Kielder Water Sailing Club Novices Series

Geoff and Jack Wilkinson, winners of Kielder Water SC's Novice Series © John Scullion

Kielder's Novice series has been the most hotly contested series this season, and the first time for many years that the ISAF rule book has had to be consulted to determine such a close result.

Out of 27 races with 15 to count, Geoff Wilkinson and Kirsty McAlpine each had 9 firsts, 5 seconds and a third. Rule A8.2 determined the tie by ranking their scores in the last race, which gave the victory to Geoff. Third and fourth places were taken by Mark Baker and Ruth Hawkin.

Anyone who has not been placed first, second or third in a previous Kielder series is eligible for Novices, which is run simultaneously over the same course as Ladies, Juniors and None Of The Above (so that no-one is excluded from the race). Three short races, lasting around 30 minutes, are held back-to-back, the rationale being that three short races allows more opportunity to practice starting, and if your race goes really badly, you can soon finish and start another one. Conversely, if you tried a tactic which worked well, you can practice again quickly.

The format of the four series being raced simultaneously, means that Novices and Juniors can gain experience racing on the water against more experienced sailors, whilst competing against their peers for prizes.

Ladies: 1st Christine Fair; 2nd Kirstie McAlpine; 3rd Anne Turnbull
Juniors: 1st Oliver Murray; 2nd Rosie Golightly; 3rd Hannah Lewis
None of the Above: 1st Steve Jarvis; 2nd Colin Murray; 3rd Fergus Holland

Overall Results: