2023 BOTTLE boat Junior & Open Championships at Waldringfield Sailing Club
by Roger Stollery 30 Aug 2023 16:32 BST
Competitors on the beach control area at the start of Race 14 in the very variable NW reaching/beating winds in the shadow of the cliff behind © Linda Price
This unique event for BOTTLE boats is sailed on the tidal River Deben and provides a great spectacle for those watching from the Waldringfield Sailing Club above and to the west of the beach.
A good entry included seven juniors who outnumbered the older generation. 14 races were sailed in very awkward variable NW-W wind conditions, which required intense concentration to beat the neaps ebb tide. 6 races were sailed before lunch when the leaderboard was headed by Noel Fraser with his score of 6 including 4 wins, followed by Oliver Stollery with 12 and Bernard Kufluk with 17 points.
The afternoon's racing was dramatically interrupted by heavy rain on the edge of a thunderstorm and stopped racing for 30 minutes after which the sun returned. This and the change of tide reduced the wind and changed the direction to a more clear beat and run, but enough to run another 3 races, before the wind eventually died just before the finishing time.
The racing was very keen with a lot of excited banter in some very close finishes. The afternoon results belong to Oliver who sailed exceptionally well and was the most consistent finishing with 3 firsts and 4 seconds. He becomes only the second junior to win both trophies.
At the prize-giving, after a very grown up speech by the winner, Margaret Lake who presented the prizes thanked Roger and the Stollery family race team for organising another superb event.
Overall Results:
1 Oliver Stollery 22pts - 1st Junior
2 Noel Fraser 40pts
3 George Moss 55pts - 2nd Junior
4 Bernard Kufluk 57pts
5 Graham Viney 66pts
6 Matthew Lake 72pts