(2005 results and reports)

Eastern Travers Final Result

2006 Traveller's Trophy

In this section, latest first:

South Staffs SC Open Meeting
15th Oct

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OKs at S. Staffs. Photo: S. Staffs Race Team On Sunday 15th October South Staffs Sailing Club warmly greeted thirteen visitors to add to the ten home boats. This followed on from Saturday's training day for those wanting to learn more about boat set up and technique.

Race one was hotly contested with Ian Harris, Mike Edwards and Terry Curtis fighting for the lead. Harris lost ground when the wind died on him, allowing Neil Goodhead into third. Edwards rounded the final mark and looked sure to win. However, Curtis gained on him and managed to take the gun by half a boat length, with Goodhead third and Ed Bradburn sailing well for fourth.

After lunch, race two started in a little more wind, with the Race Officer, (showing his advanced stage in life) laying a huge start line. This made the first beat very interesting and Keith Dutton emerged first at the windward mark. Saturday's training was clearly paying off for some, with Dave Taylor rounding a magnificent fourth. On the run places changed again with some sailing too close to the island. Goodhead sailed low and with more wind moved up to second, with others gaining also. Veteran Bill Bradburn then took the lead which he held until the final beat, eventually being piped on the line by Goodhead, with Curtis and Harris third and fourth.

So, with one race to go Goodhead, Curtis and Edwards all had an opportunity to win the event. Edwards made the best start to lead at the first mark, followed by the very old Gavin Waldron and Ed Bradburn. On the run Edwards sailed low to avoid the island, with Waldron and a few others taking a risk and sailing in close. This tactic paid off, as Waldron took the lead which he held to the finish. Edwards and Curtis battled it out for second, with Curtis eventually overhauling Edwards on the final lap. Ed Bradburn just took fourth from Goodhead and Bill Bradburn fifth.

So, Curtis had emerged the winner, from Goodhead and Edwards. Fourth and first Veteran was Waldron (very old). Ed Bradburn finished first Junior and the Cadet prize going to Jonny Arnell.

Many thanks to South Staffs, for hosting another great open meeting. Plus, a special thank you to Neil Goodhead (Homer) for organising and running the training day.

Report: Mike Edwards

Results:

Rank Sail No Name Club Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Points
1 2118 Terry Curtis Upper Thames SC 1 (3) 2 3
2 2108 Neil Goodhead SSSC 3 1 (5) 4
3 2107 Mike Edwards SSSC 2 (5) 3 4
4 2085 Gavin Waldron SSSC 5 (10) 1 6
5 2092 Bill Bradburn SSSC (7) 2 6 8
6 2067 Ed Bradburn SSSC 4 (6) 4 8
7 2105 Ian Harris Bristol Corinthian YC 6 4 (7) 10
8 056 Keith Dutton SSSC (13) 8 8 16
9 2104 Deryck Lovegrove Kingsmead SC (11) 7 10 17
10 2068 Tony Woods Ethrow SC 9 9 (24 DNF) 18
11 2015 Jonny Arnell Christchurch SC 8 11 (15) 19
12 1985 Keith Byers Morcambe & Heysham SC (14) 12 9 21
13 2060 Paul Pike Covenham SC 10 (17) 13 23
14 2098 Ed Dutton SSSC (16) 14 11 25
15 2031 Dave Cooper Overy Staithe SC 12 13 (14) 25
16 AUS678 Will Croxford SSSC (DNC) 16 12 28
17 2056 Andy Holmes SSSC (18) 15 16 31
18 2055 Daz Prior S. Windermere SC 15 (19) 17 32
19 2069 Colin Mapp Telford SC (19) 18 18 36
20 2074 Roger Cooper Herne Bay SC 17 (20) 20 37
21 1959 Dave Taylor SSSC 20 (21) 19 39
22 1927 Colin Page Calshot SC 21 22 (DNF) 43
23 1918 Kevin Moss Newhaven & Seaford SC 22 (DNF) (DNC) 46

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Ardleigh SC Open Meeting
7th Oct

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An excellent day's racing took place at Ardleigh reservoir with race officer Steve Ede setting some challenging courses and plenty of swimming in the fresh and gusty force 4 conditions.

