Woowich Ramsgate Week at Royal Temple Yacht Club Overall

11th-18th August 2001

Incorporating SAIL EAST and the X99 National Championships

The success and growth of this regatta week seemed little affected this year by small problems like starting on the last weekend of Cowes Week, necessary due to French/Belgian National Holiday dates. The traditional substantial foreign contingent, including the Dutch, now moving from IRM to IRC, increased this year to around 20%, strengthening the strong international flavour of the event. Entries on the first weekend were slightly down, many doing the 14 hour dash from Cowes, but full week entries were up again by over 10%.

The X99 Nationals fleet was small, not reaching double figures. Perhaps not surprising after the big 2 week National and World Championships at this venue last year and the move towards 332’s and 362’s. The strong IRC hotspots of Burnham, West Mersea Medway and Felixstowe/Harwich were well represented plus a lively contingent from Brighton and increasing numbers from further afield. A big bonus has been the new 200 berth west outer marina, housing most of the fleet on pontoon berths with all tide access and bringing the total berths to over 800.

Among those doing the dash from Cowes were the three top Kerr 11.3’s, including Michael Whites Queens Cup winner ‘On A High’, and the J39 ‘Assassin’, current ‘Sail East Championship leader. They were rewarded with Caribbean sailing conditions, blue sea and sky, blazing sunshine and predominantly 15 - 20 knot breezes. The onshore hospitality is legend and remained so with good primary and secondary sponsorships supporting live bands every night and a good supply of free beer tokens.

On offer was the Royal Temple Yacht Clubs Impressive array of historic trophies and traditional warehouse full of engraved crystal glassware. The format was in 4 IRC classes, including three Sail East Championship races on the first weekend, also contributing to a full week series and a midweek series of one race per day including alternate Olympic type course days, culminating in the Ramsgate Gold Cup and class one Queen Elizabeth II trophy on the final Saturday.

The long association with The Woolwich is due to continue for one more year only and discussions with potential new main sponsors are beginning, with a view to further increase the size, profile and professionalism of what is already a very successful and well run event.

SAIL EAST

3 races on the first weekend made up the 4th of five events for this 80 boat championship. Both class 1 and overall has become a 2 way fight. Robbie & Pippa Stewarts RTI class 1 winner (‘I say!’) ‘Ding Dong’ is an Andrew Stewart 38, which excels in a breeze. Peter Jackson & John Stevens ‘Assassin’ is Adam Goslings old J39 ‘Yes!’ which, with 150% genoas, excels in 16 knots or less. In winds increasing to over 20 knots Assassin won the first race and Ding Dong the next 2. Alan Bartletts Humphries 35 ‘Inn Spirit’ was 3rd in the 21 boat class.

Class 2. This was a more open affair with four in the running. Paul Hurst & Ashley Taylors rejuvenated Limbo 9.9 ‘Abrasive’ took a win when downhill stuff dominated, and Mike & Jo Brand & David Elderfields 31.7 ‘Toucan’ won when she could stretch out upwind. The Jenkins/Penfold SJ320 ‘Big Beeste’ from Walton took the last win, having already scoring a 2nd and 3rd to give her the class from Toucan. Abrasive hung on to 3rd on a tie break from Chris Denby’s Cory 35 ‘Mr Lifter’.

Class 3. The First Class 8 ‘Koncho Buntz’ of Kinnear, Bridges & Jones, skillfully steered by Neil Farr took the first win wins but slipped to 5th in race 2 and needed a third race win to beat Clinton Lyons Dehler 34 ‘Big Zipper’. This she managed with some exiting kite work to clinch the class by 1 point. Gary Shaffers well sailed half tonner ‘Secrets’ took 3rd with a consistent 3,2,3 score from second race winner local ace Lance Tuckers Laser 28 ‘Leda’

Class 4. This was as close as they come between the 2 top boats. Ian Braithwaites Impala ‘Blue Imp’ with Adrian Tomlinson on the helm took a 3rd and 1st against the classic Stella ‘Polaris’ of Nash Thompson & Willett with 1st & 2nd. In force 6 winds on a long course between Sandwich Bay and Broadstairs. Blue Imp successfully held a spinnaker from Deal to Broadstairs Knoll to take the win from Polaris and the class on a tie break.

