows at 13 sailing his first open meeting with his father having bought their SX in October joining Eloise, Freddie, Caleb and Jack who are all under 16 and had a great weekend.
The Hurricanes next TT is July 2nd and 3rd at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 436 | Alex Farrall | Miles Mawditt | Thorpe Bay YC | 3 | ‑5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | 429 | Ben Cutler‑Sharp | Kez Cutler‑Sharp | Starcross YC | 8 | 4 | ‑9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | 455 | Julian Reichert | Jeremy Sandford | Thorpe Bay YC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑9 | 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 454 | John Donovan | Harry Durant | Starcross YC | 4 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | ‑11 | 20 |
| 5 | 487 | George Warrington | Howard Warrington | Thorpe Bay YC | 5 | ‑8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
| 6 | 359 | Alex Warrington | Sam Osborne | Thorpe Bay YC | ‑6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 24 |
| 7 | 423 | John Ready | Will Powell | DSC West Mersea | 2 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ‑15 | 2 | 25 |
| 8 | 112 | Harry Boygle | Sophie Boygle | Thorpe Bay YC | 1 | 9 | 1 | ( RET | 12 | 16 | 39 |
| 9 | 428 | Adam Charlesworth | Rich Robinson | Stokes Bay | ‑16 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 47 |
| 10 | 485 | Graham Buxton‑Smith | Jack Solly | Starcross YC | 10 | 10 | ‑17 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 53 |
| 11 | 456 | Geoff Tindale | Hebe Hemming | Stone SC | 9 | 11 | 12 | 9 | ‑16 | 15 | 56 |
| 12 | 102 | Adrian Bunting | Stephanie Bunting | Thorpe Bay YC | 12 | 16 | 8 | ‑17 | 13 | 8 | 57 |
| 13 | 416 | Doug Smith | Freddie Tweedie | Starcross YC | ‑19 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 59 |
| 14 | 390 | James Fellows | Oliver Fellows | Starcross YC | ‑17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 61 |
| 15 | 380 | Rupert Greeves | Caleb Greeves | Starcross YC | 11 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 14 | ‑17 | 62 |
| 16 | 421 | Joseph Buxton‑Smith | Jamie Penn | Starcross YC | 18 | 13 | 18 | 7 | ‑20 | 12 | 68 |
| 17 | 340 | Kev Porter | Bill King | Royal Yorkshire YC | 13 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 11 | ‑19 | 70 |
| 18 | 483 | Pete Cole | Jenny Epps | Thorpe Bay YC | 15 | ( RET | 14 | 11 | 18 | 18 | 76 |
| 19 | 346 | Robin Ponting | Eloise Smith | Starcross YC | 14 | 17 | ‑19 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 78 |
| 20 | 338 | Peter Broomfield | Tom Broomfield | Thorpe Bay YC | ‑20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 95 |
