"Champagne Supernova”! Great conditions and a well run event saw 31 Supernovas compete for this years National Championship hosted by Mayflower Sailing Club.

The competition at the front of the fleet this year was extremely hot, with past winners and the majority of the gold fleet all there competing.

Most people arrived on the Thursday evening, with the racing commencing on the Friday after the welcome and briefing had taken place.

There were two races planned for the Friday and a fresh southerly breeze welcomed the competitors out in Plymouth Sound.

Steve Broom National Champion 2007 (click picture to enlarge)
More pictures can be found at Mayflower SC and Fotoboat

The 1st race was sailed over the inverted P course which meant a long hard beat to the windward mark. The boats spread out and tried to take advantage of the differing wind and tide strengths. Once on the first reach the Supernova showed how well it can go. The gybe mark caught one or two out. Another gybe and the fleet headed down wind on the run. At the front of the fleet Steve Broom was having a tussle with Richard Pakes. By the second rounding of the windward mark it was Richard Pakes, Steve Broom, Norman Halstead and Tony Critchley at the front. By the last mark these four were ahead of the chasing group of Mike Gibson, Paul Earnshaw and Neil Boneham. This race finished Pakes, Broom, Halstead, Critchley. Gibson capsized leaving Earnshaw and Boneham 5 & 6.

2nd race started with strengthening winds; certainly more boats were over. This race followed a similar pattern to the first. A long beat and then fast and furious reaches, followed by a tactical run. As the wind built the rain came in, this hardly mattered as competitors dealt with the increasing amounts of spray.

There were some good battles developing in the middle of the fleet with people like Barry Winter, Jeff Tucker, Paul Undrell and Mark Giles.

The 2nd race was won by Steve Broom, followed in 2nd by Norman Halstead and 3rd Richard Pakes. 4 & 5 were Gibson and Critchley. Jeff Tucker had a good race in 8 th.

Day 2 and race 3. Conditions were similar to the Friday except the sun was now shining, with the wind expected to reduce in strength. With the same course as the day before the fleet made a clean start and headed up the beat. This time there were more obstacles to overcome as pleasure craft and fishing boats passed through the race area.

The same group gathered at the front of the fleet, swopping positions. Just behind the leading group Dave Everett, Chris Hawley and Geoff Richards were fighting hard.

The Friday evening saw the AGM dealt with and a change of faces on the committee

Race 3 finished Steve Broom 1st, Tony Critchley 2nd , Norman Halstead 3rd, Gibson and Pakes 4 & 5. David Stevens had his best race finishing 8th.

Race 4 saw the fleet much closer together in the lighter winds, which meant places changing all the time. This race saw Matt Albiston having a great race ultimately finishing 5 th. The leading 4 finished Broom 1st, Halstead 2nd, Pakes 3rd then Critchley and Albiston. The next group all changed at the final mark with Gibson doing a 720, while at the mark a group came together trying to get water and rafting up in the mayhem. Gibson nipped in front to follow Paul Undrell and Dave Everett across the line.

Race 5 was the third on the day and probably the closest. As the wind reduced so the tide had more effect. At the windward mark boats coming in front left on port met the group from the right on starboard. In the approach one or two couldn’t squeeze in and drifted onto the mark and had to re-round. With the race being the only one sailed on the alternative triangular course the down wind legs got a bit broader and subsequently slower. However the change of course and conditions saw a change to who was leading. Tony Critchley lead throughout, while behind Geoff Richards was having his best race finishing 3rd. Geoff Birch also had his best race in 5th.

On the Saturday evening the hosts put on a BBQ and band. Competitors and supporters alike showed that they have other talents apart from sailing.

The final day and race 6. The wind had gone round to the north and was now blowing off shore. Torrential rain made for a soggy start to the day. The start line was laid and had a strong starboard bias. The majority of the fleet all wanted to start at the committee boat and hadn’t really considered the effect of the tide. The result was a pile up. When eventually people had separated one group went left the other right and the ones left behind the start line such as Halstead, Gibson and Jeff Mountain played catch up. However they were able to choose where they went and successfully caught up. In fact Mike Gibson managed catch the leaders as the wind filled in from behind.

The leading group of Pakes, Broom , Critchley, Watts headed to the last mark. Pakes rounded to go on and finish 1st. Steve Broom capsized nearly to be overtaken by Mike Gibson. Steve managed to right himself and narrowly claim 2nd . Chris Watts got an excellent 5th place, while Jeff Mountain got a 6th.Lesley Jeans as our only lady sailor got a well deserved 14th Sam Hood finally came good with a 12th

Full Results