13 National 12s, including 6 visitors, met in Salcombe for a very sunny
weekend on the 11 and/12th October. The first race was held after
lunch on Saturday. The flooding tide and attendant sea breeze gave the
fleet a choice with regards which side to take up the first beat.
The beach side took the advantage with Paradigm Shift (Dave Peacock &
Tricia Wood) rounding the windward mark in the lead, followed by Happy
Hour (John Meadowcroft & Jenny Wilson). The long run back down the
estuary and through the bag allowed Monkey Business (Jon Ibbotson & Andy
Douglas), Zippy (Fran Gifford & Sophie Mackley) and Full Monty (John &
Mandy Thornton) to catch the leaders. Eventually it was the Full
Monty who managed to round the leeward mark first. They managed to
hold the lead for the next couple of marks of the estuary tour before
being overtaken on the last leg of the shortened course by Monkey
Business. Paradigm Shift held onto 3rd.
Sunday dawned shrouded in mist, but this lifted before the scheduled
start to reveal a good offshore wind. The majority of the fleet
chose to start by the beach to give a long starboard tack, but a large
lift allowed Full Monty and Zippy who started in the middle of the line
to take a good lead up to the windward mark, rounding in that order with
Happy Hour (with Katy Meadowcroft crewing) in 3rd. After that the
race changed as the sea breeze tried to establish itself. A number
of doldrums and random wind shifts carried the fleet slowly out of the
estuary towards a missing buoy. After some confusion the fleet all
rounded the same mark to finish the course with Zippy taking the honours
(on Fran’s birthday), followed by Full Monty and then Paradigm Shift.
One race to go, and a very even results sheet meant that at least 3
boats had a chance of winning the event. A very light and tricky breeze
didn’t prevent Happy Hour from getting away to a great start, rounding
the windward mark ahead of Monkey Business and Full Monty. They extended
their lead to the 2nd buoy, but on the way back down the estuary those 3
boats closed back up. Up the beat back past the race hut Full Monty
managed to get ahead of Monkey Business down the beach side of the
estuary, but Happy Hour looked to be travelling well up the Town bank.
It looked like Happy Hour had made a great decision, but lost the wind
getting to the buoy allowing Full Monty to round first. There was
further place swapping before the finish, but the Full Monty regained
the lead on the fetch to the finish allowing them to take the race and
the weekend. Monkey Business held off Zippy to get 3rdin the race,
and 2nd overall.
Final results
N3443 John & Mandy Thornton, The Full Monty, Henley Sailing Club
N3494 Jon Ibbotson & Andy Douglas, Monkey Business, Oxford & Cambridge
SS
N3431 Fran Gifford & Sophie Mackley, Zippy, Aldeburgh YC
N3515 John & Katy Meadowcroft, Happy Hour, Henley Sailing Club
Photo courtesy of Warwick Brookman -
www.wb-photo.com
For full results, see
http://www.salcombeyc.org.uk/content/racing-results/%5Enational-twelve%5ENational_Twelve_Open_Meeting_October_2008/