Hunter 707 European Championships at Ford Cork Week 2002

by Andrew Aldwinckle 23 Jul 2002 12:48 BST

Photo © Mark Jardine Regatta winners Censored on the first day

With 44 boats making it to the start line for the first day of racing at Ford Cork Week it was a massive relief to see that our race officer for the week had stuck to his obvious enthusiasm from the VHF messages and started all fleets on time. The wind forecast for the day was for next to nothing but the “blink and you’d miss it” theme was to prove similar in strength if not in direction for most of the week, much to the frustration of the 707 sailors present. Two of the top four overall boats counted this race as their discard for the week! Not usually the greatest way to start a regatta! The windward-leeward courses could have been slightly better set, but there usually enough options on the downhill leg. Robert Cage’s Impulse made his title aspirations very clear with a win in the first race. Second was last year’s Cowes Week winner, Nick Wood in Emu Excursion but unfortunately his challenge faded as the week progressed. Third was Steve Phelps and Duncan McCarthy sailing Tequila Hunter.

For the second race the sea breeze had shifted the wind significantly to the SW and was a little stronger at force 2. Many had spotted a late shift to port and started at that end. Some went right and saw a tidal kick and some wind bends in their favour once they were heading back to the mark. This let Censored owned by Derek Blancke show the class the way followed by one of the heavier crews sailing with James Ross on Black Sheep obviously relieved at the steady conditions. Third was Michael Wilson’s Shotgunn, partly comprised of last year’s National Championship crew.

Monday night was our class BBQ and with over 200 people at the party it was always going to live up to the 707 tradition! Bearing in mind that the beer tents had been open for three days at this point we were clearly pleased to have been voted the tent with the best atmosphere when the band came on later in the evening. Good to see the 707 fleet showing the Irish how to party!

The sun again shone for the start of the second day. Unfortunately the wind seemed very determined not to come out to play, particularly at the start. The first race was with a slight offshore NW wind that turned very streaky in places with some big shifts to pick out the unwary. Paul Gray’s Beaver Hunter found their own puffs and sailed into a strong lead by the end. Second was Iain May’s Charlie Fish, who did quite well in these water’s two year’s ago. Third was Censored, showing some astonishing early consistency.

Photo © Mark Jardine The fleet heads downwind

The wind was gradually filling in for the second race, and the very long start line allowed the fleet to split into two again with many taking the favourable bias of the pin end in relatively little wind and the other half hoping that the breeze at the starboard end kept them on the move. In the end the wind filled in all over the course which was just in time for some as the fleet was very close again by the first windward mark. Impulse followed by Black Sheep and then Jonathan Brech’s Windjob picked out the top slots. This was to mark the start of a run of form for Windjob which was in stark contrast to their first three races’ average of 16 points!

The Wednesday race was the Harbour race, counting towards Cork Week’s results but not the Europeans. This was probably a relief to many since we caught up with all the IRC 5 and IRC 6 fleets by the second mark due to the vagaries of the wind. Basically if you went inshore immediately then for half an hour you’d be looking great and really chuffed with yourself. Then, just as you’d be getting to the mark the wind would die and everyone who you’d waved goodbye to at the start of the leg who went offshore would catch up and pass round the outside of you. Then the process starts all over again to the next mark with those behind you who were once fuming and telling their tactician to get on the keel now finding the wind was theirs. This would repeat itself several times up to the Fiesta Mark at the top of the course. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on whether you were having an Up or Down the fleet experience at the time) this was a tidal gate and as soon as you’d passed this you were off with only the usual small beating differences between the boats determining whether you would find any more passing opportunities. Relieved to win were Windjob followed by Russell Mead’s The Ant Hill Mob and then John Lewis on Baby Beluga who at least I guess is used to sailing in rivers, just like Jonathan Brech. The eventual overall winner scored 18th and the second overall managed an impressive 27th! Wednesday evening was our class dinner, which due to sheer numbers was held at a very fancy hotel in Carrigaline and a couple of buses were used as ferrying material. This was again a popular class event thanks to the organisation of our class secretary Maggie Widdop who deserves a medal for putting up with us all!

The fourth day of racing was probably the windiest (well, it’s all relative) and most consistent. Making the most of the conditions were Impulse and Censored for their one-two finish followed by Andrew Aldwinckle and Tom Davidson on Doh! who managed a pot for the first time despite a couple of near misses. It was a close race which Censored led for most of it before being overhauled by first Doh! and then Impulse with Nick Roberts on 3 Little Pigs piling on immense further pressure.

The penultimate race of the championship as it turned out was Windjob’s for the taking, followed by Charlie Fish eager to prove they still had it in them after sitting at a mark in the Harbour Race when in the lead only to see their wind disappear and 120 boats sail through them - how’s that for a record! Shotgunn made up the trio of Waterford Crystal glassware trophy collectors.

And so it came down to the last day. Impulse were leading the European Championships and Cork Week, but only just as Censored were breathing heavily down their necks. Black Sheep and Windjob were in their own tussle but only within a realistic chance if either of the first two boats scored an uncharacteristic disaster (like Doh! or Mark Gillett’s Pocket Battleship). There was only time for one of the scheduled races on the last day. Censored got off to a good start with Impulse a little further along the line. In the end the race was won by a much relieved Betty as Jonathan Powell’s crew were Spring Series winners but had not found their previous form. Second were Windjob and third John Parker’s Miss Money Penny who had improved during the week. So the leading contenders had opted for conservatism, or their version of it. Impulse finished 15th but Censored finished a brilliant 4th to take the European Championships by 7.5 points and the Ford Cork Week trophy by 4.5 points.

