Flying Fifteen Open at the Royal Motor Yacht Club
by Nigel Yeoman 12 Jul 2005 09:59 BST
9-10 July 2005
Hot weather and a shifting north-easterly wind saw Saturday’s racing at the Royal Motor Yacht Club at Sandbanks in Poole try competitors patience to the extreme and was a race officer’s nightmare. Racing took place in the harbour, and visitors (and some of the locals!) had difficulty in identifying “Wych” mark in the south of the harbour. The open and classic fleet became intermingled as all the open fleet bar one went half way to Wareham before spotting the classic fleet rounding the correct mark!
With the sea breeze competing with the north easterly in the afternoon, race officer Bryan Drake sensibly kept racing in the south of the harbour, and those who read the many windshifts correctly got the results.
On Sunday, the racing took place from a committee boat in Poole Bay sailing Olympic type courses. With a sea breeze taking its time to fill in, the wind for the first race was fitful, with many holes, particularly off the mark at Branksome Chine. The second race however, saw the bay in its full glory, with the breeze filling in, and close racing in both fleets was enjoyed, particularly in the classics, the sparkling sea and bright sunlight rounding off a very enjoyable weekend.
Overall Results:
Open
1st 3779 Men Behaving Badly, Rupert Mander & crew (Draycote Sailing Club)
2nd 3842 Aerofoil, Simon Kneller & Dave Lucas (Grafham Water Sail Club)
3rd 3794 Flo, David & Carol Duke (Grafham Water Sail Club)
Classic under 2700
1st 2520 Fighting Fit, Nick Heath & Ted Legg (Draycote Sailing Club)
2nd 1035 U.F.O., John Dinnie & Richard Chaplin (Grafham Water Sail Club)
3rd 2573 Infidel, Bill Kiey & crew. (Draycote Sailing Club)
Classic under 3000
1st 2948 Midnight Cocktail, Phil Owen & Peter McKenna (RMYC)
2nd 2988 Ffelix, Sally Davis & Maggie Haxell (RMYC)
3rd 2921 Thriller, Nigel & Tessa Yeoman (RMYC)
The Geoff Wilkins Trophy for helm over 50 - Nigel Yeoman