Comet Open at Carsington Sailing Club

Carsington Comet Open Prize Giving © Keith Appleby

With the forecast for thunderstorms and lots of rain, it was nevertheless good to see six hardy visiting helms attend Carsington's Comet open on 20 July.

All the entrants were seasoned campaigners, and the standard of racing was very high, with little distance between first and last. Wind was from the unfavoured easterly direction, meaning the beat needed to be set in the narrower part of the reservoir. But at least we did not face the very strong winds experienced in 2024.

The Comets started 5 minutes after the club racing start, and used the same course. This is a format used for us in the last few years, and is much less work for the club than a traditional open. Our race officer was Steve Barnett, who gave us a helpful briefing and really good courses.

It was a busy day at the club, because an Open Day was also being held. It was great to see so many people attending and going afloat. This did not significantly impact the racing area. Carsington deserves to do well, because it has wonderful facilities in a beautiful location.

Water levels were quite low, and there was some weed present. However, there were still large expanses of water to set courses with long legs, and the weed did not impede us because it seemed to be just in the margins.

The wind was generally force 2, with some force 3 gusts. It dropped a bit for the last 2 races held after lunch.

Race 1 proved interesting and informative. We were familiarising ourselves with conditions and the venue. The beat offered many opportunities to gain and lose ground, especially as we neared the windward mark, which was affected by the tree line. Andy Dale (Eyott SC) led for much of the race, but Alan Bennett (Staunton Harold SC) took a solo left flyer on the beat to take the lead. Eddie Pope (Ogston SC) also got past Andy. At the finish it was Alan, Eddie, then Andy.

Race 2 was a windward/leeward course, to accommodate the asymmetrics in the club fleet. Alan led throughout, and at the finish was again followed by Eddie then Andy.

For races 3 and 4 Steve arranged for the windward mark to be set further away from the shore This made the beat less tricky, but therefore offered fewer overtaking opportunities. In race 3 Eddie and Alan started near the pin, and led at the windward mark. Alan unfortunately then lost ground sailing towards the wrong mark, and was swallowed up by the fleet. This gave Eddie the opportunity to escape and win comfortably. Andy finished second, and he was followed by Ben Palmer (Baltic Wharf SC).

Steve set his 4th course for the final race. He also provided a lead boat, because a different mark was being used. Alan and Eddie did not match-race, despite this race being the decider! Eddie started mid-line, but Alan had a slightly better start. Eddie tacked off, ducking some sterns, to head for what he hoped would be a favourable shift and perhaps more wind on the right side of the beat. This paid off, Eddie seemed to relish the conditions, and led throughout. Alan held off Chris Robinson (Burghfield SC) to come 2nd.

So overall Eddie came first on countback from Alan, with Andy third.

We are hoping to have the Comet National Championship at Carsington in 2027, probably alongside another fleet. If any other fleet is interested please get in touch with me (see contact details on Comet website), and we can then liaise with Carsington. We will be encouraging many more Comet helms to have a tuning session at the 2026 Comet open, to prepare for 2027.

Overall Results: