Royal Harwich Yacht Club
National 12 Open Meeting
24-26 May
2003
This year’s National 12 class Open Meeting was well attended, with 41
boats from all corners of the country. The
event was further supported with inclusion in the National Gill Series
promoting 7 major events throughout the year. 
The overall prize for the Half Model Trophy was sailed over 3 days and 6
races with the best 5 to count. With
such a high calibre fleet with the majority of the top boats nationally in
attendance, starting was the key to success!
To keep the competitors under control, and back from the starting line,
the “Black Flag” rule was imposed throughout the weekend by race officer John
Selby. This means that anyone crossing
over the start line a minute before the start is immediately disqualified from
that race.
The weather for the weekend was exceptional considering the poor
forecast, with light winds dominating the event and showers only appearing
overnight.
From the first race it was apparent that Jon Brown and Charlotte
Ibbotson would set the early form, winning the first race from former national
champions, Tom Stewart and Liz Ross, also from the home club.
The battle for the Admirals Cup boats (those of an older design, without
a double skinned bottom) was closely contested. Kevin Iles and Jane Jones, third in race one, raced hard with
Chris Brown and Joe Hunt (RHYC) and Tim Laws and Emma Wilkins.
Race 2 saw yet another keen start with the leaders coming from the
committee boat end. Class Chairman
Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne rounded the first mark in the lead closely
followed by local boats Chris Mayhew and Nicole McKenna (RHYC) and Malcolm Mackley
and Andrew Douglas. However, at the beginning
of the second lap this trio were informed that they had been a bit too keen to
start and were sent home due to the black flag rule. This left Frances Gifford and Tash Stiles to take line honours
from Brown and Ibbotson, with John and Katy Meadowcroft third.
Consistent results were seen in races 3 and 4 from Stewart and Ross, Ian
and Alex Gore and Camm and Ballantyne.
The weather remained light, picking up in the afternoon with a little
sea breeze for race 4.
The Burton Salver Trophy was sailed between Races 3 and 4 using the
length of the river to Levington. A
short beat against the ebb tide meant that yet again a good start was
essential. A couple of entrants missed
the black flag and were sent home early.
The run down the river meant that the boats remained together, ready for
the battle home. This was closely
fought between the Meadowcrofts and Stewart and Ross, the Meadowcrofts tripping
up with only a short distance to go before the line, getting the rudder caught
on a mooring buoy and leaving Stewart and Ross to take line honours.
Monday morning was another early start to catch the best of the
tide. Unfortunately the wind died to
almost nothing shortly after the start, proving to be very tricky against the
beginning of the ebb tide. The people
hugging the shore managed to hold on to a whiff of a breeze, still taking an
hour to get the first mark where the race was shortened. Geoff Camm and Amelia Hall managed to pull
out a good lead to win, with Bruce and Clare Johnson second and Iles and Jones
coming in third. For much of the fleet
the lack of breeze and many being stuck in the tide left them to retire but
some persevered and managed to finish within the time limit.
A postponement was then announced to wait for the sea breeze to settle,
and we were rewarded with a better sea breeze and a close last race.
The beat with the ebb tide meant that the keen starters forced a general
recall. After the restart, Gifford and
Stiles had a good start with Camm and Ballantyne also rounding the mark well. The race kept everyone very close, with many
people having close racing and battling for their positions. The Gores eventually took line honours from
Camm and Ballantyne, with Gifford and Stiles in third but this was not enough
to take overall victory from Stewart and Ross whose fourth place was sufficient
to take the overall honours.
The Junior
Prize for Under 21 helms was convincingly won by Jimmy Whitehead and Andrew
Dennison, beating off local competition from Hannah Playford, crewed by father
Nigel.
Results
Half Model Trophy
1st 3476 Tom Stewart and Liz Ross 17 points
2nd 3441 Ian and Alex Gore 20 points
3rd 3426 Jon Brown and Charlotte Ibbotson 25 points
4th 3473 John and Katy Meadowcroft 28 points
5th 3431 Frances Gifford and Tash Stiles 41 points
Burton Salver
1st 3476 Tom Stewart and Liz Ross
2nd 3473 John and Katy Meadowcroft
3rd 3423 Dave Peacock and Trisha Wood
Admirals Cup
1st 3295 Tim Laws and Emma Wilkins
2nd 3373 Kevin Iles and Jane Jones
3rd 3291 Chris Brown and Joe Hunt
Under 21
1st 3458 Jimmy Whitehead and Andrew Dennison