Supernova Sailing Dinghy Race ReportBolton SC |
Supernovas at Bolton SC Saturday 17th May 2003 24 Supernovas enjoyed close racing in a
relatively steady force 3-4. The wind direction and experience of the OOD ensured a
long first beat for every race, and the opportunity for some fast
planing reaches. In the first race, Adrian Hollier got off
to a flying start, only to suffer 2 capsizes on the way to the first
mark, allowing Mike Gibson to lead. In spite of Andy Flitcroft’s
hot pursuit, Gibson held onto his lead for all but 10 seconds of
the race. Not
far behind, a battle was going on between Tony Critchley, Tim Coleman
and Mark Giles. Gibson finished 1st, Flitcroft 2nd, and after a
great deal of position-swapping Critchley 3rd, Coleman 4th, Giles
5th and Neil Boneham 6th. In the second race, Flitcroft led at the
windward mark, followed by Critchley, who sailed deeper for more
wind on the reach. Flitcroft subsequently regained the lead, and
the fleet closed-up as the wind filled from behind. On the second
lap, Flitcroft’s dagger board found the bottom, letting the next
3 boats through (so much for local knowledge!).
Flitcroft battled back
to finish 1st, with Critchley 2nd after rounding a mark the wrong
way. Gibson (3rd) finally got the better of Hollier (4th) on the
last lap. After
maintaining a consistent 5th position, Robinson suffered a capsize,
and in spite of trying hard, dropped back to 6th, letting Everett
take 5th. In the last race, Flitcroft took an early
lead, but got trapped on a port gybe, letting half the fleet through
to windward. Hollier
benefited and led the first lap. On the second lap, Critchley took and held onto the lead.
Hollier got caught on port at a windward mark and tacked for an
inside overlap, but was unfortunately slightly below the layline,
letting Flitcroft into 2nd and Gibson into 3rd. Hollier finished
4th with Giles 5th and David Everett 6th. Particular congratulations go to the following
people for whom Bolton was their first Supernova Open Event: Ian
Moodie, Philip Stead, Dave Whiteley, Paul Haslam (brother of the
OOD,…I’m trying to encourage him to buy!), Richard Longly, and Christine
Kerfoot. We
hope to see you all again “on the circuit”. On behalf of everyone at Bolton SC, I’d
like to thank all the visitors who supported this event, after travelling
so far to compete. I hope you all enjoyed the sailing, the water, the wind,
and the food (sorry about the occasional spot of rain !).
I look forward to hosting
you all again (and more) next year. Until then,… I’ll see you soon, … “down South” !! Andy Flitcroft OVERALL RESULTS 1st, 3 points, Tony Critchley (525 Bolton
SC) Personal handicap winner: Jeff Robinson |