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WANDERER NATIONALS, WHITSTABLE YACHT CLUB, 10TH & 11TH JULY 2010 - Report by Gavin Barr

Posted: Monday, 19 July, 2010

A successful event was held on 10/11 July here at WYC. For full report, click on link (or return to main website if received via newsfeed - http://www.wyc.org.uk).

Saturday 10th July.

Race 1.
Wind North East force 2 to 3.  Tide just after high water, on the turn.  Race Officer John Boorman set a line slightly biased to committee boat end.  Tim Barr and Ali Nicolson in W1282 “Thistle” got a great start and reached the windward mark well ahead but dropped the spinnaker over the bow allowing Mike Hamilton and David Oats, W992 “Orinoco” to catch up.  Once the spinnaker problem was sorted Tim and Ali pulled away and were never headed.  Mike held second place throughout.  Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper had a poor start having fouled W1541, Philip and Jill Meadowcroft before the start.  We did our penalty turns and worked up through the fleet, struggling to pass Tim Robertson with his nano-crew Niamh in W1038 “Joshua Slocum”.  Tim R was going very well.  Paul Yeadon and Liz North in were also going well.  (N.B.  Paul was sailing Hamish Dunn’s boat “Giggle” with sail number 4626 - actual boat number W1561).  After a port and starboard incident on the run, with the Meadowcrofts again ("Black Pudding”? or something like that) we did another 720.  Aaaaargh! but managed to work back to third place behind Tim and Mike.  The Meadowcrofts in 1541 were not far behind with Tim Robertson 5th.  Tim Barr turned out to have been OCS by a few inches, or a full boat length depending on who you listen to, and was disqualified, so we were all promoted.

Race 2.
The line was now pretty well square, the tide ebbing with gathering speed.  The wind was still north-easterly but weakening.  Most of the fleet went left, but Steve and Craig Searle in W1624 “Toerag” went right after the start, found more pressure and reached the windward mark first.  The Searles did not fly their spinnaker and were overtaken on the reach by several spinnaker boats.  Gavin and Mark, having gone deep, took the lead at the leeward mark and held it up the beat and down the next run.  At this point the wind died from the front of the fleet.  Paul Yeadon, Mike Hamilton and Tim Barr, carrying the last of the dying sea breeze, swiftly closed the gap, and Paul managed to cut inside at the mark and creep past to take the gun on a shortened course.  The next three boats, Barr senior, Mike H and Barr junior crossed the line in very close order, with Tim Robertson close behind.  The wind died altogether but then came in from the south - a shift of some 130 degrees as the gradient south westerly overcame the north east sea breeze, so the late finisher were beating to the line.

Race 3.
After a delay while the course was re-laid for the new wind, we were off once more.  There was some confusion over the new start line, and several boats including Tim Barr were over the line and had to return.  Mike Hamilton got a flying start and went right, as did some others including Paul Yeadon and the Meadowcrofts.  Tim Barr having re-crossed went left hoping for more breeze inshore.  He then played the shifts up the beat and reached the windward mark at almost the same time as Mike Hamilton.  Tim slowly overtook Mike and finished first with Mike second and Paul Yeadon and Liz North 3rd.  A close tussle took place down the run for 4th and 5th, with the Meadowcrofts making it just ahead of Gavin and Mark.  And so ended the first day.

After an excellent evening meal, Frogmaster-General Philip Meadowcroft conducted the East of England frog racing championship on the Whitstable Yacht Club verandah.  The convincing winner of the final was Claire Skipper, whose determination and skillful technique was faultless.  She received the coveted “Ribbit-Ribbit” trophy, presented to tumultuous applause by Caroline Barr.

Sunday 11th July.

