North West Norfolk Week
NWNW kicked off in
style with 29 Twelves gathering on the first weekend at Hunstanton SC
for the 5th round of the Gill Series. The first race on
Saturday in light winds and glorious weather was led from start to
finish by Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne. The second race was a
comprehensive win for Paul & Freya Pelling who comfortably picked a
right hand shift on the first beat to earn a significant lead which they
never relinquished. The wind increased to Force 3-4 on the Sunday
and Paul Pelling, now crewed by eldest daughter Hester, again led round
the first mark of race 3. John & Katy Meadowcroft then showed surprising
amounts of offwind speed in their new Paradigm 2 design to take the
lead, only to lose it when their rudder assembly gave up the ghost. Camm
& Ballantyne went on to win. Frances Gifford & Sophie Mackley
initially set the pace in race 4 but Jon Ibbotson & Charlotte Stewart
were not to be deterred and gained the upper hand to win the final race.
13 Twelves stayed
on to enjoy the full week which delivered sun and a good breeze almost
every day. The river at Kings Lynn was the first venue. A short beat to
the windward mark and a tight reach against the tide which then turned
into a beat created several pile ups and ensured lots of antics for the
first lap. Ian Gore & Frankie Turley were first to escape into clear
wind. Tom & Charlotte Stewart looked good off the start but got caught
in the pile up instead. The flukey breeze between the buildings brought
the fleet back together frequently making a tight race between Gore &
Turley, the Stewarts, Camm & Ballantyne, team Sallis and also Andy
Bayliss & Vicky Wood. It all came down to the final leeward mark which
Gore & Turley won by an inch.
The wind blew up
for Wells and seemed to hinder the water coming into the harbour. The
fleet spent a lot of time wondering where they could sail without
hitting the sand. Gore & Turley had pole position on the line but the
Stewarts caught them downwind. Camm & Ballantyne had a duel with Gore &
Turley on the next beat to take second but couldn’t challenge the
Stewarts’ strong wind speed.
The fleet moved on
to Blakeney for both Wednesday and Thursday for a fine set of evening
sails in a F3-4 (dropping off a bit as the sun set). The fleet launched
in the creek in a little over a foot of water and again much time was
spent wondering how to get to the windward mark without running aground.
Team Sallis was first round closely followed by Camm & Ballantyne who
took the lead on the run. The wind died and the tide turned at the start
of the final beat making for a difficult leg. Camm & Ballantyne tacked
off the leeward mark onto a large lift but chose the wrong side of the
channel to escape the tide. The pack behind chose to go right and Camm &
Ballantyne had to cross back to consolidate their loss. A tight tacking
battle against the tide then ensued for the next half mile between the
Stewarts, team Sallis and Camm & Ballantyne. It was Camm & Ballantyne
who claimed line honours by a whisker.
The second day
Blakeney provided equally tight racing with the Stewarts, team Sallis,
Camm & Ballantyne, Gore & Turley and Bayliss & Woods all close on the
long run against the tide. The Stewarts took the lead initially with
Camm & Ballantyne sneaking in at the end of the run only to get
overhauled on the next beat. It was the final leeward mark that proved
decisive with the Stewarts getting trapped by an Enterprise leaving a
gap for Camm & Ballantyne.
The final two days
were held at Snettisham and the wind blew hard, in fact too hard on the
Friday and racing was abandoned. The final races on Saturday morning
started at 6:15am which meant the first salt water down the neck at
5:45am (ouch!) but also a planing reach into a glorious sunrise to
compensate. Camm & Ballantyne won both races after close battles with
team Sallis, Gore & Turley and also Ian & James Keely.
Read Paul Turners "view
from the back"
Overall results 1
N3492, Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne,
Burghfield SC (Numinous) 2
N3513, Tom Stewart & Adele Cameron,
Northampton SC (Feeling Foolish) 3 N3436,
Steve & Joanne Sallis, Hykeham SC (Feeling Foolish) 4 N3441,
Ian Gore & Frankie Turley, Up River YC (Feeling Foolish) 6 N3445,
Andy Bayliss & Vicky Woods, Hykeham SC (Final Chapter) 1st
Admirals Cup boat N3287, Gerry Ledger & Alayne Seymour, Up
River YC (Design 8)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |