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August 2004

The Newsletter of Spinnaker Club, Ringwood

www.spinnakerclub.co.uk

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On 8 May five Spinnaker sailors travelled to Burghfield SC, near Reading, for the Oppie Open.

A strong wind was gusting and shifting on the main part of the lake, presenting the Gold and Silver fleets with challenging conditions, whilst the Regatta fleet enjoyed relative calm on a more sheltered part of the lake. In the 20 boat Silver fleet Spinnaker were represented by Tarra Gill-Taylor, Toby McKean and Ben and Matt Wallis. The fleet sailed 3 races in total – one before lunch, followed by two back-to-back races in the afternoon. Tarra sailed superbly in the morning, notching up a well-deserved 1st place. Toby and Matt sailed solidly to 8th and 9th with Ben following up in 17th. The second race saw Tarra and Matt working hard up the long beats and coming through for 1st and 4th place respectively. Ben started to find the speed he’d been searching for in the morning and managed a 9th with Toby coming in 11th.

Tarra had sewn up the proceedings with a race to spare. The other Spinnaker sailors would be in good positions if they could do well in the one remaining race. 

The last race saw Tarra yet again dominating the upwind legs and showing the fleet a clean pair of heels. The other Spinnaker boats were looking good with Ben improving further and rounding in 4th with Matt 7th and Toby 9th. However, there was a shock in store for Tarra and Ben: The first 4 boats had been sailing the wrong side of an extra mark that had been introduced for the last race and they had to throw the race. 

Optimists at Burghfield

Tarra could afford to, having already won the meeting, but it cost Ben his best result of the day. Slightly further back in the fleet, Toby and Matt were also sailing fast and to the correct side of the changed mark. With the disqualification of the first 4 boats, Matt achieved 3rd and Toby 5th. The overall results were great for Spinnaker with Tarra 1st, Matt 3rd, Toby 8th and Ben 16th. Two boats in the top 3 was a super result! Toby sailed very consistently and finished well up the fleet, especially considering this was Toby’s first Main fleet event. And Ben, who had started slowly, proved he had the necessary speed around the course – he and Tarra just need to keep an eye on the committee boat and make sure it’s the right course!

Scott Wallis was the only Spinnaker sailor in the 18 boat Regatta fleet, which sailed 4 races in the afternoon. Scott sailed excellently in the first two races, gaining a 3rd and a 5th. He finished 12th in both the other races and was 8th overall, so well done Scott!

Optimist Inland Championships

Five Spinnaker Oppies travelled to Grafham for the Inland Championships on 15/16 May.

Championship fleets are large and tend to be strong compared to Open meetings. Josh Irons and Ben Wallis sailed in the 214 boat Main fleet, and Tarra Gill-Taylor, Matt Wallis and Scott Wallis competed in the 67 boat Regatta fleet. The Main fleet was split into 4 “flights” that race against each other – resulting in over 100 boats on each start. This was a great opportunity to gain experience of long start lines, “flights” and the Carantec course layout before the Nationals in August.

On the Saturday, the winds were light and it took a long time for the Main fleet to get a race started. As a result, they only sailed one race that day, with Josh doing well at 54th and Ben further back at 99th, which translate to 107th and 197th overall because of the flight system.

Meanwhile, the Regatta fleet races were each 2 laps of a trapezoidal course with quite a long beat, but they managed to get two races in before coming in for a break. In the light conditions the sailors had to work very hard to make the best of what little breeze they could find. 

In race 1, Tarra and Matt both managed to get away cleanly at the start and sailed superbly throughout the first race to finish 1st and 2nd respectively. Scott sailed well to a creditable 32nd.

 The second race saw Tarra get away well again and battle hard up the first beat to round 2nd, which he held till the finish, challenging for the lead at times. That was enough to give him 1st place overall. Matt’s start to the second race had been impeded by a group of port-tack boats, and he was 23rd away from the start, but he sailed magnificently and worked his way through the fleet to finish 8th, giving him 3rd place overall. Scott sailed steadily again and finished in 52nd.

The Sunday saw even less wind and there was no further racing for either fleet – a bit disappointing for the Main fleet that had only sailed one race. In the Regatta fleet, the overall results were great for Spinnaker, mirroring the results from the previous weekend at Burghfield, with Tarra 1st and Matt 3rd. Scott finished 44th overall.

Well done to all the Spinnaker sailors. Despite the lack of wind the event was great fun with many people camping on site and the children enjoying endless games of football and rugby.

The coming months will see several Spinnaker Oppies travelling to Datchett, Lymington, Hayling, Weymouth and Largs. We’ll report back in the next newsletter to let you know how they get on. Good luck to all of them!

Congratulations to Tarra (right) and Matt – 1st and 3rd at Grafham.