Allen Burton Week 2023, Brixham

Day 1. The fleet were very keen to get rigged, with most of the N12s ready before 10:00, despite the fact that the briefing was scheduled for 11:30 with the first race not before 14:00. After an extensive briefing and a few changes to the SIs (noting the boats taking part in the Cowes to Torbay Powerboat Race tomorrow were due to power through the Burton Cup course), sailing kit was adorned and sails were raised. A ruthlessly efficient launch team ensured the fleet got away from the slipway and into Brixham Harbour rapidly and once past the breakwater the fleet enjoyed a reach out to the committee boat, only to then be welcomed by a downpour of rain that certainly felt like hail.

Race 1 – Course C (Trapezoid) A crowded start line, as is always the case at Burton Week, saw the majority of the fleet head right. Nick Copsey & Steve Carver (N3548) led the charge to the left, but right was certainly the way to go with more breeze on that side of the course.  Jon & Sam Brown (N3483) rounded the windward mark in first, followed by Graham & Anya Camm (N3530), Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531) and Ollie Meadowcroft and Cally Terkelson (N3543). On the first reach it was Ollie & Cally who dominated and overhauled the top 3 boats. Throughout the rest of the race it was Ollie & Cally and Jon & Sam battling it out for first, Ollie & Cally held it together to win the first race, with Jon & Sam 2nd and Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544) sailing through the fleet into 3rd.

Race 2 – Course D (Sausage, Triangle) At the first attempt there was a general re-call, and on the second attempt there was an individual re-call, yet no-one went back…Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544) led from start to finish, although were starting to be challenged by Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelson (N3543) by the 4th lap. Just behind, James & Rory Gifford (N3484) and Jon & Sam Brown (N3483) were in a battle for 3rd, with James & Rory holding it together to finish 3rd.
If you’ve read the “Runners & Riders” article published on Thursday, Jeremy & Luke Hartley (N3537) were true to form and “a bit wobbly” today. Expect them to be well practiced after today though! Further down the fleet the fluctuating breeze (more up than down) led to a few of the fleet cooling off during some of the more exciting reaches. Tom Lee & Jen Bugge (N3545) made it two capsizes in two races, and Jon Ibbotson & Tre Jacobs (N3540) made it two capsizes in one race.


Sir William Burton Cup – Day 2 of Allen Sailing Burton Week 2023

The well known and much desired Sir William Burton Cup is awarded to the winner of the Sir William Burton Cup Race. Since 2021, the race changed from a its initial form as four laps of a triangle course, with each leg a mile long, and a beat to finish. Now, the race course can be one of the four courses set out in the SIs and must be held for a minimum of two hours for the leading boat. Not only is there the prestigious trophy for the winner, but subsidiary trophy entries receive glassware or trophies too, so all to play for throughout the fleet! 2023’s edition of the Burton Cup saw Brixham Yacht Club’s PRO Sean Semmens set Course A, which is a triangle / sausage course. Following a delayed start whilst the boats from the famous Cowes to Torbay Powerboat Race left the race area, the fleet headed out into the bay, sailing in more breeze than yesterday.

In perhaps a rare occurrence for the Burton Cup, the N12 fleet got away cleanly on the first start. Jon & Sam Brown (N3483) had superior boatspeed off the line and headed left. Unlike yesterday, going “full left” wasn’t guaranteed to be a beneficial move. First round the windward mark were Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543) followed by Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544). Ollie & Cally kept the lead until Lap 2 where Tom & Isobel managed to overhaul them. The wind began to decrease as the race continued, but prior to this a few of the sailors still felt the need to call off. Robbie Stewart (N3501) dived over the side during a tack, leaving crew & mum Charlotte to helm and recover her son. Luke Hartley (crewing for dad Jeremy in N3537) almost did the same. Kevin Iles & Katy Meadowcroft (N3527) unfortunately continued their theme of having a top 10 position and then going for a swim, there has to be a better way for Kevin to keep his cool…..

Throughout the fleet there was a significant amount of place changing and the fleet stayed fairly close together, with everyone able to find opportunities to overtake. A good example of this was shown by Geoff Camm & Steve Carver (N3515) who attempted to sneak inside George Finch & Toby Hunt (N3551) at the leeward mark, only for a wave to come crashing into Geoff & Steve forcing them to bear away and nearly head off on a dead run. Rumour is that superstar Steve saved the capsize!

It was during the 4th beat and final run when Ollie & Cally came back close and put serious pressure on Tom & Isobel, but were unsuccessful, so it was to be Tom & Isobel Stewart who’d take home the Burton Cup for 2023. 3rd place were the evergreen Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531), followed by Antony & Jo Gifford (N3529) in 4th. Unfortunately for James & Rory Gifford (N3484) they didn’t beat their parents today and lost a few places on the final run as a small breakage meant they were unable to adjust their rudder angle.

