Results and Reports, 2007

Northern Championship at Leigh & Lowton SC
10th and 11th November

Report: Nick Craig.

Conditions on Saturday were fantastic with a gusty force 5-6 making for some exhilarating sailing. Upwind was hard work but sailors were rewarded downwind as Gareth Williams the race officer had laid perfect downwind angles to provide some superb reaches. The vicious gusts made for survival conditions at times with only Mike Edwards & Nick Craig not taking a cold capsize.

Craig won all 3 races but both Terry Curtis & Jon Fish led races to score 4,2,2 and 2,6,3 respectively. Light wind specialist Neil Goodhead almost found his toestraps to score 7,5,4 to complete the top 4 overnight.

Thanks to a gruelling day, Saturday night was quiet by OK standards with everyone in bed by 1am after some beer & curry thanks to the hospitality of Mike & Kath Edwards.

Sunday was more gentle with a shifty force 2-3. Curtis has to miss the days sailing due to a severe "bug" he had picked up (that or turning 40 has reduced his beer tolerance!) Leading female sailor Mike Edwards showed great downwind speed to push Craig hard in the 1st race and come back after a poor start in the 2nd race to finish 2nd and claim 2nd overall. Fish briefly led the last race but could not hold off Edwards to finish 3rd overall.

Daz Prior had his best race yet in an OK pulling through to 2nd for a couple of laps before a capsize on a tack, but he will clearly be seen at the front of the fleet again. Keith Byers sailed a consistent series of top 5 results to finish 4th overall. Top effort went to Ben Steel who put his boat back together after windy Saturday to push some very experienced sailors hard on the Sunday, all at the age of 16 - he will be a leading contender for next years OK juniors!

South Staffs SC Open Meeting
14th October

Report: Bill Bradburn

The 2007 South Staffs OK open was to be a frustrating event for all but Neil Goodhead who was clearly the fastest boat on the day. The classic OK trophy, engraved with the names of some of the best sailors in the country over the years, finally finding its way on to his mantlepiece. The light and shifty conditions tested everyones patience and resolve at some time.

Tony Hotchkiss and his team got the first race underway on time at the first go and up the first beat Neil led the way until overtaken by Bill Bradburn on a windshift - a situation he rectified by the windward mark. However he ran out of wind on the run and rounded behind Bill for the next beat with the pack thirty yards behind. Bill managed to break away on some good shifts while there was a bit of steady pressure and held the lead for over a lap. Inevitably in the lulls, Neil reeled him in and took the lead, pulling away consistently as he settled down.

As the race progressed, Mike Edwards, having broken from the pack caught up and pushed Bill to third. They stayed in these positions to finish with Gavin Waldron coming in close fourth after a good couple of downwind legs on a filling breeze bringing him right up.

The fleet had a break for lunch and watched the heroic swimming effort on the part of some of the fleet to find Tony Woods car keys - still in the pond however.

Race 2 started in similar conditions to the first but this time Neil made no mistake and broke away followed by a pack round windward mark. Bill came from behind on the windward side and Mike took the leeward route to round the bottom mark behind John Salomonson and Keith Dutton. Mike and Bill pulled through to second and third. As the race progressed, Mike made up on some of Neil's lead for a while. One and two remained the same although Mike finished on a huge starboard lift which gave Neil some anxious moment as he was trying to work his way back from the left to hold the lead. Bill just lost third to Tony Woods who managed not to fall into the same holes in the wind and held his cool.

Race 3 followed after a short pee (or tea) break and now Neil had nothing to worry about so took an early lead never to be challenged.

Ed Dutton, sailing quicker than ever, rounded second followed by Bill, Mike and the pack. A gap opened up and Ed held his place strongly, built up for a lap with some very mature sailing. A lapse in concentration let Bill sail through at a windward mark with Mike right behind him. The next downwind leg saw Mike and Ed find some extra pressure and sail over Bill but Ed stopped in a light patch and Bill followed Mike to the next Mark. Neil, Mike and Bill broke from the rest of the fleet with Ed doing well in fourth which he held to the finish in front of Tony.

At the prize giving, Trudie Danbury presented the David Danbury Trophy for the best South Staffs junior to Ed Dutton.

Thanks must go to Purple Marine, who sponsored the prizes capping a pleasant day of sailing, even if a little frustrating for some. The day closed after tea and cakes, a few drinks and Tony waiting for the nice RAC man to take him home.
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Inland Championship, Northampton SC
6th, 7th October

Report: Robert Deaves

Despite the forecast of very light winds, 30 OK Dinghies turned up at Northampton Sailing Club for the 2007 Inland Championships. Three sailors dominated proceedings in the very light winds with Tony Thresher walking away with the title, the veteran trophy and, for West Oxfordshire Sailing Club, the team trophy.

Alex Scoles had the honour of leading round the first two marks in all three races on Saturday. However he only managed to convert race two to a win. In the first race he let through Neil Goodhead and Thresher on the very tricky upwind legs. Thresher, sailing an old wooden O'Donnell hull he had just acquired demonstrated exceptional speed and good tactics to place second again in race two and then went on to win the final race of the day from Terry Curtis and Scoles. Overnight Thresher led by three points from Scoles, with Goodhead one point further back.

Sunday dawned flat calm and cloudy. After a short postponement race four started in little more than a zephyr and turned into a race of ups and downs for most of the fleet. However Goodhead found more pressure out of the start and led all the way, with the occasional bit of pressure from Curtis. Scoles started badly and played catch up and finally moved into third at the final gybe mark. Thresher took fourth from Robert Deaves by less than a second, but it was enough to give him the title as all further racing was abandoned. For a while everyone thought that Goodhead had won but a closer look at the sailing instructions revealed no discard after four races, so Thresher became the surprised winner and all those who had been black flagged in race three had to carry a large score.

The weekend was quite encouraging for the class with five juniors taking part and the light winds allowed them to really shine and provide notice for future years. Tom Lonsdale sailed exceptionally well to finish sixth overall and won a carbon tiller extension generously donated for the first junior by C2 Marine. Lonsdale also won, together with Thresher and Ross Lonsdale in 10th, the very attractive Blithfield Stump for the best club.

Waldringfield SC Cartoon Meeting
29th, 30th Sept

Report: Robert Deaves

Using a borrowed boat, assembled just hours before the first race, Ian Harris won the 2007 Giles Cartoon Trophy at Waldringfield Sailing Club over the weekend of 29/30 September. Saturday brought great racing conditions with a shifty 8-12 knot breeze and a high spring tide. After a messy and crowded first mark rounding, Jon Fish took the lead and led the first race to the finish. Harris was a solid second until tragedy struck on the final run, when he nearly spun out - twice - before recovering to finish third. Gybe talking was a common theme that evening.

Fish looked set to repeat his first race victory in race two taking an early lead from the pack. However Robert Deaves took the lead up the second tricky beat and stretched out a lead along with Harris just behind. Terry Gibb had showed up with an old favourite and surprised everyone with his downwind speed. Crossing the club line for the second lap, he caught Fish on port and a crash tack left Fish in the drink right on the club line. Robert Deaves led away from the chaos but it was Harris who took the higher course and rounded the uptide windward mark with a useful lead. Harris was never really troubled for the race win with Gibb overhauling Deaves on the final beat for second.

Saturday night's social event was simply a matter of staying alive. Dan Ager proved he was more than an old woman by leading the way through the all night drinking session. However the night fever and spirits paid its toll by first light, as several faces were absent from the tea queue at the clubhouse on Sunday morning. However as luck would have it, an overnight wind of change brought a flat calm and a sunny sky, and after three hours of waiting, an abandonment and an early prizegiving ensued. So Harris wins again and slunk back to the west country with his due rewards.

