Comet Open at Silver Wing Sailing Club
by Adam Wickenden 13 May 2025 06:03 BST
10 May 2025
You could hardly have wished for better conditions for the 2025 Comet Open at Silverwing SC. An Easterly breeze of about force 3 to 4 due to veer slightly to the Southeast was nearly perfect. On our lake this direction allows for beats with good wind down the full length of the lake. OK, maybe it was a bit unstable at times, but you can't have everything.
A fleet of 12 boats returned to Silverwing SC to contest the Silverwing Comet Trophy. This is an old DeHavilland Heron propeller hub, and is probably heavy enough to sink a Comet! Last year it was contested alongside the Comet Association Championships.
Interestingly the wind was from the same direction as last year. "It's not usually like that here" is the cry - shhh, don't tell them that! Having set the course for races one and two the RO suddenly remembered it was exactly the same course he set last year. If only it was always that easy. The wind direction allowed 3 beats to be set per lap, two long and one short.
So it was that we mustered the fleet for race 1, lining up at a slightly more than ideally port biased line. Meg Warren in 174 capsized in a gust on leaving the jetty, but made the start just in time - so I will use unstable gusts as the excuse for both.
The port swing left a lot of the fleet line shy, so Ben Palmer in 597 was able to tack at the pin and cross the fleet on port. Ben led at the end of the first lap from Chris Robinson in 867 and Eddie Pope in 377.
The course required the fleet to sail through the start/finish line at the end of each lap. A couple of boats missed this at the end of the first lap. The Comet fleet are a friendly bunch, so they all returned to sail the correct course having been informed by their fellow competitors.
The front 3 remained the same until the end of the 3 lap race.
Race 2 was started back-back immediately after the finish of race 1. This time the wind played ball at the start, and they all got away on a nicely square line. Eddie Pope in 377 at the pin thought he was OCS and gybed back round the pin to restart. He was not however OCS, and the committee boat did not display the X flag.
At the end of the first beat the fleet were still very bunched together, with Peter Mountford in 864 leading Liz Smallwood in 750 and Ben Palmer in 597. By the end of the first lap it was Ben in 597 leading from Chris Robinson in 867 and Annette Walter in 323.
The wind went soft for a short while at the end of lap 1. It then came back in in a biggish gust towards the end of lap 2. The leading edge of the gust caused a few issues, and much entertainment on the committee boat. Ken Baker in 695 was dumped in by a header half way up the third beat, while John Coppenhall in 532 did a lovely broach right by the committee boat as the gust hit him on the run. Ken retired after righting his boat.
At the end of race 2 it was Ben in 597 from Chris Robinson in 867 and Eddie Pope in 377.
The fleet then took a break for a lunch of lasagne, salad, and convivial chat.
Following lunch the wind had veered by about 15 degrees. The RO adjusted the course by moving each of the leeward marks one mark clockwise (we have 8 marks arranged clockwise round the outside of the lake, plus 3 marks we lay as windward marks as required). An additional short run was added before the third beat, though this did not work well and was dropped for race 4.
Race 3 stared with the wind playing games. The course had already been shifted to account for the 15 degree veer. As the start sequence counted down the wind decided to add another 15 degrees to this, making the line rather starboard biased. This left Helen Evans in 868 and Hanry Jaggers in 800 trapped above a bunch of boats and subsequently OCS. This time the X flag went up. The strong gusts made picking their way back through the pack take some time. Henry retired but Helen carried on.
The front 3 boats - Ben in 597, Chris Robinson in 867 and Eddie Pope in 377 managed to pull out a half leg lead.
The wind however had not stopped playing its tricks. From the first beat initially being very starboard biased at the start, it became very port biased on the second lap as a gust came through. Tacking for the gust caused Ben Palmer in 597 to miss his toe straps and capsize. So far all the swims and broaches had been on legs adjacent to the committee boat - very considerate for the committee's entertainment.
Ben was not the only one to take a swim. Liz Smallwood in 750 was unfortunate enough to capsize at the last downwind mark, only a few yards from the finish, and retired. Meg Warren in 174 retied claiming she had not sailed the correct course, although we had not spotted anything amiss from the committee boat.
Chris Robinson in 867 won from Eddie Pope in 377 and a damp Ben Palmer in 597.
A minor course change ensued to remove the short run that served little point, and was from time to time in a wind shadow; and we were off with race 4.
The fleet were again very bunched at the windward mark, and also at the first downwind mark. Helen Evans in 868 found herself the outside boat of a 4 boat bunch with John Coppenhall in 532, Henry Jaggers in 800 and Meg Warren in 174 on the inside. The slow rounding allowed Ken Baker in 695 to nip inside all four. However, what looked like either a crash tack or a dropped tiller meant he was unable to capitalise on this. This bunch were still neck and neck two legs later at the second downwind mark.
With time pressing on we only ran a 2 lap 35 minute race for race 4. Chris Robinson won the race, from Eddie Pope in 377 and Ben Palmer in 597.
The fleet the returned ashore for afternoon tea and prize-giving.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Rig | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 867 | X | Chris Robinson | Burghfield Sailing Club | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2nd | 597 | S | Ben Palmer | Baltic Wharf Sailing Club | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 3 | 5 |
| 3rd | 377 | X | Eddie Pope | Ogston SC | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 4th | 323 | S | Annette Walter | Welwyn Garden City SC | 4 | 4 | ‑5 | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | 864 | X | Peter Mountford | Staunton Harold | 6 | 5 | 4 | ‑7 | 15 |
| 6th | 636 | S | Emma Brisley | Whitefriars Sailing Club | 5 | ‑6 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| 7th | 532 | S | John Coppenhall | Hunts SC | 7 | 7 | 7 | ‑8 | 21 |
| 8th | 800 | X | Henry Jaggers | Beer SC | 10 | 8 | (RET) | 6 | 24 |
| 9th | 695 | X | Ken Baker | Silverwing SC | 9 | (RET) | 8 | 9 | 26 |
| 10th | 868 | X | Helen Evans | Silverwing SC | ‑12 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
| 11th | 750 | S | Liz Smallwood | Datchet Water SC | 8 | 10 | (RET) | 12 | 30 |
| 12th | 174 | X | Meg Warren | Chipstead SC | 11 | (DNS) | RET | 11 | 35 |