Results / Open Tata Steel SC - 12/04/2014

Report thanks to Andrew Appleton.  Photos kindly provided by Dave Whittle.

SCSC Asymmetric Open Meeting 2014 Report
Saturday June 7th was the Asymmetric Open Meeting at South Cerney Sailing Club with first place going to Alistair and Matt Sim. Despite a dire weather forecast with hail and thunder forecast, it turned out to be a fantastic day. The heavy rain passed through in the first part of the morning, brightening up in time for the racing. Unfortunately the forecast put some folk off and we had fewer boats than usual entering, all from South Cerney. However they were well rewarded. Liz MacDonald, race officer for the day, set a windward-leeward course with a spreader mark at the windward end which gave plenty of opportunity for making good use of the kite.

The first race started with a force 2 wind from the SSW. Eve and Chris Williams in their RS200 made an excellent start and were  first round the windward mark, closely followed by Al and Matt Sim in their RS200 and Andrew and Sarah Appleton in a Xenon.  However the wind then died to almost nothing though intermittent light gusts did allow some attempts at kitework! Mike Weeks in his RS Vareo held a starboard reach and caught a good gust whilst everyone else had gybed off onto port, allowing Mike to speed past the other boats to make it first through the leeward gate, closely followed by Tom Harris in his Vareo and Andrew and Sarah in the Xenon. Sven Holwell in his Devoti D1 hit a big hole and sat there helplessly as everyone else drifted past, though once the wind caught his sails again he quickly began to fight his way back up the fleet. The windward leg started with a slight breeze and the front half of the fleet made good progress, with Mike Weeks building on his lead, and Sven in the D1 catching up on Andrew and Sarah in the Xenon, and Tom in his Vareo. The wind died away completely for the downwind leg resulting in a frustrating drift to the finish. Mike Weeks took first place with Andrew and Sarah Appleton in second, and Tom Harris in third place.

Over lunch the wind picked up to force 2 gusting 3 and the sun came out, giving a great afternoon for sailing. The second start was closely fought but Al and Matt Sim in their RS200, and Mark Caldecourt and Mike Weeks in their Vareos found the clean air and began to pull away from the rest of the fleet, being well clear at the windward mark. Tom Harris suffered a mechanical failure shortly after the start and had to retire to do repairs. On the downwind leg, however, Sven’s D1 came into its own and he powered down the lake taking the lead on the water. Over the next 2 laps, Sven built up his lead, with Al and Matt in the 200 giving chase. Mark and Mike in their Vareos were close behind. On the final lap Mike was gusted on a gybe and capsized, straining his back and had to retire. Though Sven finished first on the water, followed by the Sims, once handicaps were applied, Mark in his Vareo took first place, followed by Al and Matt Sim in their RS200, and Sven was third in the D1.

Race three saw the gusts build further, giving some exciting sailing at times, resulting in a couple of interesting capsizes from Sven and some close shaves especially from Eve and Chris in their RS200. Al and Matt Sim in their RS200 had a great start and steadily built on their lead throughout the race, though Sven in his D1 slowly crept up on them and got ahead at the end of the third lap, despite pausing for a couple of swims! Mark and Tom in their Vareos managed to keep in hailing distance, and at the end Al and Matt took first place, with Mark in second and Tom in third.

At the end of the day, the overall positions were as follows:
Alistair and Matt Sim took first place in their RS200.
Mark Caldecort came second in his RS Vareo
Tom Harris came third in his RS Vareo.
Congratulations to them all.

A big thank you to all who helped make the day a success – Liz MacDonald and her race officer team for some fantastic courses, Judith Freeman and Roger Morton in the Galley for providing excellent food, the safety boat crew, and Dave Whittle for taking some great photos of the day.

Andrew Appleton
Asymmetric Class Captain