Blithfield Barrel 2023/24 - Week 2

by Alastair Reid 12 Dec 2023 13:14 GMT 19 November 2023 - 18 February 2024

The weather forecast was accurate and the high winds had spent themselves overnight, revealing a benign on-shore Southerly of 5-9 knots and sporadic rain for race day. Despite missing some of the Merlins to their class event, 29 boats were on the water for the start of the first race.

The wind then built with gusts in the 20s but the start sequence proceeded smoothly right down to the final minute when the wind suddenly veered to the West and forced almost the entire fleet prematurely over the line. It then hit them with a punishing and sustained squall, recorded on shore at 35 knots. With some capsizes and the safety boats fully committed, the next 15 minutes were about resolving the on-water issues and making plans to recover the racing situation. Some 11 boats headed for shelter and despite some incidents close to the shore, all were safely recovered with no reports of injury or significant damage.

As is the way, it quickly calmed down and left a wind of around 11 knots from the SE. The course was adjusted to suit and the remaining 18 started cleanly. The 505 of Charlie Chandler and Owen Mills led the way throughout the 3 laps, their enormous orange spinnaker adding a real splash of colour to the grey overcast, and with a considerable gap back to the next boat, the Phantom of Adam Froggat. Nevertheless, the corrected time winners were Mike Senior and Ollie Goodhead in their GP14.

Lunch was Chilli Con-carne, a great choice for its warmth-generating properties. A delayed start to the second race was inevitable given the dramas of the first one and heading onto the water at 1420, the wind was 11 gusting 23 knots from the SW. A clean start however, was not on the cards, but a black flag saw success at the second time of asking. With glorious sunshine as the backdrop, the 505, once again, led the way and achieved line honours with Adam's Phantom not quite as close behind as in the first race. Most boats squeezed in 3 laps as the fading light fell across the reservoir.

The winners for the day were previous Barrel champions, Mike Senior and Ollie Goodhead, followed by Adam Froggat with Mark Hartley third. As in Round 1, Hartley Chandlers supplied additional prizes in the form of a generous quantity of useful bits of kit which were raffled between all the competitors.

Blithfield Barrel Round 2 Results:

Pos	Class	Sail No	Helm	Crew	PY	Club	R1	R2	Pts
1st	GP14	14168	Mike Senior	Ollie Goodhead	1130	SSSC	1	1	2
2nd	PHANTOM	1449	Adam Froggatt		1004	Chasewater SC	3	2	5
3rd	SUPERNOVA	1341	Mark Hartley		1077	Blithfield	2	6	8
4th	FINN	5	John Greenwood		1049	Blithfield	6	3	9
5th	FINN	0	Andy Couch		1049	Blithfield	4	7	11
6th	PHANTOM	1428	Sam Coxon		1004	Chasewater SC	7	5	12
7th	505	8881	Charlie Chandler	Owen Hills	903	Tewkesbury SC	5	8	13
8th	LARK	2536	Samuel Bailey	Holly Evans	1073	SSSC	10	4	14
9th	LASER/ ILCA 7	PK	Paul Keeling		1100	Blithfield	8	11	19
10th	SUPERNOVA	1066	Julian Bassett		1077	Blithfield	9	13	22
11th	GP14	13868	Oliver Dumbelton	Harriet Dumbelton	1130	Nantwich BCSC	14	10	24
12th	GP14	13326	Steve McCarthy	Gareth Thomas	1130	Blithfield	12	12	24
13th	LASER RADIAL/ ILCA 6	157393	Harriet Temple		1147	SSSC	18	9	27
14th	SUPERNOVA	1332	Nick Woodhead		1077	Blithfield	16	14	30
15th	FLYING FIFTEEN	3563	Jim Watterson	Andy Watterson	1021	Blithfield	15	15	30
16th	OSPREY	1333	Doug Rankin	Paul Rankin	930	Blithfield	17	18	35
17th	HORNET	2189	Justin Jones	Chris Anderson	955	Chasewater SC	11		41
18th	PHANTOM	1370	Duncan Adams		1004	Burton SC	13		43
19th	SUPERNOVA	1328	Rob Swinnock		1077	Blithfield	RET	16	45
20th	GP14	13120	Rosie Grittith	Isaac Shirley	1130	Blithfield	RET	17	46
21st	WAYFARER	10168	Lara Grittith	Ollie Green	1102	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	Javelin	579	C Sagar	N Reid	944	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	PHANTOM	1301	Matt Pritchard		1004	Burton SC	RET		59
21st	LASER/ ILCA 7	213809	Paul Powell		1100	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	HADRON H2	105	Peter Slater		1034	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	GP14	13813	Peter Thoms	Dawn Frost	1130	Nantwich BCSC	RET		59
21st	MERLIN‑ROCKET	3716	Steve Leney	Gill Leney	980	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	OSPREY	1363	Rob Burdekin	Al Raynard	930	Blithfield	RET		59
21st	LASER RADIAL/ ILCA 6	217835	Henry Walker		1147	Blithfield	RET		59

The next Barrel race (third of four) is on 14th Jan 2024. Entry can be found here.