Hayling Island SC hosted the first event in the NeilPryde Golden Dolphin series. 19 Boats made the trip, and were rewarded with 6 races in fantastic sailing conditions. With 15-20 knots blowing on the Saturday, the Fireballs headed out to the bay, leaving the Merlins to dodge sand banks in the Harbour.
The stiff Northerly provided excellent conditions for sailing, Chips and Vyv announced their presence with a bullet in race 1 – the first time out in their new boat. They were closely followed by Matt Burge and Rich Wagstaff with Tom Gillard and Simon Potts in third, overtaking DJ and Richard Anderton on the last hitch to the finish.
Race 2 started just before a squall, which caught several teams off guard – recorded at 30 knots by the weather stations, it set the scene for an interesting race. The first reach was fast, and while Burge and Wagstaff tested the water temperature, the rest of the fleet charged off. Tom Gillard won the race from Chips and DJ – though Chips and DJ were both OCS.
The wind abated for race 3 and after some close racing DJ worked out a win from Burge – with Nathan Batchelor and Rob Higgins in third.
Sunday brought a southerly wind, and a steady 12-15 knots. 3 more races were quickly run by the committee – Burge and Wagstaff won the first race, closely followed by Matt Rainback and Simon Foskett – sailing the Fleet boat in their first Fireball open meeting. Race 5 was quickly underway with Chips winning from Tom – positions that were reversed in the last race.
NeilPryde generously sponsored the event – as they are the rest of the Golden Dolphin events – with 1st prize receiving £100 in vouchers, 2nd place £75 and 3rd place £50. 1st Silver went home with £35 and 1st Bronze received £25.
Overall
Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 19, Scoring system: Appendix A
| Rank | Tally | Fleet | SailNo | HelmName | CrewName | Club | R1 27 Apr | R2 27 Apr | R3 27 Apr | R4 28 Apr | R5 28 Apr | R6 28 Apr | Total | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 14 | Gold | 15091 | Tom Gillard | Simon Potts | Sheffield Viking SC | 3.0 | 1.0 | (5.0) | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 15.0 | 10.0 |
| 2nd | 19 | Gold | 15096 | Chips Howarth | Vyv Townsend | Emsworth SC | 1.0 | (20.0 OCS) | 7.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 35.0 | 15.0 |
| 3rd | 9 | Gold | 15093 | Matt Burge | Richard Wagstaff | Poole YC | 2.0 | (8.0) | 2.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 17.0 |
| 4th | 12 | Gold | 15073 | Peter Gray | Tim Saunders | SHSC | 5.0 | 6.0 | (11.0) | 6.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 35.0 | 24.0 |
| 5th | 7 | Gold | 15080 | Matt Rainback | Simon Foskett | Poole | 8.0 | (9.0) | 6.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 34.0 | 25.0 |
| 6th | 18 | Gold | 15083 | Dave Wade | Bob Gardner | Northampton | 7.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 46.0 | 26.0 |
| 7th | 6 | Gold | 15087 | Nathan Batchelor | Rob Higgins | Llevedon SC | 9.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 47.0 | 27.0 |
| 8th | 11 | Gold | 15094 | Tim Rush | Dan Ellis | Nottingham SC | 6.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 53.0 | 33.0 |
| 9th | 13 | Gold | 15081 | D J Edwards | Richard Anderton | Tata | 4.0 | (20.0 OCS) | 1.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 20.0 DNC | 64.0 | 44.0 |
| 10th | 17 | Silver | 15045 | Christine Slater | Graham Slater | Paignton SC | (20.0 DNC) | 7.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 64.0 | 44.0 |
| 11th | 15 | Silver | 15041 | Maria Richards | Jez White | Blackwater | (12.0) | 11.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 65.0 | 53.0 |
| 12th | 16 | Silver | 14928 | Anthony Willcocks | James Willcocks | Portished Yacht SC | (14.0) | 10.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 6.0 | 70.0 | 56.0 |
| 13th | 10 | Silver | 14889 | Hannah Showell | Barry Smith | Thornbury | 13.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 14.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 9.0 | 79.0 | 59.0 |
| 14th | 8 | Gold | 14950 | Steve Goacher | Russell Thorne | Lyme Regis SC | 11.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 85.0 | 65.0 |
| 15th | 5 | Bronze | 13972 | Vic Hardingham | Rachel Hardingham | Haversham SC | 16.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 15.0 | 15.0 | 11.0 | 97.0 | 77.0 |
| 16th | 3 | Bronze | 12910 | Geoffrey Johns | Lucy Sparrow | Shustoke SC | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 16.0 | 16.0 | 10.0 | 102.0 | 82.0 |
| 17th | 2 | Silver | 14801 | Richard Cornes | James Goodfellow | MKSC | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 10.0 | 14.0 | 20.0 DNC | 104.0 | 84.0 |
| 18th | 4 | Gold | 14791 | Angus McPrune | Steve Chesney | 10.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 110.0 | 90.0 | |
| 19th | 1 | Bronze | 14885 | Fiona Gray | Chris Holliman | Waldringfield SC | 15.0 | (20.0 DNC) | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 20.0 DNC | 115.0 | 95.0 |