Two Passage races were planned for this day, and after considering the forecast the race officer decided to go ahead.  The wind was south-westerly force 4 with a significant chop against the flooding tide.  Some competitors tested the conditions and decided that discretion was the better part of valour.  The rest of the fleet got off to a cracking start on the short windward leg before heading off to a turning mark half way to the Pollard Spit.  Tim Barr and Ali Nicolson followed by Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper were first round, closely followed by Paul Yeadon and Liz North.  Paul and Liz suffered a major upset when their highfield lever slipped down the mast leaving them with no rig tension and consequently no ability to point.  Mark Fagg and Ian Hender in W989 “Seal” were also close behind.  Tim and Ali sailed a faultless race, keeping the boat bolt upright and powering away from Gavin and Mark.  On reaching the Swale, conditions worsened, with the flooding tide funnelling into the channel, and the wind speed increasing.  This created an angry choppy sea.  Tim and Ali held their form and crossed the line off the entrance to Faversham Creek a good 800 yards ahead of Gavin and Mark, with Mark Fagg and Ian Hender a very creditable 3rd, followed by Paul and Liz. 
Steve and Craig Searle put in a gritty performance to take 5th place.  Some boats turned back due to capsize or exhaustion, but congratulations to all who made it to Faversham Creek.

Race 5
After a picnic lunch ashore by the Shipwrights Arms pub (yes, maybe a couple of pints were swallowed) the fleet re-launched for the final race of the series.  At this point three boats, Mike Hamilton and David Oats, Tim Barr and Ali Nicolson, and Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper were tied on 6 points each, with Paul Yeadon and Liz North one point behind on 7.  So any of these 4 could win the championship on the last race. 

The apparent wind had dropped slightly with the turn of the tide, which was now ebbing strongly.  Race Officer John Boorman operating from Alex Grantham’s powerful RIB “Aquaholic” positioned the start down tide from the starboard hand green conical navigation buoy “Receptive” off Faversham Creek, holding the line position under power against the ebb.  Philip and Jill Meadowcroft got a great start and reached the windward mark first, closely followed by Tim and Ali.  Mike Hamilton and David Oats, and Steve and Graig Searle were also in close attendance.  Gavin and Mark after a poor start rounded in 6th place.  Once round, spinnakers were hoisted and the fleet headed home past the Sand End buoy, spreading out as each selected their course for the turning mark, which was difficult to pick out against the horizon.  Tim and Ali sailed deep and to the right.  Gavin and Mark and Mike and David took a line more to port and further out to sea.  As the fleet drew further from the lee of Sheppey, the wind strength steadily increased until on approaching the turning mark for home it had risen to a gusty force 4.  Mike had headed too far left and was overtaken by Gavin and Mark, who slowly worked their way to the front.  At the mark they had a hotter angle and managed to cut inside Tim and Ali onto the tight spinnaker reach home.  Having got clear, Gavin and Mark managed to hang onto the lead on the final white-knuckle ride, amid clouds of spray as both boats careered to the line.  Tim and Ali crossed second.  Behind these two Mark Fagg and Ian Hender had been in 3rd place but suffered a dramatic capsize under spinnaker, as did Paul Yeadon and Liz North.  This allowed Steve and Craig Searle to take 3rd place.  Mike Hamilton recovered to 4th and the Meadowcrofts 5th.

Thanks to Whitstable Yacht Club, especially Event Organiser Mark Fagg and his team, Race Officer John Boorman, recorders Coral France and Jill Fagg and Ian Embry and the rescue boat crews for a great event

Overall results:
1st W1626, “Surprise”, Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper, Whitstable YC; 2nd W1282 “Thistle”, Tim Barr, Yacht Club of Rio de Janeiro and Ali Nicolson, WYC; 3rd W992 “Orinoco”, Mike Hamilton and David Oats, Netley Cliff SC; 4th W1561 “Giggle”, Paul Yeadon, Papercourt SC and Liz North, WYC; 5th W1541 “Black Mischief”, Philip and Jill Meadowcroft.

Other prizes outside top 5:

First WYC boat W989 “Seal”, Mark Fagg and Ian Hender
First non-spinnaker boat W1318 “Airhairlair”, Stephen Clampin, Harwich Town SC and Jack Skipper
Ted Shepherd Trophy, most improved boat on day two from day one, W1624 “Toerag”, Steve and Craig Searle, Sussex YC.