Congratulations to Guy and Tom Marks, new UKWA National Champions.

Sponsored by Hartley Boats, Craftinsure and Exe Sails:

Wayfarer Nationals

Entries: 13      Races Sailed: 9      Discard: 2

Thu 23 Jul 15 18:31
Sail100 Sailing Results Software Program

Wayfarer National Championships, Brixham Yacht Club, July 20 – 24 2015

Day 1:

Race 1 was held in a breeze which varied between Force 4 and 5, with occasionally a bit more on the gusts. Bill Whitney and John Shelton, from Shoreham Sailing Club, had a small advantage at the first mark, which they extended until the third lap. At that point, the gusts made a significant impact on the results, with a broken mast for them and another in the fleet. At the finish, first was was Guy and Thomas Marks (Bough Beech), second Richard Stone and Elliot Marks and third Brian Lamb and Sam Pygall. The Race Officer sensibly decided to postpone race 2 to tomorrow.

Day 2:

Both boats that broke their masts yesterday were back on the water this morning thanks to the prompt claims service provided by Craftinsure, fortunately the insurer of both casualties. The fleet were greeted by a SW Force 4 with significantly heavier gusts that caused a few problems. A pin-end bias on the line and an ebbing tide caught out a few boats but Len Jones and Philip Catmur stayed clear of the trouble and rounded the first mark in the lead which they held despite the attention of Guy and Tom Marks, who finished second. One of the new mast recipients Bill Whitney and John Shelton recovered from an indifferent start and worked their way through the fleet to grab third place. The second race started in slightly more wind which had shifted left to such an extent that the first mark could almost be laid by the boats that tacked on port from the pin-end. Again the Marks family, winners yesterday, got away chased by veteran helm Brian Lamb and crewed by Sam Pygall, with the Whitney/Shelton pair in third place.  After three races with one discard Guy and Tom Marks lead with 2 points from Jones/Catmur with 5 points aand Lamb/Pygall also with 5.

Day 3:

Saw a slight easing in the wind conditions, which allowed three races to be sailed and survived by all the fleet. Brixham’s interesting geography still meant there were a multitude of shifts and gusts which kept everyone on their mettle up the beats. In the first race of the day, Race 4, it paid to go left, and there was a race-long tussle between Bill Whitney/John Shelton and Guy and Tom Marks which was only settled at the end with a close win for Whitney/Shelton. In third place was a new pairing on the podium, Geoff and Nick Gibbons. The next two races 5 and 6 saw much more place changing in the shifts throughout the fleet, but Len Jones and Jamie Lea showed their skills with two runaway wins. The Marks boys sailed consistently with two more second places, though the last of these was achieved in zero to hero fashion. Having been OCS at the beginning and gone back to re-start, they were well positioned for the big shift soon after the start which brought those who went right back into contention. Whitney/Shelton had a third in Race 5 but were caught out by the shift in Race 6 and could not recover fully. In third place in Race 6 was Brian Lamb/Sam Pygall who have been consistently up there in all races so far. After 6 races, with one discard, Guy and Tom Marks lead with 8 points, second is Jones/Lea with 13 points, and followed by Whitney/Shelton and Lamb/Pygall with 15 points. There is still every thing to play for in the next two days, especially with some fluky winds forecast, and a second discard to come in after Race 8.

Day 4:

It was agreed to hold three races on Day 4, in order to get ahead of schedule with a dire weather forecast for Day 5. The wind for the first race of the day, Race 7, was barely more than a Force 2/3, albeit with the usual Brixham shifts, so a shortened course was signalled when the fleet was only on the second lap, the downwind run. This unfortunately led to some six boats falling foul of a ‘Blue Flag’ rule in the Sailing Instructions, which precluded going through the finish line adjacent to the committee boat other than on the short beat from the leaward mark. The six included the two leading contendors for the series and other front-runners at the time, so that there were some robust discussions/explanations after racing at the end of the day when the transgressions were revealed. The final result for Race 7 was a win for Stewart and Catriona Coltart, making a first appearance on the podium for them. The wind picked up for Race 8, but a major windshift towards the end of the first lap led the RO to reposition the windward mark. However, although this was communicated appropriately to the competitors, in the confusion most of the fleet proceeded to the original mark, and an abandonment flag was subsequently flown. On the re-start, it was back to ‘normal’ racing, with responses to the many shifts and gusts determining positions and performance. John Goudie and Chris Pygall, sailing the Craftinsure sponsors boat, led at the first mark, but at the finish, it was Len Jones and Jamie Lea who took the win. They were followed by Richard Stone and Elliot Marks in second and Geoff and Nick Gibbons third. Race 9 followed, bringing to a conclusion a full (three and a half) race day. Here, it was largely back to the leading contenders for the series battling it out at the front of the fleet. At the end, it was a win for Len Jones and Jamie Lea, while second was Brian Lamb and Sam Pygall. There was a dead heat for third for the pairings of Guy and Tom Marks and Bill Whitney and John Shelton after a desparate lunge up the short beat to the finish line.  After the DSQs in the seventh race were confirmed, there still remains some unfinished business for the last race to be sailed on Friday, where the weather forecast is ‘marginal’. Guy and Tom Marks lead the Series with 13.5 points, Len Jones and Jamie Lea lie second with 15 points, albeit having scored 5 wins. Lamb/Pygall are in third with 20 points, while Whitney/Shelton have 22.5.

Day 5: No racing today.