Ardleigh SC Open Meeting
9th September

Report: Will Turner

A good turnout of 18 OKs, including 8 from the home club made their way to Ardleigh S.C. to be greeted by a warm welcome and the sunshine ration of summer '07. Unfortunately though wind was in short supply, and after several abortive attempts to start race one Race Officer Steve Ede postponed for lunch.

When race one finally got underway in a gentle afternoon breeze, Will Turner rounded the windward mark first followed by Terry Curtis and Nick Craig. Neil Goodhead was heard cursing the randomness of it all. John Ball picked up some pressure downwind to take the lead by the leeward mark, and the first six boats rounded in a tight bunch. Everything was up for grabs in the light, shifty conditions and Neil Goodhead shot straight to the front of the pack, proclaiming "It's easy if you know where you're going." Once again the front boats rounded the last mark nose-to-tail, and after a frantic roll-tacking duel up the last beat Mike Edwards emerged to take the gun seconds ahead of Turner, with Goodhead in 3rd and Craig 4th.

Race two started with both ends of the line looking favoured, depending on where you were at the time! A rusty Will Turner was left doing spins having infringed Goodhead at the pin, who emerged with Andy Turner to lead up the first beat. As the wind began to peter out on the second lap, the race developed into a three-way duel between light weather specialists Goodhead and Turner and World Championship specialist Craig. Craig came out on top, Goodhead and Turner drifting in shortly afterwards in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The fleet made a bee-line for the shore rather than facing the prospect of a third race as what was left of the breeze faded.

It was a shame the wind didn't play ball for the day, as the race organisation was excellent and the good sized fleet made for some tight racing all over the course.

National Championship, Felpham SC
24th-26th August

Results:

M - master, V - veteran, C - cadet

Report: Robert Deaves

In winning the Craftinsure OK Dinghy National Championships at Felpham Sailing Club, the recently crowned world champion Nick Craig took his seventh British National title and his fourth major title so far this year. With an awesome display of consistency and concentration in the light and shifty conditions, he won each and every race in the 43 boat fleet. Sometimes he won by a considerable distance and sometimes by as little as a few seconds, but it was never really in doubt where the title would be heading this year,

Only six of the eight scheduled races were sailed as the wind on Sunday failed to cooperate. The final race on Sunday morning was sailed in conditions where a sense of humour was an essential tool with massive place changes across the fleet, as the offshore breeze fought with a slowly building sea breeze. However Craig pulled back from an unusual third place to overhaul the race leader and second overall Neil Goodhead and take the title.

For some the weekend started on Thursday with a useful training day from RYA coach David Mellor, in what turned out to be the best conditions of the event. Racing for real started on Friday afternoon with two races sailed in a light and shifty offshore breeze. Craig let his intentions be known with an emphatic victory, some way ahead of the pack. Goodhead posted a second while Alex Scoles pinched third on the line at the offwind finish from defending champion Robert Deaves and Pete Turner; all three boats were overlapped when crossing the line.

Terry Curtis initially led race two in slightly more wind, but after crossing the finish line in third, discovered he was black flagged at the start. Robert Deaves finished second and a surprised Tony Thresher was bumped up to third. Craig, of course won.

The weather on Saturday didn't look too promising with a very weak onshore wind starting to build early on the day. Race three was one of the closest of the weekend with lightweight sailor Al Fry leading round the top mark in very light conditions. Dan Ager briefly took the lead at the gybe mark and on the run, six boats were neck and neck beside each other. Alex Scoles found a bit more pressure to lead up the final beat, but Craig piled on the pressure and took the lead on the final tack to the finish line. Scoles finished a few second behind with Deaves in third.

Curtis was at the front again in race four building a useful lead on Craig, but it wasn't to last. Craig finally found second gear and overhauled Curtis on the final beat. A rejuvenated class secretary, Andy Turner in his new Idol Composites boat finished third. The final race of the day was another victory for Craig, leading from start to finish with a long procession behind him. Turner again found excellent speed to place second while Ian Harris sailed well to place third.

