Naburn Paddle 2019 Open Meeting  

Sunday 2nd June

After a very sociable evening and barbecue with members of the Club’s Enterprise fleet who’d had their Open the day before, the National 12 fleet gather at the Yorkshire Ouse SC for the annual “Naburn Paddl;e” Open. In pleasant if somewhat fickle conditions Race 1 got underway with Vince and Fiona Phillips (N2531) immediately off to a good lead. Tim and Christopher Hampshire (N3330) and Brian Herring and Ros Stevenson (N2345) got stuck in a windless patch on the start line and took over half a lap of the upriver course to get on terms with the fleet. Not only did they get on terms, Brian & Ros did a brilliant job and overtook the entire fleet to lead at a little over half distance. However last years Paddle winners John and Alison Cheetham (N3209) weren’t far behind and regained their earlier lead as they closed on the finish, relegating Brian to a well-deserved second with the Hampshires third.

After the lunch break, Race 2 got underway, with the forecast increased wind creating gusts swirling round the river and making for tricky sailing. Again, Vince and Fiona immediately set off ahead but Tim and Christopher hauled them in and went on to established a big lead, winning by a big margin. The Cheethams got second and led the rest to the finish.

Race 3 and everything to sail for. However, with several non-starting, including the Cheethams, John still recovering from a nasty wrist injury, the Hampshires only had to finish second to win the “Paddle”. Yet again master starter Vince Phillips lead away for the third time. With the wind and gusts now stronger the Hampshires were caught by a particularly vicious gust and scooped a boatful of river water, dropping them out of contention. With the vintage trophy still to be settled Philip David and new crew Sally Ashworth, who’d never been far from the leading group in the previous races, played a master stroke and pipped Vince & Fiona to the line.

The Cheethams were delighted to have won both the Jubilee Trophy for their race 1 win and the “Paddle” overall. Second were the Hampshires with Philip and Sally taking the Transom Trophy for the first vintage boat. In true YOSC tradition a stunning afternoon tea was provided for members and guests with a close-run contest for best cake being judged a tie between Fran Hyett’s chocolate and ginger delight and Tony Blaza’s chocolate sponge. Congrats to all!

“Naburn Paddle” 2019 overall result

1st     N3209 John and Alison Cheetham
2nd     N3330 Tim and Christopher Hampshire
3rd     N2545 Philip David and Sally Ashworth
4th     N2531 Vince and Fiona Phillips
5th     N2345 Brian Herring and Ros Stevenson
6th     N1483 Ian and Margaret Purkis