Dart 15’s at Cowes Dinghy Week 2003

Dinghy Week 2003 took place at Gurnard Sailing Club on the Isle of Wight with a programme of six races, at daily intervals from the 27^th July to the 1^st August. Wind conditions seldom dropped below a F4, averaging a F6 for most of the week, which made for some very fast and focussed sailing. Reputations were enhanced throughout the week and none were lost. Bodies were bruised and boats were battered but given the adverse weather conditions for sailing, the Dart 15 proved itself again to be a remarkably robust catamaran, capable of delivering seat of the pants thrills – particularly downwind, in a large Solent swell, with a Force 6 for propulsion. John Shenton from Shanklin and Jules Salter, who normally is to be found playing the role of navigator on global yacht races, joined the Gurnard Fleet for 6 days of exhausting, eventful sailing which finished with smiles all round.

Various members of the Fleet took turns to record the racing details throughout the week and their combined efforts are given below.

Race 1 was sailed in survival conditions and was particularly notable for the creation of the “Durns Five”, a small group of the Fleet who ended up on the periphery of the Island shore, at the Durns Mark, towards Yarmouth trying to find the target mark Champagne Mumm (which they had sailed past). Roger Bone, Fleet Captain) tells the account of the race:

Race 1 (Roger Bone)

Weather: - Westerly F3-F6

Course: - Champagne Mumm (M), Lepe Spit (S), Gurnard (H) - all to starboard, 3 rounds

Tide:- Mostly Ebbing

No. of Boats: - 18

Sarah Fenwick put in an excellent and very solid all round performance to win the first race of Dinghy Week 2003. With westerly winds gusting up to F6 against a strong ebbing tide causing a typical steep Solent chop, the beat to Champagne Mumm and back across to Gurnard via Lepe Spit made for some exciting sailing.

With 18 boats coming under the starting gun, and the wind increasing substantially just before the start, the attrition rate was bound to be high, as less experienced helms were confronted with their limitations and retired. The big question of the day was how five of the most experienced helms in the fleet went AWOL for over an hour, defying all reason.

Apparently they were sailing so fast they completely forgot about Champagne Mumm until they were nearing Durns, towards Lymington, where their race fizzled into the ether as they tried to scrutinise their charts a little more closely in the choppy conditions. Durns however is so far off the Gurnard radar that it doesn’t appear on the charts we carry.

Three of the intrepid explorers, Robin Leather, Chris Johnson and Ed Low eventually abandoned their search and retired, with Robin convinced that the mark had been moved and Chris managing a pitch pole on the return journey.

If that wasn't enough Paul Airey, Gurnard Sailing Club Commodore, proceeded to round Durns (convinced that Champagne Mumm has been re-sponsored), not only once but twice, as he repeated the process on the second lap, taking a marathon 3 hours 7 minutes but also completing the correct course by default.

Laurie 'never say die' Gustar meanwhile saw the error of his ways, for once, and tried to get back to the proper course, but not before he completed about 20 minutes swimming.

Meanwhile in the race proper, five other helms were actually sailing the correct course. Sarah Fenwick and Carl Blenkinsop arrived at Champagne Mumm at about the same time, closely followed by guest sailor Julian Salter, who unfortunately pitch poled soon after, letting Roger Bone through into third place, followed by Matt Smith.

Sarah went well inshore, out of the tide on the run to Lepe Spit, overtaking Carl who had furled his brand new jib to save wear and tear and who has also sailed deeper against a stronger tide. Matt managed to stay upright as he passed Roger, on the wire, in a flurry of spray on the very bumpy reach to Gurnard, whooping as he went. At the windward mark Bryan Salter was suffering from an unfortunate piece of gear failure, limping into the beach and repairing his broken bridle wire with a piece of string taken from his hat.

Matt then went on to overtake Carl, who was realising that tacking without his jib was a bit tricky, but Carl then re-took Matt in the relative calm on the far shore run. However neither of them were making a great impact into Sarah's lead. Roger decided to bail out at the Marsh and retire.

Sarah went on to win but could not hear the gun or see the shortened course flag. So she proceeded to take Carl and Matt on a very hairy third and unnecessary lap.

Finishing Positions

1 Sarah Fenwick
2 Carl Blenkinsop
3 Matt Smith
4 Julian Salter
5 Laurie Gustar
6 Paul Airey

DNF Brian Salter, John Bentley, Tony Petit, Michele Fisher, Boo Jones, Phil Swift, Mike Sleep, Roger Bone, Ed Low, Chris Johnson, Robin Leather, Brian Fitzpatrick.

