Pagham Open Meeting
Nine National
12 teams arrived at Pagham Yacht Club on Saturday 19 April for the first
sea event of 2008 but were disappointed when poor visibility and adverse
launching conditions forced the race officer to call off racing for the
day.
Conditions on
Sunday were near perfect with bright sunshine and a variable 15 knot
breeze. The first race of
the day was closely fought with several boats in contention throughout.
Jon Ibbotson & Charlotte Stewart were the early leaders but were
unable to stop Richard Williams & Lindsey Iles taking advantage of a
left shift on the second beat to take the lead and the race.
Ibbotson & Stewart finished second with Antony & Jo Gifford
third.
In race two
Ibbotson & Stewart took early control and comfortably protected their
lead from the chasing pack through to the finish.
Williams & Iles stole second from Kevin Iles & Jane Wade after
benefiting from a left shift late on in the race.
Iles & Wade
were the early pace setters in race three and continued to lead for
several laps but dropped to third after choosing to conservatively play
the shifts in the middle of the beat while Williams & Iles found
favourable breeze on the left and Ibbotson & Stewart found the same on
the right. Williams & Iles took first place closely followed by Ibbotson
& Stewart and Iles & Wade.
With a
slender one point lead, Williams & Iles chose to stay with Ibbotson &
Stewart from the start.
Both teams headed right and crossed the fleet before Williams & Iles
edged ahead at the windward mark, setting up a tight match race for the
next five laps. Williams &
Iles covered hard and marginally extended their lead on the upwind legs
but Ibbotson & Stewart closed the gaps with their superior pace on the
downwind legs. Having
completed more tacks in one race than in a week of championship racing,
Williams & Iles were relieved to cross the finish line ahead to take the
event.
Results 1st Rich Williams & Lindsay Iles 2nd Jon Ibbotson & Char Stewart 3rd Antony & Jo Gifford 4th Kevin Iles & Jane Wade
|
|
 |