Pete Turner recovered from a premature start in the first race to reel in and pass Andy Turner down a storming reach. Lloyd Coe, a junior, finished an excellent third.

In the second race Andy Turner managed to pass Pete Turner on a shifty beat and hold on to the finish with Lloyd Coe again third.

Pete Turner took a commanding lead in the third race to win the meeting overall. Andy Turner was again second in this race with Jake Cracknell, another junior, third.

Many thanks to Ardleigh for their friendly hospitality and excellent race organisation.
Report: Andy Turner
Overall:

1Pete Turner2059Ardleigh SC
2Andy Turner2045Ardleigh SC
3Lloyd Coe1933Upriver SC
4Jake Cracknell2054Ardleigh SC
5Gary Pilgrim2096Ardleigh SC


OKs at Calshot SC
8th Oct

4 visitors joined Calshot OK sailor, Colin Page, for a day's club racing in the Solent on Sunday October 8th.

We were greeted by sunshine, a decent 15 knot south-westerly and a typical Solent chop which promised enjoyable, if rather wet, sailing.

Sharing a rectangular course with the local fleet of lasers, Dart 15's, RS300's & Topazes, most of us decided to play safe on the start and avoid the locals. By the end of the 1st beat, however, it was Deryck Lovegrove 2nd around the top mark (chasing an RS300), followed by Chris Arnell, Julian Burnham, Alan Price & Colin.

A fast reach across to mark 3 saw Chris overtake Deryck and extend his lead to the finish. Deryck finished 2nd with Julian 3rd and Colin 4th (Alan took an involuntary dip in the Solent & finished 5th)

With a big tide & increasing winds, beaching & launching became interesting, and by the time we went afloat for the afternoon race conditions had become more challenging with 20 knots of breeze against a big ebb-tide.

Much closer racing this time, with Julian getting away to a fast start & leading around the top mark, followed by Deryck and Chris. Positions changed regularly over the next 3 laps with Chris showing the better upwind speed but getting caught by Julian down the reaches & runs. Eventually Chris managed to break free and took the 2nd race from Julian with Deryck not far behind in 3rd.

We came ashore exhausted but happy. The conditions were excellent, providing the visitors with some of the best sea sailing of the season. Thanks are due to the members & helpers at Calshot sailing club for making us welcome & putting on some excellent races. A special thanks to Colin Page for organising our visit & also to Julian, Deryck & Alan for making the effort to come & join us.

This was our 1st 'club-racing' event & it was very successful. The OK's received a lot of attention & some favourable comments from the locals, who seemed pleased to have some visitors in the fleet. On a personal level it reminded me how much fun club sailing in an OK fleet can be!

We're hoping to roll this out & to more clubs in 2007, and fingers crossed for an Open-meeting at Calshot next season as well.

Report: Chris Arnell


Inland Championship
30th Sept & 1st Oct

Event photos

A weekend of contrasts was ahead for the 26 OK sailors that assembled at Northampton Sailing Club for the 2006 Inland Championships. Excellent hospitality and slick race management was combined with everything from hot sunshine and drifter conditions to a 30 knot squall with hail.

Terry Curtis leads from Simon Childs Defending champion Terry Curtis got off to a good start winning race 1 by a substantial margin in 10 to 15 knots. Robert Deaves spent most of the race in second but lost it to Mike Edwards on the final tack to the finish line. After lunch the fleet set sail again under a large black cloud. Sure enough, a few minutes later balls of spray were flying round the lake in 30 knots of wind and hail. The race officer wisely waiting for the wind to abate and then started race 2 in about 10 knots. A gradually shifting wind meant a shortened course after one lap with Mike Edwards taking the win from Tony Thresher and Curtis. The final race of the day was started in just a few knots of shifty wind with little margin for overtaking. Alex Scoles got the best of the start to round first and extend to win by three minutes. Andrew Day sailed well to hold on for second, just ahead of Curtis. Overnight Edwards held a slim lead.

OK Inlands fleet dowmwinds Sunday dawned bright and breezy with excellent prospects for good racing. Terry Curtis showed everyone why he was the defending champion, winning all three races in the 10-15 knot winds. Race 4 nearly went to Simon Childs. After leading most of the way he capsized on the final gybe to let three boats through. Race 5 was a battle between Curtis, Scoles and Deaves with very close tactical racing upwind on the short figure of eight course. The final race proved to be the best with a much longer beat and better reaches which Curtis won easily. Ian Harris finally found some of his old form to hold on to second with Jon Fish losing his hard fought battle for third place on the finish line to Simon Childs.

Report: Robert Deaves
Photos: NSC Race Team

Results:
Sailed:6, Discards:1, To count:5, Entries:26, Scoring system:OK Inlands
Rank SailNo Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Nett
1 2118 Terry Curtis Upper Thames 1 (3) 3 1 1 1 7  
2 2107 Mike Edwards South Staffs SC 2 1 4 5 6 (7) 18  
3 2054 Robert Deaves Waldringfield 3 4 5 (6) 3 6 21  
4 2117 Alex Scoles Overy Staithe SC 6 (20) 1 9 2 9 27  
5 1774 Tony Thresher West Oxfordshire 10 2 11 2 (27 OCS) 5 30  
6 2101 Simon Childs Grafham 7 (16) 12 4 4 3 30  
7 2110 Jon Fish Waldringfield 5 9 (27 DNF) 7 5 4 30  
8 2105 Ian Harvey BCYC 4 6 (27 DNF) 10 9 2 31  
9 2100 Dan Ager Waldringfield 12 10 7 3 (13) 8 40  
10 2084 John Meadowcroft Henley SC 8 5 (27 DNF) 8 7 17 45  
11 2108 Neil Goodhead South Staffs (15) 7 8 15 8 11 49
12 2007 Anthony Rich Oxford SC 9 (18) 10 12 11 10 52  
13 2102 Andrew Day West Oxfordshire 13 13 2 (16) 14 13 55  
14 2045 Andy Turner Overy Staithe SC 14 12 13 11 10 (DNC) 60  
15 2104 Deryck Lovegrove Kingsmead 11 14 14 14 (20) 12 65  
16 2092 Bill Bradburn South Staffs 18 11 6 (21) 18 14 67  
17 2087 Julian Bonham Upper Thames 16 8 15 13 16 (27 DNF) 68  
18 2056 Keith Dutton South Staffs SC (19) 19 9 19 15 16 78
19 2071 Robert Bourne Upriver 17 15 17 17 17 (DNC) 83  
20 2090 Garth Thompson Upper Thames (21) 21 16 20 19 15 91  
21 2031 Dave Cooper Overy Staithe SC 20 17 18 (22) 22 19 96  
22 2060 Paul Pike Covenham SC 22 22 20 (23) 21 20 105  
23 2098 Edward Dutton South Staffs SC (25) 23 19 25 23 18 108  
24 2112 J P Williams West Oxfordshire (DNC) DNC DNC 18 12 DNC 111  
25 2074 Roger Cooper Herne Bay SC 24 24 21 (26) 25 22 116  
26 1927 Colin Page Calshot SC 23 25 (27 DNF) 24 24 21 117  

Scoring codes used

CodeDescription
DNCDid not come to the starting area
DNFStarted but did not finish
OCSOn course side at start or broke rule 30.1

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Felixstowe Ferry SC
8th and 9th July

OK World Qualifier at Felixstowe Ferry SC

The Second qualification event for the OK Dinghy World Championships in Poland 2007 was held at Felixstowe Ferry over the weekend 8-9th July.

After a rather bumpy ride over the bar with wind against tide, race 1 got underway in a steady force 3. Jon Fish lead the fleet off the pin end of the line only to overstand the windward mark to allow Terry Curtis to lead the fleet down the first reach. Curtis pulled out a small lead which he held to the finish followed by Fish, Alex Scoles & Gavin Waldron in 4th.

The breeze freshened a little for the second race of the day, with the sea building to create fantastic surfing conditions. Fish again took the pin heading out to sea, while Curtis took the middle of the beat. This time Fish made no mistake rounding the windward mark with a comfortable lead, from Curtis & Dan Ager. Curtis reeled Fish in down the second reach to round the leeward mark just in front, building a comfortable lead by the end of the second beat which he held to the finish. Fish was again second, Ager third & Chris Arnell 4th.

Race 3 was the windiest of the day. Curtis pulled out a comfortable lead, this time from Waldron: Ager 3rd & Arnell 4th. These positions remained unchanged to the finish.

A low pressure system came through during the night bringing with it Force 6 gusting 7. Race officer Tim O'Leary wisely decided venturing over the bar was not prudent & set a windward leeward course in the river. Alex Scoles lead the much depleted fleet in near survival conditions up the first beat with Waldron Second & Curtis third. Curtis pulled through to win from from Scoles with Waldron 3rd.

A large black cloud arrived & the final race was abandoned, leaving Curtis the clear winner with a clean sheet of results.

Rank Sail No Helm 1 2 3 4 5 Nett
1 2118 Terry Curtis 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0   3.0
2 2085 Gavin Waldron 4.0 5.0 2.0 3.0   9.0
3 2117 Alex Scoles 3.0 6.0 5.0 2.0   10.0
4 2100 Dan Ager 6.0 3.0 3.0 DNS   12.0
5 2015 Chris Arnell 5.0 4.0 4.0 DNS   13.0
6 2110 Jon Fish 2.0 2.0 DNF DNS   17.0
7 2045 Andy Turner 7.0 7.0 7.0 DNS   21.0
8 2082 John Ball 8.0 8.0 6.0 DNS   22.0
9 2007 Anthony Rich 9.0 9.0 9.0 DNS   27.0
10 2067 (2106) Ed Bradburn 11.0 10.0 8.0 DNS   29.0
11 2092 Bill Bradburn 12.0 11.0 10.0 DNS   33.0
12 2107 Mike Edwards 10.0 DNF DNF DNF   36.0

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Overy Staithe S.C.
16th & 17th June

5 OKs made the trip to Overy Staithe to join 3 local boats for a weekends racing.
The racing started in light conditions, Pete Turner using his local knowledge was leading the first race, only to be overtaken by Homer Goodhead who finished first. Second Pete, third Alex Scoles.

Race two saw a different course to suit the change in tide and wind direction. Racing was close, with Pete, Homer and Alex fighting for front. Pete took a penalty which allowed Alex to take the lead and go on to win, with Homer second and Pete third.

Sunday's racing (with a few bad heads and more wind) was on the sea, not in the creek as yesterday. Race 3 started with Terry Curtis and Andy Turner heading out right into the tide, to take the lead at the windward mark, closely followed by Pete, Homer and Alex. Terry won with Andy second, Pete third.

Race four was going to be interesting, as Pete, Alex, and Homer were all in 1st on 8 points, with Terry on 10. Homer only had to come second to win! The race started with Mike Edwards first round the windward mark, closely followed by Terry and others. Terry passed Mike to take first, and first overall; Alex passed Homer to take third and thought he had second overall, but it went to Homer!
(report: Alex Scoles)

Sail NoNameRace 1Race 2 Race 3 Race4 Pts Overall
2118 T Curtis 5 4 1 1 6 1st
2117 A Scoles 3 1 4 3 7 3
2107 M Edwards 4 6 6 2 12 5
2065 S Shaw 6 5 8 6 17 7
2059 P Turner 2 3 3 Rtd 8 4
2056 N Goodhead 1 2 5 4 7 2
2054 A Turner 8 Rtd 2 5 15 6
2053 A Atkin 7 7 7 7 21 8

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Hunstanton S. C.
3rd and 4th June 2006

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Report:
12 Ok Dinghies arrived at Hunstanton on a sunny Saturday morning: with the wind a good force 3, race 1 got underway. The pack split off the start line with Dave Cooper, Peter Ferguson and Alex Scoles tacking early onto port to head inshore, while the rest of the pack headed out into the Wash. The first to the windward mark was Terry Curtis, who was unsure of which direction to round it (he was informed by the lead boat!), closely followed by Chris Arnell and Alex Scoles who had reached in after miss-judging the tide, with the rest of the fleet close behind. Terry went on to win from Chris and Alex third.

Race two was similar to race one with Terry leading from start to finish, Chris second and Mike Edwards who overtook Alex on the last beat, staying ahead on the run to take third. Fifth place went to Neil Goodhead who is suffering with a lack of pace after selling his boat.

With a short lunch break over, race three started. Again Terry and Chris headed the fleet with, Andy Turner, Mike, Alex, and Neil all close behind. The reaches and runs gave great surfing conditions, which gave Alex a chance to pull away from Mike, and gave Tony Rich a chance to christen his new sailing gear as he rolled in down the run. Terry took first, Chris a consistent second and Alex third.

Sunday's racing started in light conditions, with Alex reaching the windward mark first, closely followed by Chris Arnell, and the rest of the pack close behind. Alex got away to increase his lead and took first. The next finishers were all very close together, as Chris put in a tack and Terry went with him to the line, Andy and Mike went straight for the end. Chris took second; Andy just beat Terry to third, and Mike a close fifth.

No more races sailed as the wind died and the current increased, leaving Terry 1st, Chris 2nd, Alex 3rd and Mike 4th.

Results:

Name Sail No Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Points Position
Terry Curtis 2118 1 1 1 4 3 1
Christopher Arnell 2015 2 2 2 2 6 2
Alex Scoles 2117 3 4 3 1 7 3
Mike Edwards 2107 4 3 4 5 11 4
Andy Turner 2059 5 9 5 3 13 5
Neil Goodhead 2056 6 5 6 6 17 6
Deryck Lovegrove 2104 6 6 6 7 18 7
Dave Cooper 2031 10 7 7 9 23 8
Anthony Rich 2007 7 8 9 8 23 9
Paul Pike 2060 9 10 10 10 29 10
Peter Ferguson 1944 11 11 11 11 33 11
Pete Follen 2043 12 12 12 12 36 12

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BA Silver Wing SC
date

A forecast of a wet and windy Sunday may have put some people off, but the people who went enjoyed a fascinating day's sailing. The 25mph winds never materialised so race 1 started in a gentle force 2: nothing happened here. Neil won, Terry was 2nd and Colin in his new boat pipped Deryck on the line for 3rd.

Race 2 got away after lunch: the wind was increasing slightly, the wind shifts were bigger and the gusts were arriving. Neil and Terry were constantly changing places for first place until Neil fell in on the run, putting his mast in the mud leaving Terry to win, Deryck 2nd and Malcolm 3rd.

When Neil had finally finished cleaning his mast race 3 could start. This race was the decider, with Neil, Terry and Deryck all in with a chance of winning. Neil got away first and then Terry put on a show in front of the clubhouse capsizing to windward, how Terry recovered nobody knows. The fun then started again when Neil went to the wrong mark to allow Malcolm to take up the lead. Terry also went off to the wrong mark but recovered to keep 2nd. Deryck took the lead for a while until Terry decided enough was enough and went on to win the race and the meeting. Neil just pipped Deryck on the line for 2nd and Malcolm was 4th.
(report: Deryck Lovegrove)

Name Sail No Points Position
Terry Curtis 2 1
Neil Goodhead 3 2
Deryck Lovegrove 5 3
Malcolm Wenham 7 4=
Colin Slevin 7 4=
Frank Kay 13 6

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Upper Thames S. C.
13th & 14th May

16 boats contested the Upper Thames Open meeting over the weekend 13th-14th May.

Saturday's racing got underway in a light westerly breeze allowing race officer Nigel Garland to set a long course upstream. Neil Goodhead from South Staffs showed good speed by posting 2 bullets to end the day comfortably in the lead. Terry Curtis from the home club finished the day with a 2nd in Race 1 & was squeezed into 3rd place by Garth Thompson in race 2.

After a good meal & liquid refreshments provided by the Club on Sat night, Sunday dawned with the wind slightly lighter than the previous day, but blowing from the east. The race officer made the most of the conditions setting the start upstream & sending the fleet down river for the opening beat. Curtis quickly overhauled Goodhead & lead the race to the finish with Mike Edwards coming in third.

With the event more open going into the second race of the day Goodhead lead in style, slowly extending his lead to the finish, Edwards second & Curtis third. Curtis won the final race from Edwards & local Mick Haig with Goodhead down in 4th, but it was not enough to win the event.