Strong winds against an ebbing tide were the order of the day for race two on day two. Undeterred by the building winds, before the start of the race, the majority of the Fleet set sail for another challenging sail. Sarah Fenwick was particularly buoyant after her win the day before. The more experienced helms wanted to demonstrate that yesterday’s capsizes were just a freak occurrence – they were to be proved wrong. Paul Airey picks up the story:

Race 2 Paul Airey

Weather: - South Westerly F4-F5

Course: - Orange Inflatable (3), West Bay (L), Orange Inflatable (3), SP (R) - all to port, 3 rounds

Tide:- Mostly Ebbing

No. of Boats: - 16

The fleet left the safety of the Marsh with a bit of trepidation, and were relieved to find that the course was going to keep them on the Island side of the Solent, without the sleigh ride that would have been a reach across to the mainland.

At the start it was Robin and Laurie setting the early pace with Paul just behind. New boy Jules Salter (he could go far) and Ed Low tacked early for the mark and made ground as the tide took them onto it. As Robin and Laurie made their way down to the next mark followed by Jules, a close race developed between Ed, Paul, Chris and Sarah who were criss-crossing regularly. The first three of the above mentioned continued to duel and swap places throughout the race, but Sarah broke up the party by pulling away. Another party pooper was Carl who on rounding the windward mark just pointed directly downwind and sailed through the lot of us!

The battle in the middle of the fleet was interesting, as it seemed to involve overtaking manoeuvres whenever anyone made a mistake, which happened frequently. Paul tacked around the start buoy instead of the finish buoy and was gallantly called back by Chris Johnson. He was able to return the favour however, when he realised that they were sailing on to Right Bay rather than Left during the third lap. Ed took advantage of this lapse by sneaking in when the other two had written him off after he hit rocks in Thorness Bay and capsized. Ed had damaged his rudder however and slowed up, which let Paul sweep through, only to see his rudder part company with the cross-member and require some rather precarious repairing. Chris then seized his chance and overtook them both, but was unable to keep his position to the end hitting Ed, then rocks, at the downwind mark, prior to capsizing.

Another to capsize unbeknown to anyone (except the race box), was Laurie who, from an unlikely 9^th on lap two, stormed through to take four places in the last 600 yards. His whoops of unbridled joy were a delight to hear!

Hard on the heels of the bunch in the middle, was Matt Smith who got very close to the middle group on a number of occasions, but just couldn’t break through. Pat Moore was doing ok until his starboard jib-block parted company with the deck of the boat. He then decided to retire but capsized on the way back to the shore By now most of the novice fleet were back on shore with the exception of Phil Swift, who showed great perseverance in the conditions to finish the course. It won’t be long before he is up with the middle of the fleet.

At the end Robin had extended to a big lead and an easy win. Everyone enjoyed the race however, which showed how a good course could make difficult conditions sailable. It also showed what a good little boat the Dart can be in a blow, when waves can be avoided downwind.

Finishing Positions

1 Robin Leather
2 Carl Blenkinsop
3 Sarah Fenwick
4 Jules Salter
5 Laurie Gustar
6 Ed Low
7 Paul Airey
8 Matt Smith
9 Chris Johnson
10 Phil Swift

DNF John Bentley, Mike Sleep, Roger Bone, Pat Moore, Brian Fitzpatrick, John Shenton (Shanklin)

DNS Brian Salter, Tony Pettit, Michele Fisher, Boo Jones

By Day 3 most of the Fleet would gladly have settled for a Force 3, sailed in some sunshine, without the “wind against tide” factor. Race 3 however was to be sailed in a strong gusting Force 5, against an ebbing tide, and produced some great duels at the front, middle and rear of the fleet, as everyone mastered the conditions at their own level . For some, it also involved a close encounter with a BT Global Challenge yacht. Pat Moore takes up the story:

Race 3 Pat Moore

Course: - Orange Inflatable (3), West Bay (L), Orange Inflatable (3), West Bay (L), Baxter's (O), SP (R) - all to port, 1 round

Tide:- Ebbing (high water 1.pm)

No. of Boats: - 16

Racing took place in conditions not too dissimilar to the day before, with a strong, gusty, westerly wind meeting an ebbing tide to create a series of challenging wave patterns to be negotiated on the beat to the first mark. It was good to see the novices of the Fleet, particularly John Bentley and Phil Swift take to the water undeterred by the difficult conditions experienced in the previous race.

