RS400, Laser 2000 & RS Feva Open at Chichester Yacht Club
by David Brecknell 11 Jul 2005 12:49 UTC
9-10 July 2005
Laser 2000s at the Chichester Asymmetric open © Tony Purser
TWO OUT OF THREE FOR CHICHESTER SAILORS
Over the weekend of July 9th and 10th there was a festival of asymmetric sailing at Chichester Yacht Club. There was a down-harbour cruise for the Laser 2000s on Saturday, and an Open Meeting for RS400s, Laser 2000s and RS Fevas on Sunday. Altogether about thirty Laser 2000s took part over the weekend. Ten RS400s and eleven Fevas raced.
The weather was glorious, although the breeze on Sunday, after swinging from north to south-west with the sea breeze, was on the light side, and looked to be fading. However, all three races, over a course giving two windward and two leeward legs to each round, were completed, by dint of keeping the boats on the water for getting on for four hours, and beginning each successive start sequence with the briefest interval after the last boat finished the previous race.
The RS400s started first, and the racing was close among those fighting for second, third and fourth places : the first place in all the races was taken by C.Y.C.’s Colin Smith crewed by Charlotte Clay, sailing a borrowed boat which had previously had a rather chequered career – further proof, if any were needed, that “boats is all right – it’s the men (and ladies) that’s in ’em”! Behind them Hywell Roberts and Hugh Williams had two seconds, and Rob and Jan Martin a second and a third, while the next best of the Chichester boats was in the hands of Roger Clare and Alex Wathen, who scored a third in the last race.
The twenty-two strong Laser 2000 fleet divided itself into three groups : fast ones, middling ones, and less fast ones. There were fourteen visitors, but at the front local sailors John and Pauline Cox took the lead after two races with two wins, and in the third race deliberately started last in the order to encourage the tail-enders – but still finished eleventh! Behind them came Bill and Charlotte Dawber from Dell Quay, with a second, a third and a final win. Third and fourth were Weir Wood sailors (glad to be sure of enough water), all from one family : Tim and Linda Hulley with two seconds to count, and Amy Hulley and Joe Pascoe with a fourth and a third. The next two C.Y.C. boats, rounding off the “fast” group, were sailed by Ian Payne and Graham Ponsford, each with crews new to the class : Paul Mapstone and Amanda Robson.
The Laser 2000 now seems to have won its spurs, with two dozen boats on the dinghy park, and its biggest ever fleet in the Open, and is due to be officially adopted as a Club Class at the A.G.M. at the end of the season.
Meanwhile the Club’s young sailors disported themselves in the Fevas, including the Club boats, but were unable to beat visitors Nathan and Anna Ackroyd, who had two firsts. Behind them came James and Matti Ponsford and Simon Kitchen and Bethany Robson, on equal points, but separated by the fact that the Ponsfords could count a first place. A special prize was awarded to Hugo Jones-Warner and Camilla Mapstone, for their performance (only two places behind elder brother Rupert!) in their very first Open Meeting.
News was brought that Aaron Smith also received a special prize : at the French Optimist Nationals at Biarritz, where he was thirteenth out of two hundred boats, and second foreign entry, and walked away with air tickets to an Optimist event in the Bahamas next year! (His only complaint is that he can hardly frame the tickets for his prize cabinet, which is steadily being filled!)