The 23 crews who braved heavy rain and an ominous weather forecast on Wednesday evening were rewarded with very close racing in the unexpected light winds. James Downer took the winning gun in the RS400s by a margin of 25 seconds from Brett Aarons, Paul Tanner led home the Shadows by 12 seconds, and Ben Willows’ margin of victory in the Fast Group was a mere 8 seconds. Mark Harrison’s RS100 and Paul Blowers Finn swapped the lead several times in the Medium Group, the latter taking first place on corrected time, whilst Will Robinson was the sole finisher in the Lasers.
On a smiling Saturday, the popular orienteering event Brian’s Challenge included marks from Saltmead round to buoys near Cowes. The optimum choices of route and hence the fastest times were laid down by Graham Deegan in fleet 1 and new Laser sailor Pete Bowen in fleet 2 who collected their awards on Sunday.
Sunday’s action had to wait for the breeze to fill in, after which the early fleets such as cats and RS400s managed to find a bit of tide assistance offshore, but this was short lived as low water came and went.
Robin Leather had a race-long battle with Paul Jennings, with the rest of the cats some way adrift, and Paul Bowen crewed by Shaun Kellett won both RS400 races with James Downer, Pete Newlands and Chris Symons mixing it behind.
It was a good day for family Blowers, with son Harry winning the Lasers and father Paul keeping his Finn in front of the Medium Group. Jack Elsom in the sole Laser 4.7 established an early lead in the final group, but it was not enough to keep out Mike Peddar and Kate Gibbs on handicap. Steve Cole’s infringement and penalty turn on the start line did not help his race in the Fast Group, which was won by Martin Scott.
Next weekend’s sailing will include a 2-day Shadow Cat Open event.
Results
Wednesday First Series 4
Cats : 1 Paul Tanner, 2 Carl Blenkinsop, 3 Laurie Gustar
RS400s : 1 James Downer/Jon Price, 2 Brett Aarons/Robbie Southwell, 3 Chris Greenen
Fast : 1 Ben Willows, 2 Keith Hayden
Medium : 1 Paul Blowers, 2 Mark Harrison, 3 Chris Gillies
Lasers : 1 Will Robinson
Brian’s Challenge
Fleet 1 : 1 Graham Deegan/Judith French, 2 Martin Scott, 3 Tony Wyeth
Fleet 2 : 1 Pete Bowen, 2 Simon Bean, 3 Julian Metcalf
Sunday Spring Series 6:
Cats : 1 Robin Leather, 2 Laurie Gustar, 3 Paul Jennings/Vykke Gill
RS400 race 1 :1 Paul Bowen/Shaun Kellett, 2 Pete Newlands, 3 James Downer/Jon Price
RS400 race 2 :1 Bowen, 2 Downer, 3 Chris Symons/C. Hughes
Fast : 1 Martin Scott, 2 Steve Cole/Pete Green
Lasers : 1 Harry Blowers, 2 Mike Elsom, 3 Libby Deegan
Medium Handicap : 1 Paul Blowers, 2 James French, 3 Ben Symons/Ellie Ness
Slow Handicap: 1 Mike Peddar, 2 Kate Gibbs, 3 Jack Elsom
