South East area Open Meeting Reports 2011
If you would like to send in a report, please email Jo Lankester
South East Aggregate series 2011
As in previous years the South East has run 3 aggregate series, The Thames Valley Bowl, the river trophy which is for the subset of river clubs and the Blue Jib for the clubs South East of London.
2011 has seen some new faces travelling round to open meetings – particularly it has seen a rise in the number of sailors from the river clubs who have travelled to neighbouring stretches of water. The highest turnout was 19 boats at a river club – London Corinthian, with Silver Wing, Southbank and Frensham also boasting high turnouts. As in previous years the key to a high turnout is having a strong turnout from the home club fleet. We are pleased to welcome back Lensbury sailing club onto the calendar and congratulate them on achieving a turnout of 12 boats.
Martin and Laurence Davies won the Thames Valley Bowl this year which is just reward for many years of doing long drives to support our open meetings. Coming into the last event of the series, any one of 3 boats might have won, and coming into the last race at Frensham, Martin needed to win the race to win the open meeting on tie break and get victory in the series. This he achieved after a nail biting race.
Ann Jackson won our South East Area Championship, this year held at Papercourt. Again this was on tie break after winning a closely fought final race.
Moving onto the river trophy. This was won by Philip Chambers of Hampton on tie break from Alan Munro-Favre of Southbank sailing club – both having 8 points from their best 3 river meetings. 3rd and 4th in the river series were Iain McGregor and Chris Rowsell both of Lensbury.
The other series held in the South East is the Blue Jib series, this year counting the best two results from Bewl, Weir Wood, Chipstead and Papercourt. David Beaney convincingly retained the Blue Jib trophy with wins at Bewl, Weir Wood and Chipstead. Second was Pete Jackson and Martin Brooking rounded out the podium.
And finally the open meeting with the equal biggest turnout of South East area boats – including all the top South East helms - was Salcombe week. This years Salcombe week had 19 Enterprises entered. Pete Bennet won from David Beaney and Nick Jackson. Think Salcombe for your holiday week for 2012 if you want a good holiday and some stiff competition.
For 2012 we are considering reintroducing Bewl, Weir Wood and Chipstead as open meetings in the Thames Valley Bowl series in the hope of attracting a few more sailors from the west side of London –Bewl and Weir Wood are both large reservoirs giving the kind of open water sailing which is not available at the other clubs in the area.
David Beaney, Phil Chambers and Dick Lankester
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See the results so far: (click here to download Excel spreadsheet)
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Blue Jib update
After two rounds of the 2011 S.E. Blue Jib series, three crews have completed both events. Leading the series are David and John Beaney with wins at both Bewl Valley and Weir Wood. Martin Brooking/Jane Anderson are lying in second place with a 3rd and a 2nd place. Dick and Jo Lankester are in third place with a 5th and a 4th place.
Only two events need to be sailed in order to qualify for the series, so it is not too late to have a go. The next event is at Chipstead SC on 4th September, followed by Papercourt SC on 2nd October (this event is also the 2011 S.E. Championships and a round of the Thames Valley Bowl series).
Dick Lankester
Blue Jib co-ordinator
Weir Wood open meeting
Weir Wood hosted the second round of the Enterprise South East Blue Jib Open Meeting series on 17th July.
Summer was placed on hold for the weekend and was replaced by a vigorous weather system which swept across the country, delivering strong winds and torrential showers throughout the day. This may have been a contributory factor to the very disappointing turnout of only 6 boats, including two visitors. In the event, a great days sailing was enjoyed by the competitors, the conditions turning out to be not quite as challenging as had been expected. The Race Team of Ernie Hatton, Pete Clifton and Barbara Ching ensured that the meeting ran like clockwork.
A gusty F3 was blowing when competitors took to the water. However, this suddenly subsided as soon as the first race got under way, providing a gentle warm up for the rest of the day. David/John Beaney (Castaways) found the right gear and emerged in the lead after a tussle with Martin Brooking/Jane Anderson (Bewl Valley) and held on until the finish. Weir Wood sailor Geoff Bush, making a welcome return to Enterprise sailing and ably crewed by John Chisnall, finished in third place. Dick/Jo Lankester (Weir Wood) managed to recover from last place at the first mark to finish 4th. They were followed over the line by Vic Hopkins/Kevin Francis (Weir Wood) and Chris Daniels/Ray Nevard (Weir Wood).
By the time the second race started, the wind had picked up and an ominous black cloud at the far end of the reservoir heralded some spectacular weather. Sure enough, the fleet was soon subjected to a torrential rainstorm and viscous squalls, causing severe visibility problems for crews wearing spectacles. The first four boats finished in the same order. Vic Hopkins/Kevin Francis (Weir Wood) completed one lap and then decided to head for home and a hot shower. On the final downwind leg, Bush/Chisnall were very lucky to survive a lurid death roll.
The rain returned briefly as the crews took to the water after lunch for an eventful race . On the first downwind leg, the Beaneys managed to tag the Brooking/Anderson boat with their extra long jibstick while fighting for the lead and the ensuing penalty dropped them to second place. Bush/Chisnall sailed a memorable race. On the second upwind leg, John Chisnall managed to fall out of the boat and was observed swimming strongly in pursuit of his displeased helm who appeared to be in two minds whether or not to go back for him. This drama allowed the grateful Lankesters to surge past and finish in third place. Chris Daniels/Ray Nevard capsized and decided to call it a day.
The wind peaked for the final race of the day, but the four remaining crews coped well without any further dramas. The Beaneys finished as they began with another first and they were followed home by Brooking/Anderson, Bush/Chisnall and the Lankesters.
All the crews agreed that, in spite of the rain, the challenging but manageable wind had resulted in an excellent day’s sailing on the magnificent wide open spaces of Weir Wood.
Results:
1st David & John Beaney (3 points)
2nd Martin Brooking/Jane Anderson (5 points)
3rd Geoff Bush/John Chisnall (9 points)
4th Dick &Jo Lankester (11 points)
5th Chris Daniels/Ray Nevard (18 points)
6th Vic Hopkins/Kevin Francis (19 points)
