Category Archives: Open Meetings

Aldeburgh Open !!! Fabulous Photos !!

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FLYING FIFTEEN OPEN MEETING AT ALDEBURGH YACHT CLUB

6TH– 7THJuly 2019

Part of the Southern Travellers Series

 

For the first time since 2004 the F15 fleet at Aldeburgh Yacht Club hosted an open weekend on the tidal River Alde. Appropriately fifteen 15s took part.  Seven locals were delighted to be joined by eight visiting boats from Broxbourne, Bewl, Datchet, Grafham, Draycote and Ipswich (RORC).

 

On the Saturday afternoon, Race Officer Robert Mulcahy took advantage of the high tide to run 2 excellent windward/ leeward races upriver on the tidal flats at Blackheath.  Light and shifty conditions led to close and interesting racing.  In the first race Pip Hudson and Steve Stewart (3889) from Broxbourne mastered the conditions to win comfortably from local boat True Luff (3844) – Duncan Matthew and John Chalker – with a special mention to Jerry and Charlie Young who sailed their Silver Fleet boat Ffully Focussed (3139) into 4thplace on the water.

 

In the second race, following a delay to reposition marks as the wind shifted to the right, Grafham sailors Tim O’Brien and Colin Ferra in Ffoxy Lady (4042) put behind them their 13thplace from Race 1 to win, ahead of Datchet’s John Hanson and Helen Selden (3954), with the first two boats from race 1 coming third and fourth respectively.  The steady drizzle and dying wind put paid to any chances of a third race and the fleet followed the tide back downriver to the AYC clubhouse – for plentiful drinks and an informal dinner.

 

The following morning, with racing set to take place at low tide and in a north easterly wind, Robert took the start boat downriver to Blackstakes where the bend in the river allowed a decent windward/leeward course to be set for two further races.  A short start line dictated by the narrowness of the river led to general recalls in both races, whilst the change from an ebb to flood tide saw differing conditions in each race.  Pip Hudson and Steve Stewart showed the way again in the third race but were convincingly pipped into second place in the fourth race by John Hanson and Helen Seldon.

 

However, Pip and Steve had done enough to win the Ratcliff Trophy from John and Helen, with top local boat True Luff in third.

 

In the silver/classics section, the Flamingo Tankard was won by locals Jerry and Charlie Young in Ffully Focussed (3139) ahead of Broxbourne’s Brian Turner and Jackie Burns in Windcheetah (3031).

 

Thanks again to Race Officer Robert Mulcahy, ably assisted by Caroline Donsworth for the whole weekend, and a big shout out for the youngest sailor in the fleet,16-year-old Freddie Fulford, who said he “mostly enjoyed” sailing with his Dad.

 

For the full set of results see:

 

http://www.aldeburghyc.org.uk/sailing/2019-racing-results/2019-laser-flying-15-open/

 

Next photo ©Robert Mulcahy

FF open meeting

FF open meeting

Dovestone Open…!!

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Dovestone Sailing Club nestling in the beautiful Pennine hills to the east of Manchester hosted round 2 of the Waples Wines Flying Fifteen Traveller Series over the weekend of the 29thand 30thJune. Conditions were perfect with a full reservoir and temperatures topping 30 degrees.  The fleet of 17 boats included visitors who had travelled from as far away as Bassenthwaite and Datchet adding to the strong home fleet.

On Saturday two races were sailed, andwith shifting light breezes the positions were not certain until the finish of both, with plenty of passing lanes available. David McKee and Mal Hartland managed to breakaway in the first race but otherwise it was close. The overnight leaders were John Hanson and Helen Selden. Unfortunately, an incident with a flyaway pole required the assistance of the NHS for one visitor, fortunately all was well, and he was able to sail on Sunday. Look out for the mark of Harry Potter at future events.

An excellent BBQ and social evening took place at the club on Saturday evening.

Sunday dawned a little cooler, the wind had switched round to the south east and it gradually increased during the day. By the last race the conditions were quite testing with gusts of up to force 5. The racing throughout the fleet was very competitive. The Local boats of McKee/Hartland and McKee/Jones made the most of conditions, both scoring 5 points from 3 races. Andy McKee and Rich Jones managed the other sail away win of the event in the last race and David McKee and Mal Hartland managed to claw their way up to 2ndafter a poor start to take the win by a point. John and Helen had a battle with the strongly finishing Mike Preston/Chris Robinson but managed to hold on for 3rdplace. In 4thand sailing with a bad back Mike Moore/Kayla Sheard sailed well, their results including a 3rdplace during one of the windy races.

The support of series sponsor Justin of Waples Wines was appreciated as also were the contributions of the many members who worked hard to make the weekend the success it was.

Click here to download full results

Results

1st                                    4065                                    David McKee/Mal Hartland                                    Dovestone SC                  6 pts

2nd                                    4005                                    Andy McKee/Rich Jones                                                      Dovestone SC                  7 pts

3rd                                    3954                                    John Hanson/Helen Selden                                    Datchet SC                  12 pts

1stSilver                  3391                                    Colin Pierce/Mandy Thackray                                    Dovestone SC

Classic under 2000                  496                  Rod Rowlands/Andy Robinson                                    Dovestone SC

Classic 2001-2700                  2584                  Howard Wolstencroft,/John Hesten                  Dovestone SC

Why Not Enter Poole Week, 18-23 August This Year….?!!

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Why not enter Poole Week, 18 – 23 August this year?
 
Poole Week typically attracts a Flying Fifteen entry of 25 – 30 boats. It offers a six day regatta, with two races a day and a vibrant social programme. Boats entering the Nationals at the end of July may be left free of charge at Parkstone Yacht Club for Poole Week three weeks later.
 
The attractive early entry fee of £73.50 expires on Monday 13 May.

Southern Travellers Final at Middle Nene…!!

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Flying 15 Open Meeting at Middle Nene SC (14th/15th October 2017)
Close racing in perfect conditions brought together sailors from the Classic, Silver and Gold fleets. The fleet sailed five races plus a Crews’ Race over the weekend in a highly competitive spirit. The Saturday evening ended with a tasty dinner organised by the MNSC House Team and a few drinks from the bar.
The MNSC Open was also the final event in the Southern Traveller Series and the winners were: Open Fleet: 4051 Bob Tait/Pete Comber, Silver Fleet: 3359 Derek Harrison/Tim Greeves, Classic Fleet: 2433 Mark Greer/Jim Reid.
In the Crews’ Race, the winners were 3965 Kato Greer/Simon Childs.
Congratulations to all winners and thanks to all visitors and local sailors! The next Flying 15 Open Meeting at Middle Nene SC is scheduled for October 2018.