Great North Asymmetric Challenge (GNAC) 2022

by Paul Allen 20 Sep 2022 14:58 BST

Great North Asymmetric Challenge (GNAC) 2022 © William Carruthers

140 competitors sailing 74 boats ignored the forecast and headed to Costa del Bass for the 11th Great North Asymmetric Challenge. This popular event attracts the who's who of asymmetric sailing in the North, with this year's entries over double what they were pre Covid. During the briefing visitors and members fell silent for one minute to honour Queen Elizabeth II.

The forecast was light winds Saturday and nowt on Sunday, but the reality was much better with sunshine and a force three on Saturday and similar on Sunday until the rain arrived and the wind faded for the last race. Race Officer Andy Smith and his team on the Bates set a busy schedule of four races per day, with quick turn arounds in-between races, no easy feat when the start line required constant tinkering in the shifting west to north westerly winds.

The fleet of 74 was split in two, with thirty RS400s and a handful of other fast asymmetrics starting first, shortly followed by twenty six RS200s also with a handful of similar speed asymmetrics including five youth teams sailing RS Fevas. The objective of splitting the fleets so the slower boats had a chance of a competitive start worked with seven races and seven different winners!

Following a postponed start and a course change, race one kicked off in a building force two to three. Those who started on the pin benefited from an early shift and tacked across those who started at the committee boat end. It was an RS200 top three, lead by Phil and Naomi Smith from Bass finishing thirty seconds ahead of John Reekie, also from Bass, sailing with his two sons Andrew and James - yes three in a boat!

With the breeze now in double figures the RS400s dominated race two. Dave Exley and Nige Hall (Bass/LLSC) used all two decades of their sailing partnership to finish 1st RS400 and first overall. Sam Waller and Martin Penty (Beaver SC) sailed consistently, adding a second to their fourth from the first race, also sailing an RS400.

In race three Jono Shelley and Graham Priestley (Ullswater YC) powered to victory sailing their VX One, finishing over two minutes clear of GNAC 2021 winners Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman who were second overall and first RS400.

The breeze began to ease for race four, the final race of the day. Sailing an RS400, Barrie Thornton and Nick Hunt (Scaling Dam) built a healthy thirty second lead to win, with Sam Waller and Martin Penty finishing second and making it a good day for the RS400s in the overall handicap. The RS400 of Sam Waller and Martin Penty lead overnight, counting eight points from four races. Phil and Naomi Smith were first RS200, counting just twelve points in fourth place overall.

As forecast, Sunday dawned windless, however by the time the fleet headed to the start line a west-northwest breeze kicked in, offering planing conditions to those who managed to spot the gusts and stay in the breeze. The RS200s dominated race five, won by Andrew Brown and Alex Sutcliffe (Tynemouth SC) with Phil and Naomi Smith not far behind. Starting day two as strong as their day one, Sam Waller and Martin Penty added a third to their results, and with it what was beginning to look like an unbeatable score line.

Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman won race six, finishing just fourteen seconds ahead of the VX One, sailed by Jono Shelley and Graham Priestley. A break for lunch was welcomed, with toasted paninis flying out the Bass galley. On shore there was rumour that Sam Waller and Martin Penty had it in the bag, with a very strong score line of 4, 2, 7, 2, 3. Not bad in a mixed fleet of 74!

The breeze began to ease for the seventh and what would be final race. Sailing an RS400, Hamish Gledhill and Ross Southwell (LLSC) finished just seconds ahead of Dave and Jethro Gebhard, also sailing an RS400. The heavens opened as race eight commenced, resulting in the wind slowly fading to nothing.

With dark clouds on the horizon the race officer made the right call and abandoned the final race as little to no progress was being made for those still to finish.

Sailing an RS400, Sam Waller and Martin Penty (Beaver SC) finished first overall and first RS400, counting just fourteen points from seven races. Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman, also sailing an RS400, finished second overall. In third place, and first RS200 was Phil and Naomi Smith from Bass.

Throughout the fleet there was some excellent performances, lot's of juniors and new teams mixing it up with the adults, and four female RS400 helms really encouraging to see.

What an incredible event both on and off the water. The racing was as frantic as it was exciting. 24 Bass asymmetrics on the water joined by 50 visiting entries.

GNAC 2023 - can we make 100 boats?

Great North Asymmetric Challenge (GNAC) 2022 - photo © William Carruthers

Overall Results:

Pos	Class	Sail_No	Helm	Crew	Club	PY	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Pts
1st	RS 400	1492	Sam Waller	Martin Penty	Beaver	942	4	2	7	2	3	5	3	14
2nd	RS 400	1453	Pix	Matt	Bassenthwaite SC	942	6	OCS	2	8	5	1	7	21
3rd	RS 200	1369	Phil Smith	Naomi Smith	Bassenthwaite	1046	1	8	6	5	2	24	23	22
4th	VX One	180	Jono Shelley	Graham Priestley	UYC	860	DNF	3	1	7	24	2	11	24
5th	RS 200	1682	Andrew Brown	Alex Sutcliffe	Tynemouth SC	1046	16	5	18	3	1	11	RDG	25
6th	RS 400	1511	Hamish Gledhill	Ross Southwell	West Riding/Leigh and Lowton SC	942	55	4	14	10	20	3	1	32
7th	RS 400	1460	Dave Exley	Nigel Hall	Bass	942	7	1	3	22	30	8	40	41
8th	RS 200	1606	Martin Joesbury	Sian Joesbury	Budworth	1046	3	10	29	11	6	20.5	13	43
9th	RS 200	600	Fiona Rigg	Helen Wightman	East Lothian Yacht Club	1046	17	6	9	21	4	14	16	49
10th	RS 400	1455	Garry Knott	Amy Hinsliff‑Smith	Notts County Sailing Club	942	10	9	10	15	40.5	9.5	37	53.5
11th	RS 400	1414	Alex Oyston	Nathan Batchelor	Tynemouth SC	942	36	13	19	6	16.5	7	12	54.5
12th	RS 400	1398	Philip Murray	Neil Schofield	Tynemouth	942	29	7	OCS	4	34	9.5	8	57.5
13th	RS 200	1709	Alex Leonard	Olivia Leonard	Bass SC	1046	11	19	5	26	7	44	17	59
14th	RS 200	990	Luke Shaw	Marie Shaw	Budworth/Bass SC	1046	5	28	4	17	10	38	24	60
15th	RS 400	1508	Richard Catchpole	Gary Coop	Leigh & Lowton SC	942	8	15	11	23	22.5	20.5	9	63.5
16th	RS 400	1316	Mike saul	oliver Kent	Yorkshire dales	942	13	27	49	18	43	6	10	74
17th	RS 200	1642	John Wilson	Laura Glover	East Lothian Yacht Club	1046	27	20	13	12	12	18	DNC	75
18th	RS 200	1068	Martin Smith	Barbara Smith	Yorkshire dales sailing club	1046	14	17	12	13.5	19	40.5	20	75.5
19th	RS 400	1467	Martin Spencer	Vanessa Evans	LLSC	942	23	35	27	9	39	4	15	78
20th	RS 200	1120	Peter Collings	Iona Smith	CSSC	1046	30	22	21.5	19	14	35.5	5	81.5
21st	RS 200	1314	Jon Chapman	Wendy Marrin	Budworth	1046	57	16	17	28	16.5	19	14	82.5
22nd	RS 200	1730	Kevin Gerald	Bex Smith	Budworth	1046	59	14	23	33	9	35.5	4	83
23rd	RS 400	1456	Barrie Thornton	Nick Hunt	Scaling Dam	942	19	25	15	1	27	26	28.5	86
24th	RS 200	1560	Jon Ward	Hether Ward	Budworth SC	1046	20	21	16	DNC	11	29	21	89
25th	RS 200	1037	John Reekie	James & Andrew Reekie	Bassenthwaite SC	1046	2	29	20	DNC	15	42	26	92
26th	RS 200	728	Adam Catlow	Martyn Catlow	Leigh & Lowton	1046	22	11	32	31	13	31	19	96
27th	RS 400	1484	Mark Somerville	Joe Roberts	Bassenthwaite SC	942	15	23.5	25.5	34	26	13	38.5	103
28th	RS 200	807	Phil Davenport	Oscar Davenport	Bass SC	1046	25	12	34	27	18	27	22	104
29th	RS 400	973	Dave Gebhard	Jethro Gebhard	DRSC	942	OCS	34	33	25	32	15	2	107
30th	RS 200	1739	Ginger Phil	Poppy Christie		1046	38	26	8	20	22.5	40.5	DNC	114.5
31st	RS FEVA XL	4766	Emilia Kidd	Friedrich Woods	DRSC	1244	32	32	54	16	21	16	31	116
32nd	RS 400	1410	Jacob Ainsworth	Kayleigh Roberts	Tynemouth SC	942	18	37	30	24	47	23	36	131
33rd	RS 400	1191	Louise Mckeand	Alistair Coates	Bass	942	28	38.5	21.5	38.5	25	34	25	133.5
34th	RS FEVA XL	4470	Ben Welfare	Ada Daniels	LLSC/DRSC	1244	37	45	62	13.5	35	12	38.5	136
35th	RS 100 8.4	360	Andrew Todd		Bala/Chester	1004	24	41	24	32	44	17	DNC	138
36th	RS 200	1437	Adam Din	Alastair Rimmer	HLSC/SSC	1046	63	23.5	25.5	OCS	28	43	18	138
37th	RS 400	1461	Caroline Exley	Jude Allen	Bass	942	12	36	36	43	66	25	33	142
38th	RS 400	8	Keith Escritt	Ian Escritt	Yorkshire Dales SC	942	41	30	31	37	50.5	DNC	6	145
39th	RS 400	1197	Robin Dawson	Mike Cowan	Bassenthwaite	942	9	33	38	DNC	37	32	DNC	149
40th	RS 200	1071	Matthew Somerville	Henry Bullen	Bass SC	1046	62	DNC	35	36	8	45	32	156