Given the sailing conditions and the course, the starting tactic was to get out into the tide as quickly as possible, using it to sweep the boat towards the weather mark. The majority of the Fleet opted for a starboard start by the pin, quickly tacking on to port and then out into the tide. Robin Leather and Sarah Fenwick however had detected a slight port bias to the line and both opted for a port tack start, by the clubhouse end of the line. This proved the superior option giving a better line to the first mark.

The first incident of the race came on the port tack to the weather mark. I have a book on race tactics by Rodney Pattisson, which describes the advantage a port tacker can achieve by ducking the transom of a starboard boat he / she meets on the beat. The idea is to bear away while easing the sheet to pick up speed, using the wind spilling from the starboard tacker's sails to provide the additional lift. When Pattisson wrote it, he was describing inter-fleet racing. I don't suppose he had an image of Carl Blenkinsop in a Dart 15 trying the same tactic on a BT Global Challenge Yacht, in a F6, with a mini-hurricane spilling from its sails. As Carl ducked behind the yacht he appeared to get sucked towards it, barely missing the stern in a fairly hair-raising manoeuvre.

Meanwhile, Chris Johnson, our resident culinary genius, joined forces with Laurie Gustar to create a Dart 15 sandwich, with the filling being the same Global Challenge Yacht, which they both met while on starboard tack. Laurie went to the lee of the yacht with Chris choosing the windward side. As Laurie was about to give the yacht crew a piece of his mind, his boat fell into the wind shadow of the yacht, lost power and he was dunked in the water so that all that came out was a garbled, soggy mess of words.

Most of the fleet overstood the windward mark, forcing the need for a close reach, in the already trying conditions, finishing in a broad reach as the mark was rounded, with all boats being driven hard by the gusty conditions. Ed Low, lying in 3^rd, and in pursuit of Sarah Fenwick who is in great form at the moment, capsized while gybing on the way to L. He was unfortunate to invert and get his mast stuck in the mud, with the tide preventing an easy release. After 15 minutes of trying to right the boat Ed accepted the assistance of the safety boat and then retired.

Elsewhere Michele Fisher, John Bentley and John Shenton retired, judging the building winds to be just outside their comfort zones. Brian FitzPatrick also capsized and took some 15 minutes to right his boat after deciding that the safety boat's option of cutting his main free wasn't the one he wanted to pursue.

Sarah approached L in second place but got caught by a gust while gybing, dug the hulls in and, when she had recovered the situation, discovered she had taken the mark to starboard. As she set about rectifying this, Laurie Gustar, Carl Blenkinsop and Paul Airey passed her. At the back of the Fleet Phil Swift was making good progress, despite the harsh conditions, proving that he will soon become a competent member of the fleet.

Jules Salter lost his jib when it detached at the top of the forestay and he was forced to sail the rest of the race with the jib suspended between the bows, resting by the bottom of the forestay. Robin and Laurie were now competing in a group with Paul, Carl and Sarah battling among themselves with Paul edging in front.

On the second broad reach to L, Pat Moore's jib detached by the furling gear and he had to "hove to" for several minutes while he recovered the jib and reattached it to the bottom of the forestay, before rejoining the race. Baxter's (O) was the next mark but Paul Airey began to sail to 3 before realising his mistake and in the process let Carl Blenkinsop build a lead of several hundred yards. Roger Bone, who had dragged himself back into the race and was sailing with confidence again, sailed to 3 allowing the gap he had closed between Matt Smith and Chris Johnson to widen again. It also allowed Jules Salter and Pat Moore to move in front of Roger.

On the long run to SP Systems (R) Pat Moore's port jib block detached itself from the boat, forcing a delay while the situation was made safe and the jib was furled for the completion of the race, bringing to an end his duel, on this leg, with Jules Salter. It also allowed Roger to close the gap with Pat.

Robin Leather had by now crossed the finish line, giving him his second victory of the week, with Laurie Gustar crossing 90 seconds later. The battle for 3^rd place was a close one with the trio of Carl, Paul and Sarah separated by a mere 30 seconds.

Towards the rear of the fleet Roger was rounding R, just ahead of Pat, and chose to tack back to shore with Pat continuing out into the tide. The final race to the line was a tense one with Roger on port and Pat on starboard, the latter just shading the win by a gap of only 20 seconds.

