Supernova National Champs at Saundersfoot Sailing Club

Slightly tricky launching at the National Champs © Louise Pakes

The 2008 Supernova Nationals saw 30 boats return to the popular venue of Saundersfoot, Wales. The forecast of 50 mph + winds put off any late entries and forced the Race Officer to abandon Saturdays racing. As the day progressed inside the local bars we all agreed with the decision as we watched the conditions get well beyond sailable. Thus races 1 and 2 were abandoned.

Sunday

The Forecast was for a much better day, but still with high winds and High waves whipped up by the previous day’s wind we were in for a lot of excitement. The launching proved rather tricky, but the camaraderie in the fleet (mainly Jeff Tucker and Nick Smith in the water and Dave Watton on trolley duty) saw everyone off safely. Thanks!

Race 3 – The RO opted for an inverted “P” Course. A long hard beat split the fleet into two. The inshore group saw newcomer Keith Bond, Ian Howett and Mark Hartley round the top mark with a good lead, the offshore group led by Mike Gibson,Tony Critchley and Richard Pakes .

The following 2 reaches were spectacular; the gybe marks saw a fair number fall. Mark Hartley’s boat speed was truly impressive, however he set the theme of following this with similarly impressive capsize drill.

Gibson, Pakes and Critchley made good ground on the leaders but never managed to catch up and finished in that order behind keith Bond and Ian Howett. Neil Boneham led the next group finishing 6th ahead of Mark (Dunk) Hartley.

Race 4 – Ian Howett, Keith Bond and Tony Critchley made a fine start with Mike Gibson just behind. A second Group was led by Jeff Mountain, The Hawley Brothers, Neil Boneham, Paul Undrell and Jeff Tucker. Keith Bond took the gun with Ian Howett just behind. Tony Critchley had an unfortunate capsize on the last mark allowing Gibson, Pakes, Mark Hartley and the Hawley brothers through.

Race 5 - The roughening conditions made for exiting sailing however many of the competitors started to leave for the shore. Mark Hartley found his sea legs and took 1st, followed by Howett, Pakes and Bond. They were joined by a number of others who put in brilliant sails to attain their personal bests of the competition, notably Chris Watts(6th), Steve Hawley(7th)Barry Winter(8th)and Nick Smith (15th).

Sunday Evening

The hard working race team of the day turned themselves into caterers for the evening and served up a top quality barbeque and buffet. This was followed by a live local band who were brilliant! Mike Gibson and Lesley Jeanes took each other on in a non-stop dancing competition! The serious drinkers finished off in the early hours with free Drambuie complements of Lydia and Mark. Thanks!

Monday

The RO had listened to the forecast on Sunday which had predicted high winds again by the afternoon. This had prompted him to set an inshore course and get us on the water ½ hour earlier than scheduled, so with the Drambuie barely down we were launching for 9 am! Launching was much easier and conditions were currently ideal for all.

Race 6 - The inshore course and offshore breeze made for shifty conditions and the “pond “ sailors felt much more at home. The racing was unbelievably close with boats changing places all the time. Tony Critchley pulled out a good lead at one point only to find Mike Gibson swipe it from him and take the winning gun on the final leg followed by Richard Pakes, Paul Undrell and Ian Howett. Personal bests(R6) came from Paul Undrell (5th) Chris Bower (10th) and Lesley Jeanes(13th)

Race 7 – Throughout the race it was hard to separate the top 5 boats with places changing every leg. Mid fleet a superb start by Mike (Magic roundabout) Malcolm was destroyed by 3 attempts at getting past the top mark on port. After a great start Jeff Mountain’s halyard broke up the first beat to put him out of the race!

Eventually Richard Pakes pulled a small lead on the others and held it until the last reach when he fell into a hole. His frustration was added too by Mike Gibson and Tony Critchley’s laughter as they came planing in closely followed by Mark Hartley and Ian Howett. Mike Gibson just had the lead at the bottom mark, and Pakes followed him on port on the final beat. Both lost out to Mark Hartley who sailed off on Starboard to take the win at the end of a fantastic race. Gibson, Pakes, Critchley and Howett all finishing within a boat length of each other.

With so many place changes no-one was sure of the final order until they were announced at the Buffet and Prize giving by our Chairman Dave Everett. The Competition included categories of Gold, Silver, Ladies, Under 21, Over 50(Master) and Over 60(Veteran) and was generously sponsored by Hartley Laminates with excellent prizes going to all the top places.

Overall Results:

1st - Mike Gibson - Bartley Green SC
2nd - Ian Howett - Haversham SC
3rd - Keith Bond - Bartley Green SC
4th - Mark Hartley - Carsington SC
5th - Richard Pakes - Haversham SC
6th - Tony Critchley - Bolton SC

Silver Fleet:
1st (10th) - Barry Winter - Haversham SC
2nd (14th) - Jeff Tucker - Haversham SC

First Lady: 20th - Lesley Jeanes - Cotswold SC
First Master: 7th - Jeff Mountain - Cotswold SC
First Veteran: 8th - Neil Boneham - Bartley Green SC