Hykeham, Gill series #3

37 National 12s descended on a newly refurbished Hykeham sailing club for the "Summer Event" and 3rd Gill series event of 2008. Saturday started with beaming sunshine and a light and shifty northerly breeze making for some difficult tactical decisions and lots of opportunities to get it very wrong. The fleet got a close start in race 1 and there was much bunching up around the windward and leeward marks for the first lap. Four boats emerged from the mayhem to fight it out between themselves for the top slot. Jon Ibbotson & Charlotte Stewart  put in an early lead with Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne, Antony & Jo Gifford and also Tom Stewart & Liz Ross. After another nail biting run and  a busy leeward mark rounding Graham & Zoe just got far enough ahead to win the race.

The wind inverted several times during the starting sequence for race 2 but eventually settled in the normal direction and the fleet got another close start. Jon & Char rounded the windward mark first closely followed by Graham & Zoe. The breeze was now doing an end of day disappearing act. Graham & Zoe attempted to attack Jon & Char's lead whilst sailing through the gap between the two halves of the lake. Jon & Char responded and a light winds tacking duel ensued. Whilst this was going on Tom & Liz found a zephyr and rolled over Graham & Zoe to take second and apply pressure themselves to the leaders. Jon & Char however kept their nerve and held their lead. A junior race was held in the evening using the very last of the day's breeze, this was won by Jo Sallis crewed by dad Steve.

Evening entertainment included the jelly bean Olympics which involved a variety of exciting games featuring jelly beans and, much to the delight of all the kids taking part, they could eat the game at the end!

Sunday morning started overcast with another light breeze but fortunately no rain, making challenging conditions for the Summer pursuit race. Jonathan Reubin was first off the line in his 70 year old Cygnet N443. As the newer boats started the wind filled  in a little, Phil David took advantage and moved his China Doll quickly into clear air to take the lead closely followed by Ian & Margaret Purkis. At 40 minutes into the race Gareth in N3162 "Bicycle Clips" overtook Ian & Margaret and looked good to challenge Phil for the lead. 15 minutes prior to the end the late starters (+7 minutes) started to appear in the top slots with Fran Gifford & Sophie Mackley leading the pack. In the last 10 minutes the +8 starters appeared with Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne leading the charge, however Phil David kept his vintage 12 in the breeze and maintained a narrow lead of just 30 seconds by the finish with Graham & Zoe second in their double bottomed 12 and Gareth third in his Admiral's Cup 12 "Baggy Trousers" design.

Back to the main series and race 3 saw another keen start by the fleet. Graham & Zoe were first round the windward mark followed by Jon & Char. The course involved lots of defending on the downwind legs which kept all competitors on their toes. Tom & Liz picked up some good lifts on the beat/fetch to pull through but Graham & Zoe kept the lead.

Going into the final race it was all to play for between Tom & Liz, Jonno & Char and Graham & Zoe. This time the fleet were very keen on the start line resulting in 3 attempts at the start, the black flag and much use of the double barrelled shot gun for general recalls. Tom & Liz were first to the windward mark closely followed by John & Mandy Thornton and Jon & Char. Graham & Zoe found a zephyr on the run which carried them up to second but Tom & Liz defended their position well for the next 3 laps. On the penultimate beat Graham & Zoe sniddled past while John & Katy Meadowcroft found a nice gust on the left side of the beat and pulled through to second. The Meadowcrofts kept the pressure on Graham & Zoe, showing excellent tacking speed on the final beat and took line honours by a whisker. It looks like their new Paradigm design is starting to show its potential.

Overall results
1st Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne
2nd Tom Stewart & Liz Ross
3rd Jon Ibbotson & Char Stewart
4th Antony & Jo Gifford

Admiral's cup
1st Gareth Williams & Katie Hughes

Vintage
1st Howard Chadwick & Helen Nicholson/Kate Devlin

2nd Philip David & Rachel Conway

Pursuit race
1st Philip David & Rachel Conway N2545 (vintage)
2nd  Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne N3492 (double bottom)
3rd Gareth Williams & Katie Hughes N3162 (Admiral's cup)

Junior race

1st Jo Sallis

Jelly Bean Olympics
1st Stripy Boys
2nd= Blue Boys & Hykeham
4th Pink Girls