Snipe Open at Stone Sailing Club

Snipe dinghies ready to launch at Stone Sailing Club © Amy Barrett

Saturday 12th July, the Snipe open at Stone began with 28 boats competing. The event saw competitors from several countries and representation from 3 continents. In the spirit of keeping competitors on their toes, a club line was used for the starts. This was an unfamiliar sight to many, adding to the challenge of a ripping tide. However, the longer 10-minute sequences provided ample time for a quick pit stop at the beach for lunch if you were fast enough.

The first day saw winds of 8-12 knots and picking up throughout the day as the sea breeze settled in. The initial intent was to do two laps of the Olympic course, but it was shortened each race to no more than one lap. The first race started with most of the fleet near the shore to escape the strong tide flowing, with a few daring boats deciding to start near the pin and take their chances with the tide.

Luckily for the boats off to the left, while they battled the tide, the boats on the right had an even more unfortunate face-off with a sand bank, leading to disastrous outcomes for many and even a few capsizes. This saw Tim and Kay Tavinor show an early lead, with Audrey Foley and Connor Line in hot pursuit, and Ian and Charlotte Knight leading the chasing pack. On the reaches, boats fought to stay high as the current pushed them down.

On the second upwind, boats played it close to the shore even playing dodge the paddle boarder's and occasional lilo. Again taking up the right side to stay out of the tide. While on the downwind, they did their best to stay in the deeper waters. With the final beat to the finish still looking right dominant with Matthew Wolstenholme and Eiichi Higuchi coming from the back of the pack after being one of the boats that hit the sandbank, passing Ian and Charlotte with meters to the finish.

Race two saw a similar pattern of many boats starting near the shore for tide relief, but with a dying tide, this had less of an impact. With no surprise the general recall flag made an appearance as the tide was not so strong so the fleet was all rather early to Race 2 starts. The pattern of staying high on the reaches continued but the race was shortened due to time to only four legs, which caught many off guard. Mark and Tracy Antonelli played the second beat perfectly to go from fifth to an unassailable lead by the windward mark. Yohei Koso and Katia Royer passed Matthew and Eiichi on the final run to take second place.

The final race of the day and arguably the most important, as it means you can get to the bar before Sue's big birthday party (which did not disappoint!!), saw a slightly different top three. With the majority of the fleet struggling to adapt to the new tide ripping upwind, there was a second general recall of the day.

After the windward mark some of the fleet had mixed opinions with which the gybe mark was. I'm sure for many boats this caused for some interesting conversations. This left many splitting off and ultimately sailing a significantly longer course in comparison to those who stuck with there gut, Little did they know there would be no following race for redemption. This then left a large gap within the fleet. Leading the pack to what turned out to be the correct mark was Matthew and Eiichi with Audrey and Connor, and the Tavinors chasing.

The second upwind saw boats sailing up the left side to maximise benefits from the tide, while on the downwind, they hugged closer to the shore. Tim and Kay managed to pass Audrey and Connor on the second beat which they held to the finish.

As ever Saturday night at a Snipe event was a great affair, comfortably living up to the class moto of "serious sailing, serious fun". Made even more memorable by one of the long time sailors and committee members big birthday. A fantastic three course meal was followed by a DJ in the bar upstairs, a very competitive game of potato bobbing (who new potatoes sank) and for some of the youthful class members (Finn, Lloyd and Jonny), Shots up the nose, with the last of the party goers getting to their tents around 3 in the morning.

Unfortunately, the final day held no races as the wind was uncooperative. But that's sailing for you, the boats that were able to make the best of the three races we had and avoid an OCS were the ones that came out on top. This was evident as the winners worst race was a 3rd showing how consistent they were. The event was full of sailors from around the world, of various ages and skill levels. Showing just how diverse and welcoming the UK snipe fleet is.

Congratulations to the winners - Matthew Wolstenholme and Eiichi Higuchi.
2nd - Tim Tavinor and Kay Tavinor
3rd - Audrey Foley and Connor Line
1st Female helm - Audrey Foley