Finishing Positions

1 Robin Leather
2 Laurie Gustar
3 Carl Blenkinsop
4 Paul Airey
5 Sarah Fenwick
6 Matt Smith
7 Chris Johnson
8 Jules Salter
9 Pat Moore
10 Roger Bone
11 Phil Swift

DNF John Bentley, Michele Fisher, Brian Fitzpatrick, John Shenton (Shanklin), Ed Low.

DNS Brian Salter, Tony Pettit, Boo Jones, Mike Sleep

Race 4 Robin Leather

Course: - Gurnard Ledge (B) Starboard, Ocean Safety (K) Starboard, Mark off Green (N) Port, East Lepe (E) Port, Princess (J) Starboard, 2 rounds.

Tide:- Ebbing

No. of Boats:- 19

Day four of Cowes Dinghy Week resulted in a good turnout, great racing, carnage and one of the closest finishes I can remember. The close racing, that has become the norm in all parts of the fleet, unfortunately resulted in four boats being damaged during the race.

The less breezy conditions allowed more of the fleet on to the water and it was good to see Neville Smith, Michelle Fisher and Boo Jones out on the water again and looking a bit more comfortable.

The games started just after the 5 minute gun. Laurie Gustar followed Robin Leather’s every move while Leather was trying to keep the fleet guessing as to which end was favoured for the start. Only Gustar took any notice and a match race style, pre start, unfolded between the two. Leather gained the upper hand with both boats starting on starboard near the pin. Generally the whole fleet started well.

Leather led at the first mark followed by Gustar and Carl Blenkinsop. They tacked from starboard to port to round the mark and started the run back to shore, but through the starboard tacking middle fleet, to avoid the strong adverse tide. Paul Airey came to grief when John Shenton collided with him, tearing a large gash in his port hull forcing the retirement of both parties. The westerly breeze, strong ebb and long run down to the Mark off Cowes Green were all the ingredients necessary for a lot of close quarters ‘short gybing’ feet from the sea wall. On the mark, Gustar had closed up on Leather and Roger Bone had joined Blenkinsop. Elsewhere in the fleet Boo Jones held Chris Johnson and Pat Moore and had her sights on Matt Smith at ‘Mark off the Green’. Smith however was to prove to be elusive.

The Dart 15 fleet is very lucky to have guest sailor Jules Salter taking part for Dinghy Week. Jules, being a top class navigator, however still managed to go the wrong way making the Sunday ‘Durns’ gang feel much better. A mistake at the end of the first lap allowed Gustar into the lead. Although Leather briefly put him nose in front rounding Gurnard Ledge, Gustar sailed through him during the rounding. The second lap involved Leather trying to stay with Gustar, the latter managing to pull away on the downwind leg to Mark off the Green.

The beat back to East Lepe was a different story. When tacking on the lay line for East Lepe, Leather managed to cross Gustar and round the mark first. The run into Princesses for the last time saw Leather just hold Gustar while all the time, Blenkinsop was homing in on the lead pair waiting to pounce at the first mistake or wind shift.

At the last mark, the lead pair met a group of Picos rounding the same mark. Unfortunately, they were rounding it the other way. All boats managed to get round without any position change and, when the other fleets allowed tacked out to sea, Leather to windward but slightly behind Gustar. Leather tacked for the line first and a 300-metre drag race to the line started.

At the finish Leather won from Gustar by 1 second. Blenkinsop followed closely for third. Roger sailed a solid race to take fourth. Elsewhere in the fleet, Michele pulled clear of Smith. Jones stayed ahead of B Salter but let Johnson, Moore and Smith get clear. Johnson and Moore has a close race to the finish line, with Moore giving up his lead after meeting several Laser taking the final mark to Port, while the Darts were taking it to Starboard. Boo Jones sailed into a credible 11^th place while novices, Swift, Bentley and Smith all finished the race.

John Bentley sailed a much improved race except for starting incorrectly. Phil ‘The Finisher’ Swift kept his excellent completion record, totally disregarding the hole in the front of his boat (and all the water in it).

Finishing Positions

1 Robin Leather
2 Laurie Gustar
3 Carl Blenkinsop
4 Roger Bone
5 Ed Low
6 Sarah Fenwick
7 Michele Fisher
8 Matt Smith
9 Chris Johnson
10 Pat Moore
11 Boo Jones
12 Jules Salter
13 Bryan Salter
14 Brian Fitzpatrick
15 Neville Smith
16 John Bentley
17 Phil Swift

DNF Paul Airey, John Shenton (Shanklin).