Name Sail No Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Points Position
Neil Goodhead 2056 1 1 2 1 5 5 1
Terry Curtis 2089 3 2 1 4 1 7 2
Garth Thompson 2090 2 3 6 3 7 14 3
Mike Haigh 2086 4 4 11 9 3 20 4
Mike Edwards 2108 DNC DNC 3 2 2 25 5
Vanessa Pilon 1286 6 7 7 6 11 26 6
Roy Burnham 2115 5 6 12 7 9 27 7
Alan Atkins 2053 DNC DNC 5 5 4 32 8
Alan Goodrum 2035 8 8 8 11 10 34 9
Pete Walker 2028 DNC DNC 4 8 8 38 10
Jim Howden 2088 7 5 10 DNC DNC 40 11
Jochen Broecker 2107 DNC DNC 9 12 6 45 12
George Collingwood 2091 11 10 DNF 13 12 46 13
Roger Cooper 2097 DNC DNC 13 10 13 54 14
Jenny Portsmouth 2000 9 9 DNC DNC DNC 54 15
Derek Berry 2097 10 11 DNC DNC DNC 57 16
David Finlayson 1939 12 12 DNF DNC DNC 60 17

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Spring Cup, Medemblik
5-7 May

11 British boats joined boats from around Europe to contest the OK Spring Cup, hosted impeccably by Royal Yacht Club Hollandia, in Medemblik from May 5th to 7th.

The 8 race series was fiercely contested over large courses with several boats mixing it at the front. All three days were sailed in quite different conditions, from a very light second race to a blasting last race.

The event was dominated by Terry Curtis, demonstrating plenty of pace, especially as the breeze built to post 4 race wins and 3 second places and win with a race to spare.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Terry didn't have it all his own way, as in most races there were only a couple of lengths separating him and Jon Fish, who took second overall and just managed to hold on to win race 4 by a metre.

Third place went to Thomas Glas of Germany, who led race six from start to finish in a true test of endurance, just holding Curtis out at the finish on a leg-breaking four race second day .

Dan Ager posted a very consistent series to secure fourth place from Thorsten Schmidt of Germany.

Andy Turner yet again showed his superior 'no breeze' pace to win race two without even worrying about covering Curtis or Fish who were threatening to pass up the last beat and when Curtis and Fish called it quits whilst being one & two a lap into the last race, John Meadowcroft duly took up the challenge and had a storming last beat to win from the emerging talent of Tomasz Gaj of Poland.

After three excellent days yachting at this top venue, all the competitors left very content and looking forward to returning next year.

Full results

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Dabchicks SC Open Meeting
22nd & 23rd April '06

R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Jon Fish 1 2 1 6 4
2 Neil Goodhead 4 1 6 4 9
3 Terry Curtis 5 3 2 DNF 10
4 Rob Deaves 9 10.5 3 3 15
5 Alex Scoles 2 6 9 DNF 17
6 Bill Bradburn 3 14 4 10 17
7 John Ball 17 4 7 9 20
8 Simon Childs 6 5 11 DNF 22
9 Julian Burnham 8 18 8 7 23
10 Alan Aitkan 14 9 12 5 26
11 Ed Bradburn 7 8 13 DNF 28
12 Mike Edwards 13 17 14 2 29
13 Tim O'leary 15 19 5 11 31
14 Chris Arnell 10 12 10 13 33
15 Andy Turner 19 20 15 1 35
16 Deryck Lovegrove 11 7 17 DNF 35
17 Dan Ager 16 10.5 16 DNF 42.5
18 Jon Meadowcroft 12 13 18 DNF 43
19 Simon Shaw 18 16 19 12 46
20 Paul Pike 20 21 21 8 49
21 Tony Rich 21 15 20 DNF 56

The first OK Dinghy qualification event took place over the weekend April 22nd-23rd.
A relieved group of OK Dinghy sailors arrived at Dabchicks to be greeted by the long awaited container full of boats arriving back from the Australian World Championships. An hour later the container was unpacked with no damage to report.

After a short postponement the 21 competitors found their way to the starting area for race one in a Force 2 & flat sea. Simon Childs at his first event in the OK lead around the windward mark before losing his way up the second beat, Jon Fish found his way to the front & held a small lead to the finish.

