Streaker HD Sails Southern Paddle Series Open at Waveney & Oulton Broad Yacht Club
by Veronica Falat 18 Jun 2024 18:12 BST
15 June 2024
8 local boats were joined by 6 visitors for the Streaker open meeting at Waveney & Oulton Broad Y.C. on Saturday 15th June. This event counts towards the HD Sails Southern Paddle series.
True to the forecast, there was a gusty breeze in the morning for the first 2 races which meant plenty of shifts on the upwind legs and some good planing opportunities downwind.
In race 1, Pete Matthews had a narrow lead at the first mark and then proceeded to pull away from everyone else, leaving them to scrap for 2nd place. The racing in the chasing bunch was very tight with lots of place-changing but, at the finish, it was Veronica Falat just ahead of 16-year old Nathan Clark in his first Streaker open, with Ian Bradley, Brian Smith and Mark Langston only a few metres behind.
The start of race 2 saw a big shift momentarily favour the boats at the clubhouse end of the startline while several of those who had done well in race 1 were lost at the other end! At the first mark Chris Foster, Nathan Clark and Jamie Dobson were well placed.
Veronica Falat went low on the reach and pulled through to 3rd, while Ian Bradley was also recovering from a poor start. Nathan took the lead on the reach back down the broad and then had the misfortune of finding the Waveney Princess, the big commercial passenger vessel that takes visitors on sight-seeing trips, blocking his route to the leeward mark. Luckily his lead was big enough to allow time to gybe and take avoiding action. However, this put the chasing pack right on his tail.
On the next beat Nathan and Ian Bradley pulled ahead and they had a really tight battle for the rest of the race. Ian took the lead on the final lap only to be overtaken on the final fetch to the finish line. Brian Smith took 3rd place with Veronica 4th. Meanwhile, having done so well in race 1, Pete Matthews suffered the indignity of capsizing and didn’t finish the race.
There was then a lunch break (food supplied mostly by Pete Matthews from his allotment!) during which we could see the sky darkening and the wind was picking up. Most boats had been left moored on the club pontoons and when sails were hoisted it was obvious that it was getting seriously windy. Several boats decided not to bother with race 3 but 7 or 8 got to the startline and off they set.
The first two legs of the course were coped with OK, with Chris Foster taking the lead but it was when the fleet got to the far end of the broad that the squall came through. The broad was soon littered with upturned boats, not just Streakers but others hoping for club racing, and driving rain reduced visibility to not very far!
Race officer Ben Falat abandoned the race and the safety boats were busy checking everyone was OK. Fortunately we all were, but rather muddy from getting our masts stuck in the bottom of Oulton Broad! Eventually conditions improved and everyone got back to the slipway. It was then nice and sunny while we tidied up and packed away, before a heavy rain shower came in.
So, overall, with just 2 of the scheduled 3 races sailed, Nathan Clark was the winner, 2 points ahead of Ian Bradley and Veronica Falat. Nathan is more commonly seen sailing his Topper or ILCA 4 but borrows a Streaker for club racing at WOBYC whenever he gets the chance and his practice certainly paid off on a day when good boat handling was called for.
The next event in the HD Sails Southern Paddle Streaker Series will be at Staunton Harold on July 6th, which also counts towards the North Sails Northern Paddle.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1965 | Barnaby | Nathan Clark | WOBYC | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 2nd | 2121 | Phantom Pharmacist | Ian Bradley | Ouse Amateur SC | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 3rd | 1972 | Pickle | Veronica Falat | WOBYC | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 4th | 2175 | | Brian Smith | Bowmoor SC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 5th | 2135 | Renegade | Mark Langston | WOBYC / Beccles ASC | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 6th | 1943 | Little Egret | Chris Foster | Rollesby Broad SC | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 7th | 2100 | Dabchick | Jonathan Blankley | WOBYC / Beccles ASC | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 8th | 2147 | Blue Balou | Pete Matthews | WOBYC | 1 | DNF | 16 |
| 9th | 2127 | Pingu | Kyle Beamish | WOBYC | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 10th | 1588 | Henry | Jamie Dobson | WOBYC | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| 11th | 1817 | Binky | Paul Burman‑Smith | Ouse Amateur SC | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| 12th | 2160 | | Chris Godwin | Rutland SC | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| 13th | 1911 | Only Etty | Charmaine Ryland | Ouse Amateur SC | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| 14th | 1013 | Starkers | Philip Delf | WOBYC | DNS | DNF | 30 |