BURTON WEEK 2001
Burton Week 2001, the Championships of the National 12 Class, was this year hosted by Porthpean Sailing Club in St. Austell Bay, Cornwall.
With sailing restricted on two of the six days due to high winds, it was left to a hectic social program to ensure that the fleet went home suitably tired. This was not as hard a task as it may seem, due to the generous sponsorship from a number of sources, including Ernst & Young, Dyson, Sailpower.com, Gill, Pinnell & Bax, Greene King, Jayne Wood, and Ullman Sails. The sailing itself went down to the wire with the first ten boats separated by only 15 points. Going into the last race it was difficult to identify who could not win.
The week includes the prestigious Sir William Burton Cup, sailed for since the introduction of the Class in 1936. This classic always consists of 4 triangles and a beat with each leg a minimum of one mile in length. Over the past three years this race has been dominated by sail maker Tom Stewart, crewed by Elisabeth Ross from the Royal Harwich YC and in a 3 hour slog around the course they battled past the early leaders John and Katy Meadowcroft and then Nigel & Hannah Playford to secure their 4th consecutive Cup win, and their 5th win in total. Making up the places were Bruce & Clare Johnson in 2nd following 4th and 3rd in the previous two years, then Robin & Ben Wood who overtook the Meadowcrofts on the final set of reaches to claim 3rd. The Meadowcrofts held off the charging Jon and Charlotte Ibbotson up the final beat.
In the final analysis for the week's prizes for the Yachting World Silver National, Stewart & Ross in their Winder Boats 'Feeling Foolish' secured victory by a single point from the Ibbotsons, also from the Royal Harwich YC in their Nigel Waller built 'Final Chapter'. Unbelievably, the same club also took positions 3,4 and 5 in the overall results; all sailing Waller built 'Final Chapters'. The fight continues to be between the Bim Daser designed 'Foolish' and the Mike Jackson designed 'Chapter', with each design appearing 5 times in the top 10. Intriguingly the new Daser designed 'Numinous' finished just outside the top 10 in its first season. This hull shape is without doubt competitive and more will be expected to be built this winter.
There was high competition in the Admirals Cup competition - for the older boats entering Burton Week. With 20 entrants this turned out to be a very close affair, with Andy Pickrell and Jonathan White in a 'Baggy Trousers', winners by a point from Bim Daser and Alison Martin in the original 'Foolish' themselves a further point ahead of Kevin Iles and Nicole McKenna in another 'Baggy'. Andy & Jonathan took home a voucher for a new jib from Pinnell & Bax.
Other notable successes were for Sophie Mackley and Caroline Martin, winners of the Arrows Trophy for first time Burton Week helms and also the winner of a Dyson vacuum cleaner. They were however, beaten to the Money Cup for lady helms by Frances Gifford and Jane Jones.
The Corrigan Cup competition for U21s was won by Richard Williams & Stella Brown -who had led the overall points competition after two races. They sailed an exceptional series, and will no doubt be a force to be recognised in future years. Richard also won the Joe Yorke Trophy for the most improved helm.
In the individual races, race 1 for the Marlow Ropes Salver, was dominated by a trio of boats, Chris Mayhew and Helen Hilditch eventually building a comfortable advantage to win from Williams and Brown followed by Gifford & Jones. With a significantly oscillating wind there were opportunities for many to gain and lose places.
For race 2, The Centenary Trophy, the 12s used a 'P' shaped course for the first time - with two tighter reaches followed by a run back down to the leeward mark. This was evidently to the liking of Stewart & Ross who took the gun ahead of Robin & Ben Wood and the consistent Williams & Brown.
Stewart & Ross built on their advantage with their win in race 3, the Sir William Burton Cup.
Two races were held on the final day of Burton Week 2001 in a sunny force 2-3. The first race was laid as a 3 lap 'P' course, with the gate opened by Geoff Camm and Amelia Hall in their Waller Final Chapter, 'Transmogrifier'. The shifts up the first beat meant that any of a number of boats could have lead round the windward mark, however, it was the pathfinder that did round the mark first, followed by Steve Sallis and Jenny James in N3436 and Paul Pelling and Ian Simkins in their Feeling Foolish. These boats were followed by Bruce and Clare Johnson, continuing their excellent week, and Jon and Charlotte Ibbotson.
The first reach saw the top five places stay much the same but with a large chasing pack hot on their heels. Round the leeward mark, most of the fleet headed left but with the shifty breeze there was potential to make good gains and losses - Pelling and Simkins lost out on this leg but Richard Williams, sailing in his third Burton Week aged 17, made good gains to join the leading pack. Geoff Camm decided to hit the left hand corner, a gamble that paid off handsomely as he led round the windward mark with a good lead over Steve Sallis.
The downwind legs saw the fleet close up again as gusts came across the course and the pack remained hot on the heels of the leading group with Camm and Hall still in first place and Sallis and James in second.
