Yaverland Sailing and Boat Club: Sport Nationals
Friday 26th - Sunday 28th June 2015

Sprint 15 Sport Nationals at Yaverland

26th to 28th June 2015

Rival's mistake hands cup to defending champion

34 helmsmen were treated to 3 days of near-perfect sailing conditions at the Sprint 15 Sport Nationals at Yaverland Sailing and Boat Club on the Isle of Wight.

Race officer Erling Holmberg set a P shaped course on Friday afternoon with the wind blowing force 5 to 6.

Paul Grattage got away well in the first race ahead of Sean McKenna, Paul Chatfield, Simon Giles and Kevin Dutch.  Unfortunately, Grattage’s trapeze wire failed him and he retired on lap 1 after a swim.  McKenna led the rest of the race with Steve Sawford making gains up to third place before being overhauled by Dutch on the last lap.

Between races, Ian Wilkinson managed to get his sail crucified on the cross on the Yaverland post and was forced to retire but not before the paparazzi got to him.

Paul Grattage repaired his boat with some baler twine he found lying about the boat yard and led the second race from start to finish. Behind him, Kevin Dutch kept ahead of Sean McKenna for a lap, but McKenna overhauled him half way through the race to finish second.  Dutch finished third ahead of Paul Chatfield.

The wind eased a couple of knots for the Saturday with glorious sunshine and the Round the Island Yacht Race taking place further out to sea.

A left handed trapezoidal course was set and in race three, Sean McKenna led his flock way past the far left lay-line for the first mark. This allowed Stuart Pierce, who had sailed the right side of the course, the rare pleasure of leading at buoy 1 closely followed by Simon Giles.  Pierce led the race for 2 laps before Steve Sawford overhauled him on the downwind leg.  Meanwhile Grattage had made steady gains through the fleet up to second on the last lap.  Sawford finished first ahead of Grattage with Pierce being denied a podium finish when he was pipped on the line by Liam Thom.

Kevin Dutch and Paul Grattage continued to enjoy the strong breeze in race 4 with Dutch getting the early lead from Grattage, Sean McKenna and Steve Sawford. Meanwhile a Clipper yacht “Qingdao” had sailed very close to our course and was in danger of being called “starboard” on by 34 catamarans. Grattage got the lead on the second lap with McKenna moving up to second and the top 4 places remained stable for the rest of the 3 lap race.

Being in the financial services industry, the race officer clearly likes a “good” lunch and we were given a generous hour and a half off between races 4 and 5.

The wind was still a good steady force 5 with gusts of force 6 after the break and normal service was quickly resumed with Grattage leading race 5 from start to finish, this time with Steve Sawford, Paul Chatfield and Kevin Dutch behind him.  Dutch made gains in the three lap race and finished behind Grattage and ahead of Sawford on the line.

On Saturday evening there was an excellent three course meal (or 7 courses in Paul Grattage’s case) in the club house including a raffle for a weekend’s sailing tuition at event sponsor Windsport: this was won by Wayne Silver.

On the Sunday morning there was much lighter winds and an alternating triangle-sausage course was set for the SSE force 2.  Sean McKenna needed to win this race to keep in the hunt for the championship and he kept the lead from start to finish with Paul Grattage, Fraser Manning and Kevin Dutch keeping station in that order as the breeze developed.

The wind had shifted to westerly for the final race of the event and there was a delay while the course was moved and lengthened.  Sean McKenna needed a first place to win the regatta while Paul Grattage just needed McKenna to not win.  Grattage laid his cards on the table in the prestart and match-raced McKenna to the start where there was a general recall.  At the second attempt the pair of them were both on the offensive and McKenna caught Grattage on port and forced a penalty.  Fortunately for Grattage this start was also recalled and a black flag raised.  The third start was successful and Kevin Dutch caused a traffic jam at the committee boat end by parking his boat inconsiderately. Further up the line McKenna got the lead and kept hold of it with Grattage and Fraser Manning behind him exchanging places. McKenna had one hand on the championship when he rounded the final windward mark in the lead, but then suffered catastrophic brain-fade and sailed the windward-leeward course rather than the triangle.  Grattage had in the meantime overtaken Manning and crossed the line first to retain the championship. McKenna corrected himself to finish second in the race and the event.

Third overall was Kevin Dutch, ahead of Steve Sawford, Fraser Manning and Simon Giles.  The first over 60 was Gordon Goldstone and the first junior boat was helmed by Tom Beasley with Henry Giles as crew. The Pro-Am Cup was won by Roger Bone and Simon Giles.

Thanks go to Windsport and Wightlink Ferries and to volunteers from Shanklin Sailing Club and Yaverland Sailing and Boat Club for their help with the event.

Report by Liam Thom. Photography by Alan and Mary Howie-Wood.

Paul Grattage
Paul Grattage
Tom Beasley and Henry Giles
Tom Beasley and Henry Giles

Results:

Click for: Full Results with all Sub-Competitions

OVERALL RESULTS
Competitors Races - 7 of 7 Sailed (No. of Discards: 2) Event Placings
Name Sail ClubRace 1Race 2Race 3Race 4Race 5Race 6Race 7Points Place
Paul Grattage458Shanklin Sailing Club33 DNF1 2 1 1 2 1 61
Sean McKenna2018Shanklin Sailing Club1 2 11 2 5 1 2 82
Kevin Dutch1938Seasalter Sailing Club3 3 5 3 2 4 33 DNF153
Steve Sawford1733Rutland Water Sailing Club4 6 1 4 3 9 33 DNF184
Fraser Manning955North Devon Yacht Club5 5 6 5 36 DNC3 3 215
Simon Giles1944Shanklin Sailing Club6 7 7 6 6 5 5 286
Liam Thom1957Shanklin Sailing Club7 8 3 9 7 11 9 347
Stuart Pierce1916Shanklin Sailing Club12 10 4 10 9 7 33 DNF408
Anthony Gray1893North Devon Yacht Club9 17 8 8 8 10 14 439
Chris Murphy554Shanklin Sailing Club10 9 14 7 10 22 18 5010
David Groom1714Netley Sailing Club8 12 9 11 11 17 13 5111
Mark Pritchard1979Shanklin Sailing Club11 13 10 19 36 DNC13 6 5312
Gordon Goldstone2004Queen Mary Sailing Club17 15 13 18 15 8 11 6213
Sam Heaton685North Devon Yacht Club14 20 15 12 13 19 10 6414
Richard Chidwick1396North Devon Yacht Club13 11 12 15 14 18 17 6515
Keith Heason1424North Devon Yacht Club15 36 DNC21 13 12 16 16 7216
George Stephen1594Queen Mary Sailing Club33 DNF36 DNC16 22 28 DNF6 4 7617
Paul Chatfield2015Stokes Bay Sailing Club2 4 36 DNC36 DNC4 36 DNC36 DNC8018
Roger Bone1681North Devon Yacht Club16 28 DNF18 36 DNC36 DNC12 7 8119 ¹
John Manning1955Beaver Sailing Club21 16 19 16 18 23 12 8120 ¹
Mark Bunyan1343Stewartby Water Sports Club24 19 20 36 DNC17 14 15 8521
Simon Fleet1936North Devon Yacht Club35 DNC14 22 23 28 DNF33 OCS8 9522
Bob Baker1926Shanklin Sailing Club20 28 DNF34 DNF14 19 15 33 DNF9623
Ian Mounce1951North Devon Yacht Club18 28 DNF17 36 DNC16 24 23 9824
Christine Roman1925Shanklin Sailing Club25 28 DNF27 17 36 DNC21 20 11025
Tom Beasley & Henry Giles1843Shanklin Sailing Club28 21 26 20 22 28 27 11626
Liam Bunclark1906North Devon Yacht Club33 DNF22 28 26 21 26 22 11727
Tony Murrant1357Shanklin Sailing Club23 18 30 36 DNC20 27 33 DNF11828
Wayne Silver1272North Devon Yacht Club19 36 DNC24 21 36 DNC31 25 12029
Ian Wilkinson957Shanklin Sailing Club27 28 DNF29 25 23 25 21 12130
Oliver Cule1372Shanklin Sailing Club35 DNC36 DNC34 DNF29 DNF24 20 19 12631 ¹
Jeremy Rowe1500North Devon Yacht Club22 36 DNC23 29 DNF28 DNF30 24 12632 ¹
Mark Randerson94Shanklin Sailing Club26 36 DNC25 24 36 DNC29 26 13033
J Kilham1929North Devon Yacht Club33 DNF36 DNC34 DNF36 DNC36 DNC36 DNC36 DNC17234