Snipe South Eastern Championship at Maldon Yacht Club
by Ian Gregory 24 Jul 2002 08:31 BST
Fourteen boats took part in the 2002 South Eastern Championships hosted by Maldon YC. Once again, Maldon excelled themselves with quality racing and the Saturday night entertainment.
Racing took place using river marks, which made it interesting for the visitors. Maldon provided a lead boat to help guide the sailors. The first race started from the club line against a westerly 15 knot breeze. Alan Williams and Liz Crouch had an early lead, but were soon overhauled by local boys Iain and Richard Marshall. Places in the whole fleet remained consistent, although competition was fierce. Final race positions were Marshall/Marshall first, Williams/Crouch second, 3rd position was considered tied, the race officer unable to split Wolstenholme/Marshall and McGonigle/Welch.
The second race was started down river from a committee boat. The wind had increased slightly and was now from a more northerly direction. Racing was much closer. Williams/Crouch led the race from start to finish. Marshal/Marshall took the gun due to Williams/Crouch being OCS. Ian and Brian Gregory managed to pull through the fleet to third. However, the wind dropped and they were overhauled. Final positions: 1st Marshall/Marshall, 2nd Wolstenholme /Marshall, 3rd McGonigle/Welch.
The club organised an excellent barbecue for Snipers and friends in the evening, followed by a rounders match for the more energetic.
The third race started with much the same conditions as the day before. Bright sunshine and a neat force 3. Philip Marshall led and won the race although later withdrew for swapping helm (infringing snipe class rules). Marshall/ Marshall came in second although their keenness to win got the better of them - OCS at the start. Their disqualification enabled Richard Lambert and John Williams to take a well-deserved victory. Love/Surridge came second with Hoy/Hoy in third. There were some shenanigans mid fleet with Bob Rowbotham and Dawn Stevens missing ‘Clarkes’ Buoy. Sporting competitors alerted them to their error, although the word on shore was they should have waited a little longer.
The final race was started from a bias committee boat start, which created chaos at the pin end forcing Gregory/Gregory over the line. The rest of the fleet started cleanly. Wolstenholme/Marshall won the race closely followed by Marshall/Marshall and Love/Surridge. Gregory/Gregory sailed well to recover 5th place from their late start.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew |
|---|
| 1st | Iain Marshall | Richard Marshall |
| 2nd | Peter Wolstenholme | Philip Marshall |
| 3rd | Nick McGonigle | Guy Welch |