National 12 events 2005

Olton Mere

Saturday 15th October dawned dull and lifeless but the sun gradually broke through bringing a light and shifty easterly breeze to Olton Mere.  With only four local boats attending, the OD opted to change the race format to 5 short races.  This proved an excellent decision and provided for close and exciting racing throughout the day.  The first two races were sailed back to back and both were won by Martin Tout / Chris Finneran following many place changes as the crews picked the shifts with varying success.  Races three and four found the family team of Ian and Alex Hurst making the most of the gusts and maintaining their momentum.  Going into the final race all was even between Tout and Hurst, but this time there was no doubt that Tout had mastered the shifts and escaped for a well deserved win to take the event overall.  Steve Jellicoe, crewed by young Lawrie Jellicoe, had struggled in the morning, but with a more experienced crew for the afternoon put in a much improved performance.  Alas this was not enough to overcome the teenage pairing of Tom White and Matt Angell.

Results:

1st M Tout / C Finneran N2930.   

2nd I Hurst / A Hurst N3138.   

3rd T White / M Angell N2765