Blithfield N12 Open &
Training Day
The 7-8th June saw the next
event of the 12 class coaching programme and the Midlands Area series at
Blithfield sailing club.
Saturday provided perfect
conditions for coaching with a nice F3 and sunshine all day, allowing those
present to make big improvements in their boat handling and starting skills, a
particular challenge in the shifty conditions.
In contrast Sunday morning
dawned overcast and raining, though with a little more breeze. The first
race saw Graham Camm/Zoe Ballantyne closely pursued by locals Rob & Emma
Cannell, though Camm eventually pulled away to take the gun. In the
Admirals cup fleet Mike Raine/Jane Mart won a tight battle with Mark &
James Hoffman and Tim Laws/Dan Capehorn.
By the end of the race, the
sky to west had turned decidedly black and those who prudently dropped mains to
return to shore were able to avoid the chaos wrought by the gusts of 40kts that
swept through a few minutes later.
After a short postponement
to allow the wind to drop to a more comfortable 20kts, racing continued with
Camm/Ballantyne posting another win and Terry Cooke/Charlotte Hardy managing to
take second from Rob Cannell on the final lap, though with 3 gybes in the
course most competitors had the opportunity to inspect their centreboards at
some point...
For the final race, the
breeze started to push up towards 30kts again and whilst some took the decision
to spectate from the bar, Camm/Ballantyne again made it all look easy, depite a
synchronised nosediving display with Cooke/Hardy, the latter failing to come
out the other side in the upright position. Further down the fleet
Laws/Capehorn didn't make it to the start due to the disintegration of the jib
whilst Eugene Travers-Jones' mast didn't survive a particularly hairy gybe due
to a shroud failure.
Camm/Ballantyne took first
overall, with Cooke/Hardy taking second, meanwhile Raine/Mart put in a
good performance to take the Admirals Cup division.
1: N3469 Graham Camm &
Zoe Ballantyne
2: N3479 Terry Cooke & Charlotte Hardy
3: N3344 Rob & Emma Cannell
4: N3306 Mike Raine & Jane Mart
5: N3385 Mark & James Hoffman