Norfolk Broads Yacht Club - Vintage Meeting 

6th & 7th August 2011
 
After the disappointment of missing out on a weekend’s sailing at Aldeburgh in late July due to high winds, the N12 Vintage Fleet was eagerly anticipating the prospect of better weather at this beautiful venue on Wroxham Broad where they joined a mixed fleet of other vintage dinghy sailors for the annual Vintage Dinghy handicap weekend hosted by the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club.
 
Torrential downpours earlier in the day had thankfully cleared and light variable winds and almost blue skies had also made an appearance by the time the racing got underway after lunch on the Saturday.
 
In Race 1, the twelve starters included vintage Merlins, International 14’s, an Albacore and  five National 12’s. Howard Chadwick, crewed by his grandson James in ‘Triarda’ N2266 took an early lead and although overtaken by some of the faster classes won easily on handicap. Brian Herring and Ros in ‘Let’s Go’ N1673 was the 2nd N12 to cross the line and  Bernard Clark sailing with his daughter Ellie in ‘Xanthus’ N2149 were third.

 
In Race 2, Howard and James again sailed exceptionally well finishing 3rd overall but securing 1st place in the 12 fleet, closely followed by Bernard and Ellie in 2nd and Brian and Ros in 3rd place.
 
A hastily organised and unscheduled Race 3 saw Bernard and Ellie off to a flying start building an impressive lead which they held almost to the finish, being beaten only by multi-championship winning Mike MacNamara in his Albacore. Ten seconds separated the following three vintage 12’s with Brian and Ros narrowly beating Howard and James with Tim Gatti and crew Jaki Alden a few seconds behind.
 
The day was rounded off with an excellent barbecue organised by event host Jamie Campbell with Bernard Clark donning his apron and working his customary miracles to provide the hungry sailors with all the sausages, burgers, chicken thighs and spare ribs they could eat.
 
By the Sunday morning the strong winds had returned and the owners of a number of the older, more fragile boats decided to stay ashore. Of the ten boats that started, four retired without completing the course – including Bernard and Ellie and Brian and Ros, whilst Tim’s crew had pulled out the previous evening with a back injury. Once again Howard and his crew put in a great performance to complete the race, finishing 3rd on handicap and 1st vintage 12.

 
In the final race, with some scorching gusts now racing across Wroxham Broad, ‘Triarda’ as the only remaining Vintage 12 on the water, found herself with a little more crew-weight to keep her upright (if a little nose-heavy!) as Howard Chadwick teamed up with Bernard Clark to take on a couple of go-faster Merlin’s flying spinnakers and Mike MacNamara’s seemingly invincible Albacore, again finishing a very credible third overall and 1st 12.
 
Many thanks to Jamie Cambell for organising this very special event and for the excellent team at NBYC for hosting the weekend.  We look forward to seeing you all again in 2012 if you’ll have us.
 
Tim Gatti
N12 Vintage Fleet

Photos courtesy Jenny Clark