West Kirby Sailing Club Frostbite Series Day 1

by Liz Potter 28 Oct 2024 16:48 GMT 27 October 2024

Sunday morning dawned sunny with a pleasant breeze at West Kirby Sailing Club. 25 boats gathered on the marine lake apron for the first two races of the 14-race frostbite series, which finishes in early December.

Of those competing, 9 were newly graduated novices from this season's "Starting to Race" group; a program which started last winter. The training has been driven by Tony Marston, an International Canoe (IC) sailor with over 50 years of top level racing experience, as a plan to build up the current club handicap racing fleet. One of his novices, Judith Carter had even attended her first open event and also the Lightning Nationals in her first year. She was present on Sunday, along with 4 other Lightnings; the fastest growing class at West Kirby at the moment, thanks to the efforts of Jude and Richard Stratton.

The RO Liz Potter was challenged with the South Westerly wind direction across the long thin lake, making a windward leg tricky. The reaching start provided much entertainment, with a few individuals electing to return to the line as OCS, even though they were not over at the start. The culprit was a lone Lightning who had ventured too far to windward and was stuck in irons, creating a little havoc for the fleet post-start.

Of the returning boats, Phantom sailor Andrew Potter whooshed in a ghoulish twirl around the windward line buoy and set off with ghostly speed to chase after the departed fleet. The Laser 2000 of Mike and Anne St Paer also returned and worked hard to recover to 5th place overall on handicap.

New Rules IC sailor Steve Fleming made a more cautious start, chasing Andrew in the Phantom. Once the wind picked up, he enjoyed some speedy chill time on his sliding seat on the comparatively longer downwind legs. Until he met Judith.

To set the scene, by mid-race, the faster boats were encountering the slower boats. The competition was equally fierce in this part of the fleet, with a gaggle of laser radials and lightnings in a tight line approaching their mark on starboard tack. Enter one Steve Fleming in a very bright yellow fast canoe, on port tack, looking for a way across the motorway. Steve picked his victim unwisely, not realising that ex-novice Nationals competitor Judith knew her rights (and lefts for that matter). Judith had to take some serious boat-saving avoidance manoeuvres that were going to cost Steve dearly in flowers, wine and possibly dinner too.

Meanwhile the Phantom disappeared.

Leading the rest of the fleet was the IC of Tony Marston, sailed by Canoe newbie Holly Wright. Showing great skill and dexterity, nerve and balance, plus a sprinkle of Canoe insanity that is the hallmark of this fleet, young Holly showed the old and the mighty what a force to be reckoned with she has become, building on her recent win of the Club's Endeavor Trophy against the club's top sailors this autumn.

Another front runner was Martin Hartley in his Solo, who was never lower than 6th place on the water in both of the days' races.

The second race involved a change of course as the wind swung around, allowing two upwind legs per lap. The new course favoured the lasers, with Steve Jardine bagging a 2nd and the GP14 sailed by Alan Jenkins and Bob Thompson, who finished 4th on handicap.

The Phantom and Solo continued to dominate, with Martin Hartley (Solo 5794) leading the series with a 2,1, and Andrew Potter in Phantom 1456 lying a point behind after a 1,3. Steve Fleming was 3rd overall. With a long series ahead, anything can happen as new leaders and challengers wait to emerge.

Results after Day 1:

Pos	Boat Name	Class	Sail No	Helm / Crew	PY	R1	R2	Pts
1st	Side Winder	Solo	5794	Martin Hartley	1152	2	1	3
2nd		Phantom	1456	Andrew Potter	1000	1	3	4
3rd	Money4Nuffin	Int Canoe	338	Steve Fleming	930	3	6	9
4th	In Our Prime	GP14	14153	Alan Jenkins/Bob Thompson	1138	6	4	10
5th	Prime Number	Laser 2000	21487	Mike & Anne de St Paer	1118	5	7	12
6th	SensationAL	Albacore	8234	John Carlin	1053	8	5	13
7th		Laser Radial	195	Ioannis Koutsokeras	1147	4	10	14
8th	Forked	Lightning 368	439	Jude Stratton	1162	9	9	18
9th		Laser Radial	216509	Steve Shallcroft	1147	7	14	21
10th		Laser Radial	1251	Alex Elliott	1147	10	11	21
11th		Laser	183942	John Underwood	1106	11	12	23
12th		RS 100 8.4	128	Paul Dowman	1004	12	13	25
13th	Deecisive	Laser	309	Steve Jardine	1106	DNC	2	27
14th		Laser	71	Henk Thomas	1106	13	15	28
15th		Lightning 368	2	Judith Carter	1162	14	16	30
16th		Laser	218272	Tom Green	1106	DNC	8	33
17th		Laser Radial	45	Wendy Shallcroft	1147	16	18	34
18th	White Knight	Int Canoe OD	333	Tony Marston	940	15	20	35
19th		Laser	219366		1106	17	19	36
20th		Lightning 368	226	Gill Hall	1162	20	17	37
21st		Lightning 368	209	Amy Watkin	1162	18	RET	41
22nd		Lightning 368	95	Roberta Piroddi	1162	21	21	42
23rd	Egret	Albacore	8074	Dave Ashworth	1053	19	DNC	44
24th	Zippy Zero	D‑Zero	333	Liz Potter	1043	OOD	OOD	45