DNS Tony Pettit, Mike Sleep.

Q: What do you get if you cross a squally Solent with a Dart 15?

A: About halfway!

Tired and sore bodies dragged themselves to the Marsh in preparation for Race 5. Paul Airey had repaired his boat the previous evening using copious amounts of Duck Tape and was ready to do battle again. Roger Bone and Phil Swift had also spent the previous evening filling the gashes they had collected the day before. The Fleet had seen F2/F3 winds forecast and were busy readjusting batten tensions as a F2 southwesterly blew in the background. By the time the race started, the wind was already building. The race provided an exhilarating reach to the mainland shore that, on the 3^rd circuit, was to claim a few casualties. On the darker side there was also a heart stopping moment for novice Phil Swift. It was Ed Low who recorded the day’s events:

Race 5 (Ed Low)

Weather: - SW 2 – 5 (perhaps 6 in the gusts)

Course: - Elephant (T), Macmillan Reeds (X), SP Systems (R) all to Starboard, 3 rounds.

Tide:- Ebbing

No. of Boats:- 17

As the fleet assembled at Gurnard Marsh a light south westerly wind was wafting across a relatively flat sea. It made a nice change to be discussing light weather batten tension prior to the race rather than who your life and boat insurance cover was with.

With the ebb already running strongly and no particular bias to the line it made sense to start on the pin end and tack straight out to sea, so everyone did. It was surprising that no infringements occurred in the very tightly packed start. However the unfortunate Matt Smith was over the line but presumably did not hear the double gun!!

Those who were able to tack onto port early and head out into the favourable tide and stronger breeze instantly gained an advantage. The leading pair of Leather and Gustar did just that closely followed by Low, Bone and Fenwick. This was the order at the windward mark with the rest of the fleet closely bunched behind and well placed to attack on the reach to Macmillan Reeds. This was a lively leg with a particularly closely fought battle between Low, Bone and Fenwick.

The major tactical decision came at Macmillan Reeds. Some chose to carry on to the mainland shore and then gybe across and others chose to gybe straight away. Blenkinsop just bore away onto what appeared to be a dead run with no noticeable loss of speed (how annoying). The group that chose the direct route back to the Island shore made a significant gain.

The race for the lead was again closely contested between Leather and Gustar with several changes throughout the race. Blenkinsop was well placed to pounce if either made a mistake. By this stage Fenwick in fourth had opened up a good lead on the rest of the chasing pack that she was to maintain to the finish.

The second lap saw a good battle develop for fifth between Jules Salter, Bone and Low. However the increasing wind strength was already starting to take its toll with Fisher, Jones and Shenton deciding the dinghy park was the best place to be.

The third lap saw a further increase in wind strength which combined with the full flow of the spring ebb made for what some described as Southern Ocean style conditions. At this stage Bone wisely decided he didn’t fancy another trip across the Solent and headed for home. The final reach/run across to Macmillan Reeds was to sort the men (women) from the boys (girls). In one gust Low and Moore capsized and Airey lost his rig. Elsewhere in the fleet Swift had also gone for a swim and had spent some heart stopping moments attached to his mainsail under water desperately trying to free his harness. Thankfully this one had a happy ending. The conditions also got the better of Johnson, however he was able to right his boat quickly and continue his lonely race to finish in a respectable seventh place.

At the front of the fleet the “in form” Leather finally overhauled Gustar for an impressive win. He looks to be heading for another Dinghy week title but with no discard to play with after the navigational problems on Sunday, Gustar, Blenkinsop and Fenwick all still have a chance.

The heavy conditions really took their toll on the fleet with only eight finishers with the result of the day going to Moore in a very respectable sixth place. The final finisher, Low, decided to make sure everyone at the club knew he could right his boat unassisted and treated the assembled crowd to a lively capsize some 50m from the finish line.

Finishing Positions

1 Robin Leather
2 Laurie Gustar
3 Carl Blenkinsop
4 Sarah Fenwick
5 Jules Salter
6 Pat Moore
7 Chris Johnson
8 Ed Low

OCS Matt Smith

DNF Boo Jones, Bryan Salter, Roger Bone, Phil Swift, Michele Fisher, Paul Airey.

DNS Mike Sleep, Tony Pettit, John Bentley

OOL Brian Fitzpatrick, John Shenton (Shanklin).

