SAILS COVERS ACCESSORIES

The winning team were Richard Lovering and Matt Alvarado, followed by Steve Goacher and Tim Harper, and George Jordan and Matt Armstrong taking the next two podium positions.

Day 2: Sun and breeze — all a sailor could ask for

Friday dawned sunny and warm giving great hopes for the establishment of a steady sea breeze. The race officer had the fleet launching at 10am when there was no breeze, with some sailors paddling out to catch the ebb tide. It was not long before the sea breeze appeared confirming the Race Officer’s judgement.

Race 2 started cleanly at the second time of asking into a south-westerly breeze, after a last-minute postponement just before the starting gun to cater for a late wind shift.

The fleet split quickly into the “shore-huggers” who went tight to avoid the tide and the “intrepids” who threw caution to the wind and went out to sea despite the tidal situation. The result appeared to be a draw as the two fleets arrived 200 yards downwind of the windward mark at roughly the same time, but the final 200 metres favoured the huggers. The tide at the windward mark caught out a number of boats. On the downwind leg Jeremy Davy and Martin Huett gybed off to port and took the lead from Dave Lucas sailing with his son Harry. Both boats held their lead to the finish with Jeremy maintaining his lead.

Race 3 started on time after a 25 degree course correction to accommodate the arrival of the proper sea breeze from a more southerly direction. Shane MacCarthy and Adam Froggart from Ireland started at the left side of the start line went out to sea and led the fleet around the windward mark and the held on for the rest of the race to take the line honours.

Race 4 started with a proper sea breeze and all the crews could use the toe straps and get comfy. It again got away first time, with more boats this time choosing the out to sea course. They benefited from a lift and lea-bow effect as they approached the windward mark but again boats got caught out by the tide as they attempted the rounding. New-coming amateur to the fleet Vince (Wally) Hoary came in late on port and tacked underneath Richard Lovering and Matt Alverado but failed to make the rounding. Nathan Batchelor and Richard Rigg led around the windward mark and was untouchable for the rest of the race followed at the finish by Graham Vials and Chris Turner with the two Ians (Pinnell and Cadwallader) in third.

Ashore there was general agreement that it was a “champagne sailing” day. Many of the photos come from this day’s racing. (see the UKFFA website gallery). w

Day 3: After the champagne, the flat lemonade!

Day 3 started with a strong northerly wind and cloud cover forecasting the result that a sea breeze never really got going today. The four races the Race Officer was planning was never likely to happen.

Race 1 the Race Officer set a course towards the shore in a North Easterly breeze, with the fleet splitting into the two packs as on Friday, those going right seemed correct until the final 100 yards when the wind lifted the port tack boats to the mark. The breeze was shifty, and the windward mark needed continuous adjustment, the runs were equally fickle with a definite split between the wings on the first run, the right appeared favoured and on the second the left appeared to pay. Graham Vials and Chris Turner played the right hand and scored their first bullet.

Race 2 had a beat to the northwest as the wind swung round with the attempt at a sea breeze starting. Those in the know started at the pin end and went left whilst the majority of the fleet went right; The left hookers were doing well, and the leaders Nigel Buckley and Sue Bannister even got around the windward mark in under the 20 minute time limit but the Race Officer abandoned the race anyway as those on the right of the course were in a big hole. I think Mark may be dropped from

Sue Bannister’s Christmas card

list!

Race 2 (“the re-run”) commenced after a break for the wind to settle into the southwest with the windward mark in the full flood of the tide. The fleet undertook the usual left right split with the result a small win for the right. The run was a simple bear away to keep in the tidal stream for as long as possible. The tide around the windward mark caused problems for many boats. Andrew Jameson and James Grant took the honours in this race. Race 3 was promising with an increased wind strength and the wind coming more from the south. The start was another repeat of the previous starts, but most chose to go out to sea. Those who tracked along the shore got to see the wind holes the middle of the fleet into. The right-hand side seemed ideal again until the final 100 yards again when those boats were headed and the seafarers lifted to the mark. It paid yet again to give the windward mark plenty of room. The second beat was shortened by the Race Officer as the breeze was again dying in the battle with the north wind. Graham Vials and Chris Turner won, their second race of the series.

Day 4: A clear blue sky and a light southerly breeze

The fleet were keen to get out and enjoy the promise of an excellent day’s racing, with the Race Officer planning to get 3 races in.

Race 1 was set with a beat southwest to the Isle of Wight, The fleet rose to the challenge by again splitting into shore and seaward divisions. The battle was won by the seaward sailors as they were lifted to the mark in the closing stages. The tide was very evident at this stage, and some did not make the rounding at the first attempt. The run again was a choice between gybing immediately or carrying on down tide, The latter choice appeared to be favoured as these boats could harden up and reach more into the leeward marks. This set the scene for the rest of the day, but not everyone got the message right away. However, the gybe “immediately approach” at least worked for Jeremy Davy and Martin Huett who took their second lines honours of the regatta.

Race 2 saw the windward mark tracking further to the south with the fleet split again, those favouring holding out on the starboard tack until well over to the left of the course then benefited with lifting conditions up the windward mark. First at the windward mark was Greg Wells and David Tulloch, followed by the Simons Patterson and Thompson. These two boats gybed but then lost out to those that continued with the flow of tide gybing late, and the Simons lost 6 places on the first run due to this mistake!

Race 3 was a “rinse and repeat” of race 2 (without the Simons being second around the mark! Just 6th). Errors having been learnt, more boats followed the route to the right down the run, however Jeremy Davy and Martin Hewitt continued with the immediate gybe plan and lost places. The stronger pressure on the right-hand side of the course was the winning component in the choices. Graham Vials and Chris Turner took their third win of the series to ensure they sealed their win of the event. w

Round up

A review of the results shows that Graham Vials and Chris Turner won with consistency. The fact that second placed Ian Pinnell and Ian Cadwallader has only one 3rd place as their highest result shows the impact of consistency of their results. Individual race winners appear as far down as 16th!

Comment has to be made about the high standard of Race Management by Mark Darling and his team. Races were turned around promptly where appropriate, windward marks adjusted during races and breaks in sailing taken when appropriate for the wind to settle. Through it all Mark was patient and resolute in the use of the black flag. Day 1 with 6 consecutive abandoned starts was a very trying experience for all. It was nice to also see a highly visible pin end mark!

Also deserving of mention are Peter Hickson and Neil Shawcross for their excellent photos of the sailing. It was nice to see all levels on the fleet in photo and not just the leaders. Some of these images deserve wall space. There are more images in the UKFFA website gallery and Hayling Islands SmugMug page (https://haylingisc.smugmug.com/Championships/2022/ Flying-Fifteen-National-Championships/) where individual copies may be ordered.

Overall results are on the UKFFA website at https://flying15. org.uk/news/f15-uk-nationals-final-report . The top ten are shown below.