The overall points wins went to Ding Dong, Toucan and Abrasive with Robbie Stewart, actually steering for once, 1st overall. Big Beeste slipped in ahead of the other two class two boats for second overall from Ding Dong. Assassin slotted in a 2nd place to finish 5th and now only leads Sail East overall by a narrow margin from Ding Dong.

MIDWEEK SERIES

The arrival of the three Kerr 11.3’s heated up the front of class 1. Quickest was Michael Whites Ramsgate based ‘On a High’, steered by Phil Crebbin, with a local crew. David Pinner & his team on ‘Cracker’ were only just getting to know the boat, which was on charter at Cowes, as was Minnie the Moocher, both needing repair work to compete. The 11.3’s, designed for IRM, have proved competitive under IRC and On a High started with two wins, the first from Nigel Theadoms ‘Crikey’ and Assassin, the second from Ding Dong, now with David Townshend on the helm, and Cracker.

The breeze was brisk throughout and, reinforced with the sea breeze, frequently hit over 20 knots later in the week. Ding Dong loved this and hit back with wins in the next two races from On a High and Assassin, and On a High and Cracker, to even the score. Friday started light but after a 90 minute postponement it was back to force 4. Crebbin jumped the gun and Ding Dong & Assassin were locked together at the front.

The Kerr recovered to lead but as the wind increased to force 6 Ding Dong stretched away from Assassin, easily saving her time on the Kerr to take the win and the series. Top foreign yacht was Roland Claeys Sigma 400 ‘NRJ (energy) Ball’, liking the stiff breezes and claiming 3rd in the full week series behind Ding Dong and Assassin.

In class 2 the mid week and full week class results were identical. Abrasive is a boat that loves anything off the wind, the 31.7’s like wind from any direction, and Mr Lifter is a good all rounder. Paul Woodward steering Lifter, Ashley Taylor on Abrasive and Mike Brand on Toucan have been head to head at Sail East and the home club all year. All three had wins and by Thursday there was nothing between them. The next 31.7 sailed by Phillipe Bourgoise from Dunkerque, with a couple of 2nd places was 4th, heading a string of four foreign boats in the 24 boat class. The Corby 28 ‘Waveplane’, was up with the leaders but had carbon spar problems, managing only one 2nd place.

On Friday Abrasive had the long kite leg against the tide she needed to give her the series win by a couple of points and the force 6 gave Toucan 2nd by the same margin over Mr Lifter. The French 31.7 was fourth from the Breskens based ‘Passegeule’ of Jack Buize. It is testimony to the success of IRC that three so different boats can finish so close in the top places, and with three foreign boats very close behind.

Class 3 In this class the competition went deeper into the pack with at least 6 boats showing winning form at times. After Koncho Buntz’s weekend success The Monday race was a different story with Team Leggatts half tonner ‘Chimp 97’ from Haven Ports coming out on top from Secrets and Leda. Chimp posted another win on Tuesday, this time from Koncho B and Ernie Breavingtons Dehler 34 ‘Mr Bo Jangles’.

On Wednesday with a slightly lighter airs start but a long breezy beat the larger boats in class came to the front but the moderate Secrets, with Crouch YC Commodore Frank Curtis steering, took her only win, from Bo Jangles and Leda.

On boisterous Thursday Koncho B got off to a flying start, leading the fleet until a serious slip on a spinnaker hoist left trimmer Kevin Bridges with a badly broken leg and they were towed in by a fast rib. Secrets took herself out with a big broach at a mark. Ian Langstones half tonner ‘Harmony’ was having her first good race and took line honours by a long way but Leda had surfed her way to correct 1st and Chimp also beat Harmony to 2nd. Harmony also got third in the last series race but Chimp won again, from Secrets, to cement the class results in that order with Leda 3rd.

