Gill Series National 12 Open Meeting
Aldeburgh Yacht Club
July 16th & 17th
The weather forecast predicted wind and rain, there was plenty of both
on Saturday as a collection of 16 National 12s arrived at Aldeburgh for
the latest round of the 2011 Gill series. The event also forms part of
the vintage series attracting a collection of clinker boats. However the
weather forecast ensured that the ribbed boats all remained at home.
Racing commenced on Saturday afternoon with only four boats taking to
the water. A testing beat downriver against the last of the flood tide
resulted in Tom Stewart and Rachel Williamson getting too close to the
east bank. The consequential broken rudder down haul resulted in a DNF
and some swift repairs in the dinghy park. Graham Camm and Zoe
Ballantyne took full advantage to record their first race win of the
weekend. The tide had turned for race two with waves building nicely
near the Martelllo Tower. Graham and Zoe continued to master the
conditions and take another well deserved win from Stevie and Jo Sallis.
The rain cleared overnight but the wind remained consistently above 20
knots. The fleet increased to 9 boats but all the vintage boats remained
tied to their trailers. PRO Simon Fulford sent the fleet down river to
pump, followed by longer leg upriver to the Brickdock. The fleet soon
split in two with the T foils leading around the course. Tom and Rachel
preferred the conditions and took the win from Graham and Zoe. At the
other end of the fleet the gusts now in excess of 30 knots lead to
swimming lessons for several crews. A long debate over lunch on whether
to hold a fourth race ended with 3 boats on the start line. The fleet
were set a course starting with a windward-leeward section followed by a
short leg upriver to Chapmans. Tom and Rachel lead the small fleet with
a detour including an extra leg to Chapmans. Discussions in the race
office concluded that Tom and Rachel followed by Stevie and Jo had
completed the course but in an unorthodox way. Unfortunately Bruce and
Becca Johnson pushed their T foil rudder too far with catastrophic
failure at the back of the boat.
Graham and Zoe won the Ganymede trophy from Tom and Rachel by a single
point. Gerry and Margaret Garner were the first finisher not to have won
a Gill Prize this year. John and Tom Chalker took the first family and
first single bottomed Prize. Thanks must go Simon and Ning Fulford for
setting courses to reflect the testing conditions which unfortunately
left a high proportion of visitors returning home without unpacking
their boats.
John Chalker
Photos courtesy of Jon Ibbotson. More photos at
http://gallery.me.com/jon.ibbotson/100095
Burton week
Organising an event