Norfolk Punt Club River Cruiser Open 2022
by Alan Davis 14 Jul 2022 18:57 BST
9-10 July 2022
Norfolk Punt Club Cruiser Open © Robin Myerscough
A great turnout of sixteen yachts arrived for the River Cruiser Open of 9th & 10th of July on Barton Broad. The weather also helped by providing a light (and warm) northerly wind, allowing an ideal opportunity to lay a satisfactory course on the main axis of the broad.
In Race 1, the faster boats,(Fleet A), made a clean start with yachts with Jessie May (Sally Dugdale), Catspaw (Brian Wilkins) and Don (Giles Bryan) leading at the windward mark.
Fleet B were similarly led by Tinkerbell (Adrian Lincoln) and Mischief (Steve Sweeney) five minutes later. Unfortunately Don's mast broke at the throat during the second beat, thankfully with no one underneath it. Once the boat was brought back to the club, a great show of community spirit was shown by everyone available pitching in to tidy up and dismantle her rig.
After handicaps were applied the results of Fleet A were 1st Jessie May, 2nd Catspaw, 3rd Bewitched (Colin Chettleburgh).
Fleet B's results were 1st Iris (Phil Davies), 2nd Alchemy (Richard Smith), 3rd Pippa (Geoff Angel).
Race two saw Catspaw, Whisper (James Dugdale) and Matilda (Anthony Landamore) make the early running in Fleet A, but Jessie May remained in the mix with Catspaw, Matilda and Jessie May finishing in that order. Fleet B saw a bit of a turn-around with 1st Waxwing (Robin Clayton), 2nd Mystery (Matt Ford) and 3rd Mischief.
It was at this point that it was realised with consternation that the vast mound of cakes provided for the whole weekend had all been scoffed in one afternoon! So, whilst competitors enjoyed a barbecue on the pontoons, a frantic round of baking and plundering of supermarket shelves happened in the background to provide supplies for the following day.
Sunday dawned with an unwelcome westerly wind, making for rather short beats and an awkward course. In the way of these things the forecast north easterly arrived early, halfway through the first race, temporarily upsetting the apple cart for some. Fleet A's finishers saw Jessie May 1st, Bewitched 2nd and Whisper 3rd. In Fleet B there were some new people at the top though with Martlet (Hilary Franzen), Pickle (Phil Montague) and Ceres (John Thorneycroft) taking honours in that order.
Thankfully the wind steadied for the last race, Catspaw once again leading Jessie May and Bewitched at the finish of Fleet A.
Fleet B showed that there was still a competition to be had with the first three places being taken by Alchemy, Martlet and Pippa respectively.
It had been a very convivial weekend, no doubt helped by the sunshine and ample provisions!
Overall Results:
White Horse Trophy for overall combined results
1st Catspaw, Brian Wilkins
2nd Jessie May, Sally Dugdale
3rd Martlet, Hilarry Franzen
Barton Broad Cruiser Challenge Trophy for Fleet A
1st Catspaw, Brian Wilkins
2nd Jessie May, Sally Dugdale
3rd Bewitched, Colin Chettleburgh
The Mystery of Moonshadow Knob for Fleet B
1st Martlet, Hilary Franzen
2nd Alchemy, Richard Smith
3rd Waxwing, Robin Clayton
Achievement Trophy
Matilda, Anthony Landamore