One couldn’t fault the socials either as the Royal Cork Yacht Club had done an awesome job of keeping us all entertained. We are certainly aiming for keeping the Hunter 707 class as the biggest fleet in Cork for the 2004 regatta!

Overall Ford Cork Week Results: (8 races, 1 discard, Europeans results are without the Harbour Race (R5))

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Owner	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	7103	Censored	Derek Blancke	4	1	3	21	18	2	6.5	4	38.5
2	7077	Impulse	Robert Cage	1	13	4	1	27	1	8	15	43
3	7003	Windjob	Jonathan Brech	17	17	15	3	1	8	1	2	47
4	7038	Black Sheep	James Ross	21	2	10	2	13	9	6.5	7	49.5
5	7087	The Ant Hill Mob	Russell Mead	6	15	8	9	2	11	19	5	56
6	7007	Miss Money Penny	John Parker	18	7	24	8	9	6	9	3	60
7	7067	3 Little Pigs	Nick Roberts	5	5	38	4	19	4	15	12	64
8	7046	Beaver Hunter	Paul Gray	10	6	1	15.5	16.5	18	4	13	66
9	7072	Charlie Fish	Iain May	9	11	2	46	34	7	2	6	71
10	7013	Shotgunn	Michael Wilson	12	3	16	14	33	20	3	10	78
11	7105	Pocket Battleship	Mark Gillett	20	14	19	6	6	10	22	8	83
12	7119	Tequilla Hunter	Steve/Duncan Phelps/McCarthy	3	8	6	15.5	20	21	18	14	84.5
13	7033	Baby B Luga	John Lewis	13	23	9	19	3	17	16.5	11	88.5
14	7024	Doh!	Andrew/Tom Aldwinckle/Davidson	11	4	41	13	5	3	33	22	91
15	7047	Hunter's Hunt	Hans - Hermann Ruggesiek	28	20	40	10	7	12	5	16	98
16	7006	Sparkle	Paul Geoffrey Curtis	7	21	14	5	8	19	27	25	99
17	7023	EMU Excursion	Nick Wood	2	10	5	33	21	16	28	24	106
18	7091	Betty	Johnathan Roger Powell	19	22	21	37	32	5	16.5	1	116.5
19	7054	Mr Benn	Neil Davison	24	19	7	18	15	28	46	19	130
20	7022	Tiger Feet	Ian Townsend	8	12	18	23	12	31	34.5	26	130
21	7041	The Sweeney	Richard Hall	30	27	28	7	31	13	11	18	134
22	7042	Poussin	Simon David Bullingham	15.5	9	22	30	23	29	37	20	148.5
23	7118	Darkness	Patrick Miles	27	26	42	11	29	22	13	21	149
24	7053	Impromptu-Too	Peter Sonksen	34	25	20	22	10	15	30	29	151
25	7004	Marlin	Bill /Duncan Miles/Surridge	37	28	11	12	22	27	23	30	153
26	7048	Basher	Clive Bush	22	35	17	27	36	24	10	33	168
27	7062	Sharkin Mad	Ed/Caroline Hipkin/Metcalf	15.5	29	26	25	24	38	21	35	175.5
28	7115	Cacciatore	Peter Jones	36	31	23	24	4	36	42	23	177
29	7122	Muttley	Philip Stimson	32	34	34	40	42	25	14	9	188
30	7111	Nickers	John Stelling	29	18	35	17	11	41	38	46	189
31	7116	Star-born 3	Peter Dickson	25	24	30	35	14	35	39	32	195
32	7029	Dream of White Horses	Stefan Lloyd	14	43	25	34	40	39	12	34	198
33	7114	Flying Low	Jonathan Mahony	39	30	27	29	46	23	20	31	199
34	7095	Little Red Rooster	Andrew/David Lennox/Edwards	26	36	31	43	16.5	33	31	28	201.5
35	7069	Swallow	Gordon Craigen	38	16	33	28	39	26	36	27	204
36	7031	Code Z	John Alison	23	33	29	32	26	37	24	37	204
37	7117	Double Trouble	Howard Morris	40	39	12	20	30	34	32	38	205
38	7104	Matisse	David Hawes	33	40	13	39	41	14	26	46	206
39	7107	Cezanne	Tim Hunt	42	42	43	26	28	32	34.5	17	221.5
40	7083	Quango	Ralph/Julian/John Banthorpe/Wells/Sparrow	35	32	37	36	35	30	29	36	233
41	7008	Loose Elastic	Mark Blanchard	31	46	39	41	25	40	25	46	247
42	7085	Riotous	Peter Whiteley	44	41	32	31	46	42	40	46	276
43	7052	Broken Wind	William Stansbury	43	38	36	42	38	44	43	39	279
44	7097	Mad Dog	James Hayward	41	37	46	38	37	43	41	46	283
45	7028	Bombshell	Ed Twomey	45	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	321