In race 2 Neil Goodhead found the conditions to his liking sporting his new Ctech/Gale rig holding Fish into second position. Curtis pulled through the fleet to make 3rd.

Fish again lead the fleet round the windward mark on the final race of the day. As he headed off down the reach the wind backed causing the rest of the fleet who had been on the layline to fight their way to the windward mark. On the second beat, Curtis came through to second & started to reel Fish in, after a short tacking match Fish held on to win, Curtis 2nd Childs 3rd.

After much needed refreshments, ably supplied by our hosts Sunday dawned Grey & Drizzly. A light breeze filled in & the race officer took the fleet to sea.

The first race of the day got underway in a light breeze leaving the fleet fighting their way against the tide upwind. Andy Turner rounded the windward mark first followed by Mike Edwards. After two rounds the race was shortened but unfortunately the finish boat set the finish line with boats upwind of it and already on the starboard layline causing much confusion, swearing even, amongst the race leaders so in the end the race was abandoned due to the hook finish.

Race 5 was started shortly after race 4 in equally light conditions with the wind shifting & dying on regular occasions. Turner led again round the windward mark closely followed by Robert Deaves. Mike Edwards pulled through to second on the second beat but couldn't catch Turner who held on to win when the race officer shortened at the bottom of the run with Deaves third.

1st Jon Fish Waldringfield 2nd Neil Goodhead South Staffs 3rd Terry Curtis Upper Thames 4th Robert Deaves Dabchicks 5th Alex Scoles Overy Staithe 6th Bill Bradburn South Staffs

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Waldringfield Easter Egg
15-17th April 06

Name Sail No Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Points Position
Robert Deaves GBR 2081 1 1 1 1 2 4 4 1
Ian Harris GBR 2105 2 2 2 2 1 2 7 2
Simon Shaw GBR 2065 5 5 5 3 4 1 13 3
Dan Ager GBR 2110 3 4 3 4 d d 14 4
Tim O'Leary GBR 1966 4 3 4 6 5 5 15 5
John Ball GBR 2082 d d d d 3 3 23 6
Mike Sherwyn GBR 1968 6 6 6 5 6 d 23 7

Deaves dominates Waldringfield Easter Egg for OKs

An unusually mild Easter Egg Regatta at Waldringfield Sailing Club attracted a small fleet of OK Dinghies, while most of the fleet were still in a container on their way back from the worlds in Australia.

An easterly wind on Saturday brought the coldest conditions, with two races led from start to finish by Robert Deaves. Choosing the correct end of the start line he led at the first mark and extended over the next lap to build a considerable lead. However Ian Harris found second gear and made a late charge to close the gap on Deaves to less than a boatlength at the finish. It happened again in race two. Deaves built up a large lead, only to see it evaporate on the last downwind leg to Harris to set the scene for 20 tack tacking duel up the last beat for a finish only seconds apart.

Sunday morning brought a stronger westerly wind. Deaves made the best of the start and sailed away to another sizeable lead. Harris caught him after the second downwind leg and the two were again locked together until the final beat when Deaves stretched out to win by a relatively large four boatlengths. The afternoon race suffered from a falling wind and strong ebb tide and brought new races to the front. Daniel Ager led for much of the race, while Harris again pulled through after a bad first beat into second. These two steeled a march on the fleet and looked to have it sown up with Deaves rounding the downtide leeward mark some 300 metres behind in third. However Waldringfield is never that simple and while Ager and Harris tried to find less tide inshore, Deaves tacked on the mark in the tide and found enough pressure to take the lead and win the weekend with a day to spare. Simon Shaw eventually found a way past Ager to finish third.

The final day brought a stronger breeze and some challenging courses. Deaves led away in race five but was again caught by Harris again offwind with John Ball in third. Harris moved ahead but it wasn’t over until the finish with Deaves recovering to within a boatlength. The final race was round the island with the major concern being avoiding traffic from the other fleets. Deaves again led out of the start to lead down the first reach. After a lot of confusion with other boats over the next lap, Shaw finally found some clear air and sailed away from the fleet, never to be headed. Harris came second again followed by Ball.


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