Class 4 This was essentially a 2 horse race at the front between the local Blue Imp and previous winner Le Prince/Martin Boutard’s ‘Sea France’ from Calais YC. Only local ace Peter Pearson in his GK34 ‘Scallywag’ got in amongst the first 2 places when Boitard slipped to 3rd on Wednesday.

The French took the first win but the duel came out with the Impala on top, scoring 4 straight bullets to take the class on minimum points. Scallywag finished a comfortable 3rd. Christian Ratels ’Douce Folie’, slipped into 4th from the next Impala, Kel & Chris Marrisons ‘Volante’, which took fourth in the long week series.

The X99’s, racing with Class 1, had lean pickings on handicap, being left by the big boats upwind and the offwind legs being predominantly too tight in the heavy breezes to use their big class kites. Nigel Theodom, new to the class with the new Crikey!!!!!, showed his class by winning every day, normally from Jean Hagenaers ‘Bellaquaine II’ from KYCN but with Julian Poupards Xpedite taking one 2nd and third overall.

In the sports boats Peter Fitts projection 762 ‘Lady T’ from Dabchicks took the honours from ‘Catch’, and the hotly contested team prize went to the Royal Temple Y.C.’s Blue (‘blue boats are fast’) Team of Blue Imp, Mr Lifter and Assassin.

GOLD CUP & QUEEN ELIZABETH II Trophies

The final race is now solely the individual Ramsgate Gold Cup event with the QEII cup for Class 1 and other class trophies. The winds had eased to force 2 - 3 for the first time in a fortnight and a 25 mile course was chosen with a large loop inside the Goodwin Sands, through the line, and a small loop round the club marks off Ramsgate. The course was actually reversed, to avoid a long run against the strongest tide down the Gull Stream, although this precluded the easiest option of shortening if the 6 hour time limit threatened.

Blue Imp from class 4 shot away in the light airs but ran out of breeze as the tide slackened at the 2nd mark. On a High from class 1, starting 30 minutes later, rounded first, followed by Minnie the Moocher, with Anthony Richards steering, and Assassin, at last able to use her big genoas and up among the 11.3’s. Close behind were Cracker, the Prima 38 ‘Fiona VIII’, and Class 2’s Waveplane, now back to a metal mast.

Running against a building tide and playing the gybe angles the two leading Kerrs, Assassin, with Peter Jackson steering, and Fiona VIII with Rob Dyer on helm slipped round the mark and away. The wind faded briefly as the fleet clamoured for clear air but gradually built up to around 10 knots for the rest of the race. As the leaders went through the fixed start/finish line, too early to shorten, the J39 at 1.072 was easily saving her time on the Kerrs, at 1.157, Cracker slipping through only late in the race. The Prima didn’t like it so light but held on to Assassin all the way in.

With the wind now building slightly the smaller classes were making a comeback, Passegeule, Waveplane, Koncho B and Mr Lifter in particular in the chocolates, but time was running out. On a High finished 45 minutes inside the time limit, but the limit definition was from each class start time, plus 90 minutes after the first boat in class.

The first light mist of the week meant the race officer lost track of the fleet and didn’t use the committee boat option so the class 2 - 4 leaders were out of time. Jury chair John Truett dismissed a protest but it was promised that the wording would be amended for next year.

On a High pipped Fiona for 2nd and Crikey, also preferring it light, took 4th but it was, after 2 windy weeks, Assassins day and Peter Jackson held up the QEII cup and Gold Cup for the 3rd time as helm but, after two 2nd places, the first time as owner.

The partying went on late into Saturday night, except for the poor souls heading off on the Thames Estuary race in a force 7 the next day. But that’s another story.

More Information:

• Royal Temple Yacht Club website with full results