A warm welcome greeted a competitive fleet of Fireballs to Castle Cove SC on the 14th/15th of May for the first event of the South West series. A very civilized start time of 13:00 gave plenty of time for an early lunch, the main focus being what to wear for the 3 back to back races out in Weymouth bay.
The NW breeze averaging 16kts and some big shifts gave opportunities for big gains and losses throughout the day. Breakages took their toll with Dave Wade, Paul Robbins and Phil Popple all suffering. The wind stayed at an average of 16 to 18 kts for the afternoon with highest gust recorded at 27kts. The CCSC race team turned around the fleets with great efficiency and courses were excellent giving fantastic reaches and beats throughout the weekend. Three bullets for Martyn Lewis and Richard Byne (15056), gave a commanding lead at the close of play on day 1.
Sunday and 3 more races in the bay. The race notice board displaying 18Kts and blue sky set expectations for the day and the scheduled start at a prompt 10:30 caught some of the fleet out, maybe the combination of a local pub and the traditional Fireball fleets approach to drinking in excess may have something to do with the late arrival! Wind again from the NW for race 4 in around 12kts of breeze. Team Mutley in 15056 lead at the windward mark followed by Derian and Andy who closed the gap at the first wing mark. Late starters Kevin and Russell made great gains on the 2nd beat favoring the right-hand side. The final run was tricky and staying in the breeze was the order for the day. Lewis/Byne won again with Hope/Thorne 2nd and Derian/Andy 3rd.
Race 5 started and had to be abandoned as the SW sea breeze kicked in shifting the direction by around 35 to 40 degrees. On the restart Burge/Wagstaff, Horey/Thompson and Hope/Thorne saw some very close racing. Some great reaches including navigating a ship and aussie-drop coming into play before the gybe mark saw Burge/Wagstaff take the win followed by Hope/Thorne and Horey/Thompson. Lewis/Byne took 4th position securing the event with a race to spare. Race 6 saw a win by Hope/Thorne followed by Derian/Andy and a well sailed 3rd place by Hannah Showell / Barry Smith.
Many thanks to Castle Cove SC who put on a great weekend looking forward to returning in 2012. The South West and Golden Dolphin series continue at Rock Sailing Club over the lat May Bank Holiday weekend.
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15056 | Martyn Lewis | Richard Byne | Draycote Water SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | (OCS) | 8 |
| 2 | 15050 | Kevin Hope | Russell Thorne | Notts County SC | -5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | 14941 | D Scott | Andy Scott | Chew Valley Lake SC | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | -5 | 2 | 16 |
| 4 | 15036 | Matt Burge | Richard Wagstaff | Poole YC | 2 | 2 | (DNF) | 6 | 1 | OCS | 23 |
| 5 | 15020 | Vince Horey | Andy Thompson | King George SC | 6 | 5 | 2 | (DNC) | 3 | DNC | 28 |
| 6 | 14430 | Hannah Showell | Barry Smith | Thornbury SC | -8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 30 |
| 7 | 14977 | Jonathan Carter | Gareth Wilkinson | Chelmarsh SC | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | (DNC) | 30 |
| 8 | 14099 | Glenn Bolton | Adam Sykes | Datchet Water SC | -10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 35 |
| 9 | 14101 | Barry Grant | Alec Green | Castle Cove SC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 4 | 8 | DNC | 48 |
| 10 | 15045 | David Wade | Tim Parsons | Northampton SC | 4 | (DNC) | DNF | DNF | DNC | DNC | 52 |
| 11 | 14574 | Jeremy Beling | Paul Robbins | Castle Cove SC | 9 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 57 |
More photos available on Picasa.