The course was shortened at the second leeward mark and during the last beat, Sallis and James managed to pull right up to Camm and Hall to produce a very exciting finish to the race, with Camm covering Sallis hard up the beat and Sallis finally managed to overhaul Camm to take first place and the Port of Plymouth Cup. Bruce and Clare Johnson took third place from Jon and Charlotte Ibbotson, with class chairman, John Meadowcroft sailing with wife Katy, in fifth. Current championship leader, Tom Stewart and Elisabeth Ross, had a tenth place finish, which gave them the honour of being path finder in the final race of the week.
Going into the final race, any one of seven boats could win the Championship.
The final race was an old Olympic style course and was eventually started on the third time of asking as the wind continued to be shifty - the Principal Race Officer did toy with the idea of a line start but reverted to the gate start before restarting the countdown.
The first beat favoured the group of boats that generally went left, as they were freed going into the windward mark, with Chris Mayhew and Helen Hilditch leading the fleet round the mark, closely followed by Bruce and Clare Johnson and Jon Brown, sailing with the Johnsons' son, Guy. Jon and Charlotte Ibbotson were in fourth. At this stage, the Championship was looking very difficult to win for Sallis and James and Robin Ben Wood who were languishing mid fleet. Tom Stewart and Elisabeth Ross in the mid-teens, had a lot to do to win the Silver National for the third time in succession.
Mayhew and Hilditch remained in first place for the two reaches but found the beats difficult as Chris was carrying an injury from the previous day's rounders match.
The race unfolded on the final beat as Jon Brown and Guy Johnson rounded the leeward mark in first place, with Jon and Charlotte Ibbotson hot on their heals. At this stage, Stewart and Ross had climbed to sixth place, just ahead of Geoff Camm and Amelia Hall. At this point, this was just good enough to maintain their overall lead. With the wind swinging as much as forty degrees, it was hard to cover effectively, Mayhew and Hilditch hit the left hand side of the course, whilst the leaders looked nervously at each other in the middle of the beat. Shortly before the lay line, the Ibbotson crossed Brown and Johnson for the first time and looked set to win the final race. However Jon Brown, sailing to the Committee Boat end of the line, just managed to secure the closest of victories.
Further down the fleet, Stewart and Ross remained in sixth place to take the Championship by a single point from the Ibbotsons in second place overall and the Johnsons in third - a further point behind.
Pos Sail No Year built Helm & Crew Design Builder Sailmaker Mast Crew weight Pts
1 3465 2001 Tom Stewart & Liz Ross Feeling Foolish Winder Boats Pinnell & Bax Superspar carbon 19.5 14
2 3445 1999 Jon & Charlotte Ibbotson Final Chapter Nigel Waller Pinnell & Bax Cspar 19.5 15
3 3423 1997 Bruce & Clare Johnson Final Chapter Nigel Waller Rowsell & Morrison Angell 20.5 16
4 3450 1999 Richard Williams & Stella Brown Final Chapter Nigel Waller Rowsell & Morrison Angell 20.5 19
5 3437 1998 Chris Mayhew & Helen Hilditch Final Chapter Nigel Waller Rowsell & Morrison Angell 20 20
6 3455 2000 Robin & Ben Wood Feeling Foolish Linton Jenkins Pinnell & Bax Linton Jenkins 17 21
7 3436 1998 Steve Sallis & Jenny James Feeling Foolish MD Boats Pinnell & Bax Superspar M7 19.5 25
8 3426 1997 Jon Brown & Guy Johnson Feeling Foolish Winder Boats Pinnell & Bax Superspar carbon 19 25
9 3464 2001 Geoffrey Camm & Amelia Hall Final Chapter Nigel Waller Alverbank Superspar carbon 18.5 26
10 3429 1998 John & Katy Meadowcroft Feeling Foolish Winder Boats Pinnell & Bax Angell 21.5 29
SUBSIDIARY TROPHIES
Admirals Cup 3409, Andy Pickrell & Jonathan White, 'Baggy Trousers'
Arrows Trophy 3428, Sophie Mackley & Caroline Martin, 'Big Issue'
Joe Yorke Trophy 3450, Richard Williams & Stella Brown, 'Final Chapter'
Tubs Trophy 3429, John & Katy Meadowcroft, 'Feeling Foolish'
Clinker Trophy 3470, Dare Barry & Janet Nettleship, 'Passion Pudding'
Corrigan Cup 3450, Richard Williams & Stella Brown, 'Final Chapter'
Money Cup 3431, Frances Gifford & Jane Jones, 'Feeling Foolish'
Canter Trophy 3423, Bruce & Clare Johnson, 'Final Chapter'
Coronation Cup 3423, Bruce & Clare Johnson, 'Final Chapter'
55s Trophy 3471, Chris & Anthony Edwards, 'Final Chapter'
Gipsy Trophy Royal Harwich YC
Gill Super Crew Jimmy Whitehead
Arthur Oxborough SalverElisabeth Ross
Royal Thames YC TrophyElisabeth Ross
Cross Wins Trophy Ian Sharps & Rob Gallagher, Jon & Charlotte Ibbotson
Burton Brick Tom Edom
Decanter Trophy John Hoyle