So came the final day. The wind looked decidedly dicey before the start and just got worse. Goodhead started near the pin and crossed the fleet on the first major shift to take a considerable lead. However Craig had him in his sights and over the next hour overtook him and maintained a small lead. With the wind shifting in direction by 60 degrees and in pressure by 10 knots, the race was not for the faint hearted. The final beat was a near drift and Craig just managed to maintain his lead with Goodhead second while Thresher took four places on the final beat to place third.

Then the wind died completely and everyone thought it was time to go home. However the race officer persisted and was rewarded by a light sea breeze at about 14.00. By the time he had set a course and started the Laser 2 fleet, which were sharing the event, it was 14.30. Even though the time limit for the day was 15.00, the ever keen OK fleet kept pushing the start and after two general recalls and an abandoned start because the Laser 2 fleet were rounding the leeward mark in front of the start line, the time limit expired and the race officer sent the fleet home.

So Nick Craig adds the national title to the OK Dinghy world title he won in Poland a month ago. Neil Goodhead posted his best ever result as runner up while last year's champion Robert Deaves had to settle for third. The turnout of 43 included an increasing number of juniors who were all encouraged to sail this year and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Jake Cracknell from Ardleigh took the top junior prize from Ed Dutton and Alex Hobern. As usual Felphan Sailing Club excelled in the hospitality department, and with extensive prizes from Craftinsure, a great weekend was wrapped up with a Caribbean themed fancy dress evening and barbecue.

South Windermere SC Open Meeting
12th August

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Report: Andy Turner

South Windermere has a great history of OK sailing, with well known sailors such as Martin Shepherd, John Derbyshire, Julian Kettle and Steve Goacher. Eleven OKs returned to SWSC in very picturesque surroundings at the southern end of Lake Windermere after a gap of 30 years. The training session run the previous day by Neil Goodhead was much appreciated.

Race one started in a very shifty westerly breeze with strong downdrafts from the surrounding mountains. Mike Edwards and Neil Goodhead had a good tussle for the lead with Mike winning. Astern, Paul Pike showed good speed to finish fourth with Andy Holmes from South Staffs fifth.

In race two Neil Goodhead powered up the first beat through ninety degree windshifts, and held the lead to win from Edwards. Daren Prior, from the home club took a creditable third.

In race three Mike Edwards again showed good tactical awareness and boat speed to finish first from Andy Turner. Andy Holmes was third and Ben Steel (in his first OK open) was 6th.

Many thanks to South Windermere for hosting a really enjoyable event.

Isle of Sheppey SC Open Meeting
7-8th July

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Report: Ian Harris

Terry Curtis proved un-catchable on a windy Saturday at Isle of Sheppey SC, leading from start to finish in races 1 and 2, and, although briefly overtaken in race 3, he went on to claim his 3rd win. Behind him Mike Edwards was mixing it with Gavin Waldron, Keith Byers and Ian Harris. Some seriously good surfing and planing made for a great days sailing.

Overnight Curtis looked secure in 1st place, but he didn't look so secure the next morning after being downed by a few Spitfires, many thanks to our very genial hosts both in the IOSSC and the local Napier Inn, not forgetting the pint pulling power of barmaid Edwards!

Sunday proved altogether different with a fickle breeze and hot sun. Edwards relished the conditions and punished the fleet with stunning light wind speed, covering Waldron to take race 4 and defending from Cutis to win race 5. Race 6 completed his 3 wins for the day as he resisted a late tacking duel with Harris to take the days honours.

So with discards applied, the overall win went to Curtis, with Edwards in 2nd and Harris 3rd.

Our many thanks to all those at IOSSC who hosted a most excellent event, provided great sailing and made it a great weekend.

50th Anniversary Party & Upper Thames SC Open Meeting
21st, 22nd July