National 12 events 2005

Waldringfield Easter Egg

A high quality fleet turned out to compete for the N12 Easter Egg trophy at Waldringfield SC on 26-28 March to be greeted by some East Anglian murk rolling in from the North Sea and generally light winds. The murk cleared briefly for the beginning of race 1 and Caroline Martin, crewed by Andrew Douglas, in N3455 got a clean start and was never seen again. With the wind hinting at a sea breeze and building, Tom Stewart and Liz Ross in N3476 held off a challenge from Jon Ibbotson and Jo Hunt in N3445 and got clear into second, with Jon Brown and Rachel Williamson in N3483 overhauling Ibbotson and Hunt when they hit the mud. With the murk rolling back in after the finish the breeze died away and race 2 was postponed to the Sunday.

Two short races were held before lunch in a light to moderate breeze and Ibbotson and Hunt led both from start to finish, chased around each by Stewart and Ross. In the afternoon the wind and course stayed the same but the tide had changed to a strong ebb making it a completely different tactical game. With the start line close to the channel in the strongest tide, merely crossing it was challenging enough in the light breeze and this caught out many competitors. The fleet split banks to cheat the foul tide and then proceeded to explore Waldringfield’s tactical intricacies, crossing and re-crossing the channel to make the most of the difficult conditions. Stewart and Ross led narrowly at the windward mark from Martin and Douglas. On the run, Martin and Douglas overtook Stewart and Ross and again the fleet split banks at the leeward mark. Stewart and Ross’ choice proved to be a bad one and they dropped well into the pack at the finish. Ibbotson and Hunt took the race from Martin and Douglas, with Brown and Williams leading home the rest of the closely bunched fleet.

Greyness and light zephyrs prevailed on the third morning and to the fleet’s surprise the race officer sent them out to the race area. This was the right decision as the wind filled in shortly before the start. With the flood tide again making the start line a tricky area Fran Gifford and Sophie Mackley in N3431 made the early running. Waldringfield showed its tactical diversity, with a long light wind run against the tide to test the competitors. The lead changed hands many times as the fleet split banks and crossed the channel periodically to try and eke out an advantage. Stewart and Ross made it to the leeward mark first and went on to win from Antony and Jo Gifford in N3484 then Gifford & Mackley.

After lunch the wind had died off to almost nothing so with the race officer forced to abandon the final race this left Ibbotson and Hunt with the trophy on countback after tying on points with Stewart and Ross.

Results

1. Jon Ibbotson and Jo Hunt, N3445

2. Tom Stewart and Liz Ross, N3476

3. Caroline Martin and Andrew Douglas, N3455