41st	RS 100 10.2	481	Ethan Dawson		Bassenthwaite	981	26	50	57	30	29	39	34	158
42nd	RS 400	1370	Peter Taylor	Ruary Williamson	Dalgety Bay SC	942	34	40	37	40	42	28	27	166
43rd	RS 200	1033	Gareth Williams	Jen Williams	Leigh and Lowton SC	1046	21	18	28	29	DNC	DNC	DNC	173
44th	RS 400	1513	Neil Parkhurst	Thomas Parkhurst	Beaver Sailing Club	942	61	46.5	OCS	35	36	22	41	180.5
45th	RS 400	1363	Ross Ryan	Kathryn Hinsliff‑Smith	Notts County	942	33	44	44	42	31	33	43	182
46th	Devoti D‑One	906	Stuart Halman		Leigh & Lowton	948	58	31	42	41	33	51	DNC	198
47th	RS 200	223	Lindsay McCosh	Pizzly Burroughs	ELYC	1046	64	43	60	44	40.5	52	30	209.5
48th	RS 400	1148	Hester Robertson	Richard Hope	Dalgety Bay	942	42	66	51	49	45	37	46	219
49th	RS 400	1427	Carl Whitehead	Carol Milner	Filey/YDSC	942	43.5	42	48	47	49	47	42	221.5
50th	RS 400	768	Angus Marshall	Imogen Marshall		942	31	48	45	50	48	55	DNC	222
51st	ISO	1008	Paul Allen	Grace & Reuben & Oliver	Bass SC	922	43.5	51	52	DNC	50.5	49	28.5	222.5
52nd	RS 200	1538	Matthew Luxton	Desmond Luxton	Staunton Harold SC	1046	46	54.5	39	48	57	64	35	222.5
53rd	RS 200	507	Stephen Kirkpatrick	Georgia Kirkpatrick / Lucy Thomas	Bass SC	1046	48	46.5	41	46	52	48	47	228.5
54th	RS FEVA XL	5279	Grace Stockdale	Iona Cheyne	Bassenthwaite	1244	35	38.5	59	57	63	54	45	229.5
55th	RS 200	867	Chris hunt	Beth hunt	Bass	1046	45	56	50	38.5	65	65	50	239.5
56th	RS 400	603	Graham Fraser	Patricia Wells	Tynemouth Sailing Club	942	40	62	63	56	54	50	44	244
57th	RS 400	1136	Justin Smith	Sarah Kincaid	Tynemouth SC	942	OCS	DNC	47	45	46	30	DNC	245
58th	RS 400	451	Alan Bennett	Ben Sandover	Carsington/ ECMBC	942	39	57	65	DNC	38	46	DNC	245
59th	RS 200	501	Rob Howard	Clare Howard	Sunderland YC	1046	49	59	40	52	60	60	49	249
60th	RS 200	1312	Paul Clark	Emily Clark	Bass sc	1046	47	58	46	51	59	62	48	250
61st	Buzz	578	Jacob Din	Kieron Freer	Hollingworth/Jumbles	1030	51	61	43	53	53	56	52	252
62nd	RS 400	1272	Andy Wilcox	Hannah Wilcox	Bass SC	942	67	49	58	58	58	53	51	269
63rd	RS 400	142	Anthony Walton	Philip Cowans	TSC	942	66	52	55	54	56	58	53	270
64th	RS FEVA XL	9	Tristan Shaw	Cameron Somerville	Budworth/Bass SC	1244	DNC	DNC	53	55	61	59	56	284
65th	RS 400	1077	Sven Richards	Andrew Nel	Tynemouth SC	942	56	65	56	59	62	63	55	288
66th	Devoti D‑One	7	Steve Dawson		LLSC	948	60	53	DNC	DNC	55	57	DNC	302
67th	29ER	1	Charlie Exley	Jack Exley	Bass SC	903	53	64	61	60	DNC	DNC	DNC	315
68th	29ER	2175	Max rawlinson	Mathew Posslethmwaite	Roa Island BC	903	52	60	DNC	DNC	68	66	DNC	323
69th	49ER	132	Colin Rawlinson	Graeme Rowe	Roa Island BC	697	50	63	66	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	333
70th	RS FEVA XL	7814	Charlie Rowell	Toby Kidd	Bass SC/DRSC	1244	DNC	DNC	64	DNC	64	DNC	54	336
71st	RS 400	647	Charlie Exley	Jack Exley	Bass SC	942	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	67	61	DNC	359
72nd	RS 200	447	James Lawton	Joseph	Ribble Cruising Club	1046	54	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	362
73rd	Norfolk Punt	94	Andy Tunnicliffe	Ian Hopwood	Bassenthwaite	886	DNC	54.5	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	362.5
74th	2000	2272	Simon Evans	Lucy Evans	Delph	1114	65	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	373
75th	RS 200	1510	Brendan Lynch	Ellen Clark	ELYC	1046	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	385
75th	ISO	1032	Andy thomas	Henry Kirkpatrick	Bassenthwaite	922	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	385