The final day of Dinghy week focuses attention on our very own Dave Penfold Cup. Dave was our first Fleet Captain who died tragically young from cancer a few years ago and the event is held in his memory. The pairing of the Fleets Pro’s and Am’s takes place after Race 1 and, from that point onwards, race results are collated to produce a league table, the pair with the lowest points at the end of the week picking up the Cup. The final day of each week usually ensures several pairs are in contention and this year was no different. Roger Bone / Matt Smith, Robin Leather / Boo Jones, Ed Low / Pat Moore and Laurie Gustar / Brian FitzPatrick were all in contention for the Cup. Wind conditions were not as fierce as the day before but remained challenging none the less. Paul Airey had acquired a new set of rigging and reattached the mast to his boat, ready to do battle. Bryan Salter recorded the day’s events:

Race 6 (Byran Salter)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz in the armchair 18:00

Weather: - Moderate breeze, F3-4, Westerly

Tide:- First of the Spring Ebb (makes launching easy)

Course:- Marsh (A) Starboard, Ocean Safety (K) Starboard, Prince’s (J) Starboard x 6

No of Boats:- 31

A perfect Gurnard afternoon, good breeze, hot sunshine, mirror flat seas and a cracking start on an unbiased line with the whole fleet hitting the line within seconds. Clean getaway with everybody on the wire and politely calling their status the whole way to the first mark and then rounding in orderly fashion. Boo, Michele & Sarah sailing in bikinis smiled for the cameras in the safety boats and were with the fleet the whole way.

Robin led for a short while but apparently slipped due to the grease in his sailing boots, capsized and then couldn’t right it due to the same grease. Who put it there only Laurie can say. He had to be rescued. Carl ground down his teeth in anger at not being able to get clear of the fleet whilst Chris once out on the wire was stuck because he couldn’t bend his plaster casts. Matt capsized five times but still managed to finish with everybody else. Paul lost his mast on the last downwind leg but still finished by just standing up. Bryan of course had a wonderful race, on the wire the whole time (even the downwind legs) and of course won by a clear margin!!!!! - Dream On!!!

Reality!!!

Wind:- 4+ gusting 5

Tide:- Raging Spring ebb with big holes around Ledge

Visibility:- None

Course:- Orange Inflatable (3) port, West Bay (L) port, Baxter's (O) port, Ocean Safety (K) starboard, SP Systems (R) port x2.

No of boats:- 17

The bulk of the fleet took an immediate port tack out looking for tidal benefits that marginally paid off to the first mark where Matt Smith capsized after rounding in dispute with his Penfold Cup partner, Roger Bone. At this point the wind and sea increased in proportion to the decrease in visibility. Why was I out here I asked but there was nobody near enough to console me.

Most gybed along the coast out of tide but Jules Salter went offshore and gained into second at one point. The torture continued for the first round when Michele Fisher’s rudders wouldn’t tack the boat at the weather mark (2^nd round) so she gybed, had an attack of common sense, and went home. Boo Jones persevered but broke her toestrap with her hands in a death defying avoidance of a capsize - don’t ask!

Sarah Fenwick sailed immaculately but was pipped at the line by Jules. Laurie Gustar at last beat Robin Leather into 2nd. Carl Blenkinsop found out he was OCS at the start. Pain No Gain!

Bryan Salter finished, nothing broken(!!!), having been loaned a sail and battens by Matt Smith (hero)! Chris Johnson had a coming together with Paul Airey who had become Target of the Week. He is the one with one complete black hull. It was also good to see most of the novice fleet make it to the finish line by the end of a week that started well, did us all a favour by stretching everybody to their individual limits and finished in rain and lumpy seas just to keep the pressure up.

Finishing Positions

1 Laurie Gustar
2 Robin Leather
3 Ed Low
4 Paul Airey
5 Jules Salter
6 Sarah Fenwick
7 Chris Johnson
8 Pat Moore
9 John Shenton (Shanklin)
10 Brian Fitzpatrick
11 Bryan Salter
12 Phil Swift
13 Boo Jones

OCS Carl Blenkinsop

DNF Michele Fisher, Roger Bone, Matt Smith.

DNS Mike Sleep, Tony Petit, John Bentley

So, after a retirement in torrid conditions on day 1, Robin Leather dominated the Fleet and left the real scrap for second place between old rivals Laurie Gustar and Carl Blenkinsop who were separated by a single point by Friday. Ben Ainslie presented the prizes and the Fleet would like to extend its thanks for the efforts of Gurnard Sailing Club for providing yet another memorable year.

Final Results (top 5 placings):