Noble Marine Streaker National Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club - Day 1

Day 1 of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC © Paul Sanwell / OPP

It's day 1 of the Noble Marine Streaker National Championships and the fleet was greeted with blue skies and a good breeze at Grafham Water Sailing Club! Following the briefing and topping up of sun cream, the fleet of 51 boats headed out to the race area.

Race 1 got off without a hitch. The fleet headed up a shifty and changeable first beat for a game of snakes and ladders! We had some new faces at the front, with Ollie Groves (2111) first to round the windward mark, Arran Holman (1641) 2nd, Steve Hanby (2162) 4th and Richard Hanby (1995) 5th, with a regular face, James Dawes (1975), in between them in 3rd. Unfortunately, the wind switched off and then filled in from behind on the run, as always, and the leaders were soon gobbled up by the planing chasing pack. The leeward gate saw people having to make a decision about which side to go, especially as the whole fleet had bunched up and the mark rounding was becoming a little frenetic. Arran made the best of the run and rounded first, along with Alex Reindorp (2134) and Colin Staite (2164).

Finish on day 1 of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

With the wind shifting around, the beat turned into to a one-tack beat with some people able to lay the windward mark from the gate mark. The wind had picked up which, along with the shifts, made the beat a little harder. The top five changed again by the windward mark and first reach, but with Arran still leading the way. The current National Champion, Martin Penty (1982), was on recovery and was storming through the fleet, chasing after some of his many Beaver sailor friends.

It came down to the last beat and run. Arran led the way with the Beaver pack of Ollie, Martin and the Hanby family chasing him down, with Alan Gillard (2171) hot on their heels. 2nd-6th places swapped around up the beat and down the run, finishing Race 1 as follows...

1st 1641 Arran Holman
2nd 2111 Ollie Groves
3rd 2162 Steve Hanby
4th 1995 Richard Hanby
5th 1982 Martin Penty
6th 2171 Alan Gillard

Black flag makes an appearance on day 1 of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

Race 2 did not go to plan for the poor Race Officer. The wind was shifting around even more, with the first start being postponed during the start process due to a heavy shift which made the first leg into a fetch. The second start saw people being a little keen and with too many over the line the Race Officer cancelled it. The black flag was raised during the third start sequence, but unfortunately some people still didn't behave, with Ollie, Colin and Ian Bradley (2121) sent home for an early shower after being a little over the line.

Arran Holman chased by Richard Brameld and Jon Aldhous on day 1 of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

At the fourth attempt everyone got away cleanly. Martin was back on form and rounded the windward mark first with a different set of Beaver sailors chasing him; Richard Brameld (1654) in second and Jon Aldhous (2115) rounding in third. As the fleet headed down the run a large proportion went left but the wind turned off and the pressure stayed on the right, allowing those who went right to make big gains. With everyone descending on the leeward gate, decisions were made on which side to round and which way to head up the beat. Alan managed to make gains forward and was second at the top mark, playing the shifts well, along with Arran who managed to wiggle past Jon into third, ready for the reach.

(l-r) Alan Gillard 3rd and Martin Penty 2nd overnight at the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

Steve Blackburn (1942) was making moves forward and took three places on the reaches down to the bottom of the triangle. The last beat of the day commenced with the windward mark being moved, causing some confusion amongst the fleet, but Martin was firmly in the lead with Alan and Arran behind him. The top three places stayed the same until the finish, then the run became a bit of a lottery with big gains and losses going right through the fleet. The top six finishers of Race 2 were...

1st 1982 Martin Penty
2nd 2171 Alan Gillard
3rd 1641 Arran Holman
4th 1942 Steve Blackburn
5th 2115 Jon Aldhous
6th 1654 Richard Brameld

Arran Holman overnight leader of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals at Grafham Water SC - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

A good but tough day was had by all. There are some tired legs already with everyone looking forward to tomorrow's racing, with it all still to play for!

Arran Holman is currently leading overall, with Martin Penty in second and Alan Gillard in third.

Results after Day 1: