Warmington-on-
Sea? Our arrival at Downs SC was greeted with clear skies, warm sunshine
and a gentle but fairly even breeze coming in from the south.
A quick set-up (I'm sure the spinny sheets are supposed to go
round the forestay) and then onto bacon butties and the briefing.
A squarish/sausage course was opted for in order to well and truly split
the Buzz and ISO fleets, the Buzzes doing a square
Race 1 Began with the wind and tide running north along the shore,
Having watched the Buzzes start first and split evenly between inshore (less
tide) and offshore (more tide but more wind) the ISOs opted for the inshore
route. Ian and Katie Keam George in 1188 took an early lead with Jonny Wells and
Bugsy in 1176 and Richard and Matt Lewis in 553 in hot pursuit. Round the top
mark and offshore with the tide and breeze for a wide run down the 'sausage' to
the leeward mark for the first of two inner laps. By lap 3 round the outer
course the fleet was split scattered with the considerable sea going experience
of 1188, 553 and 1176 reaping great benefits.
Race 2 As the tide began to ebb slightly and the afternoon breeze
increased, the inshore/offshore connundrum became less obvious. The fleet split with
Bob Ladell and Mark Clay in 814, Sue and Ben Twist in 929 and 553 finding
great benefits in the offshore side of the beat. Although all three swapped
places several times 1188 and 1176 led the way for this one coming first and
second, with 814 coming 3rd after recovering from a 720° (tide? buoys?
don't panic! don't panic! Captain Mainwaring!)
Race 3 Saw a change of plan with a long course laid round the local cans.
The tide went briefly slack then turned to a fast flow south against the wind.
The course demanding both in terms of duration and navigation; black buoy
against dark background anyone? Places were swapped left right and centre as the
breeze shifted and occaisionally died across the course.Essex YC won through with
1188 and 1176 taking 1st and 2nd place while Emsworth contingent Richard and
Matt Lewis came in 3rd.
A great days sailing ran smoothly into a balmy evening with the help of
beer and barbeque (salmon and pork steaks no less, none of your chippolatas
here Mrs Pike). The hard core found further lubrication at the King's Head and
the Old Port next door. Reconnaisance has duly been laid for the 2004
nationals.
Sunday: More sunshine with slightly more breeze (wind
strength?)
With an onshore wind across the tide our usual windward/leeward was
tricky so instead a 'P' shape course was laid out.
Race 4: Trickier tactics today with the majority of the fleet opting for
a long starboard beat followed by a quick shallow port dash to the top mark,
the question was a case of how far can you go? Jonny and Bugsy held on and
whilst not taking the shortest route got a great deal out of the tide enabling
them to take a wider beat to the first mark. Further back 814 was finding out
more about sailing in a swell and battling it out with 553 and 929
Race 5:
Race 6:
ISO Open 2003 | |||||||||||
Sail No. | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pnts | Place |
1188 | Ian Keam-George | Katie Keam-George | Essex YC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
1176 | Jonny Wells | Bugsy | Essex YC | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
553 | Richard Lewis | Matt Lewis | Emsworth | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3 |
814 | Bob Ladell | Mark Clay | King George | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 4 |
929 | Ben Twist | Sue Munday | Broadstairs | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | dns | 25 | 5 |