Jon & Sam Brown (N3483) pulled through the fleet after their “hard left” 1st beat which didn’t pay off (plus their mast ram control un-cleated itself) to finish in 6th, just behind Graham & Anya Camm (N3530) who sailed some spectacularly fast reaches to recover to finish 5th from a mid-teens 1st windward mark rounding. They were thankful for the wind beginning to drop off for the 2nd half of the race, as were Ian & Alex Gore (N3513) who are continuing to sail their borrowed Feeling Foolish (without T-Foil rudder) incredibly quickly this week.


Allen Sailing Burton Week 2023 – Day 3

The penultimate day of Allen Sailing Burton Week for 2023 saw the fleet launch into lighter airs than yesterday and wall to wall sunshine. It was Bank Holiday Brixham at its best!

Race 4 – Course C (Trapezoid) Wind 10-15 kts. The first start saw a general recall as the fleet were very eager. Better behaviour on the second start saw a clean getaway for the whole fleet. Left had generally paid over the last few days, would this be the case today? In the lighter air and short chop the right tended to pay and first to the windward mark was Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531), followed by Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544) and the rest of the family followed with Robbie & Char Stewart (N3501) rounding 3rd . The real place changes happened on the 2nd beat where if you went right, it was quick and if you didn’t it was slow. On the penultimate reach John Meadowcroft & Lyla Jacobs (N3473) had a dramatic wobble, which they saved, only for their rudder to then snap and then inevitably capsize and unfortunately that ended their fun for the day. Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543) enjoyed a brief moment in the lead during this race but were overhauled upwind by Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544) who dominated the majority of the race to win. Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531) took the 3rd position on the podium. Ian & Alex Gore (N3513) finished a very credible 8th in their borrowed Feeling Foolish without a T-Foil rudder.

Race 5 – Course D (Sausage/Triangle) Wind 12-20kts. The breeze was up at the start of today’s 2nd race and getting clean air in the chop was important. The middle tended to pay off, with Tom & Isobel Stewart (N3544) rounding first, followed closely by Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543). Behind, the next 10 boats were incredibly close and George Finch & Toby Hunt (N3551) enjoyed their moment at the front, rounding in 5th. With the 1st downwind leg keeping the fleet together, choosing when to gybe became very important, as did having mark room. For the 2nd beat, the ‘main pack’ of 12s went right, which paid off and the top 9 boats separated from the remainder of the fleet, although the top two were very much ahead of the rest.

Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531) started their campaign to sail back to the front of the fleet, firstly overhauling Jeremy & Luke Hartley (N3537) on the 1st reach and then gybing inside George Finch & Toby Hunt (N3551) at that mark. They took no prisoners during the rest of the race, sailing into 3rd place by the end of the 4th lap. The wind began to drop for the 2nd half of the race. This kept the fleet together and places were constantly changing (as long as you weren’t 1st or 2nd, that is). Mark & Jonathan Addison (N3449) decided during the 2nd reach to provide some entertainment with a spectacular capsize.

As the race began to conclude during the 4th lap, James & Rory Gifford (N3484) were going right and playing shifts well to sneak into 9th, only to be overhauled by Graham & Anya Camm (N3530) on the final leg. The excitement didn’t stop there, as the Brixham to Torquay Tourist Rib then shot across Graham & Anya’s bow just before the finish! It really was competitive to the very end with places 3rd to 16th ultimately decided on the final lap on the race and Everyone came ashore smiling and commenting how enjoyable and competitive the racing was!

In a league of their own, Tom & Isobel Stewart took their 2nd race win of the day, with Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543) taking their 2nd second place, and the evergreen Steve & Jo Sallis taking their 2nd third place of the day!
The younger side of the fleet then headed off to play adventure golf, whilst the National Twelve Owners’ Association AGM started at 17.30.
 


Allen Sailing N12 Burton Week – Day 4 & Overall

For day 4, the final day of Allen Sailing N12 Buton Week 2023 at Brixham Yacht Club, the forecast had promised different conditions to the previous three with lighter breezes from the (even more) shifty South Westerly quarter. This had potential to really mix up the results!

Race 6. The race team set Course C (a trapezoid) and just before the start the fleet were greeted to a lovely downpour of rain and increased breeze. It began to stop raining and the start sequence began. After a general recall the fleet got away (under U-flag for the 2nd start) in enough breeze for hiking up wind. At the pointy end of the fleet to keep their championship hopes alive Ollie Meadowcroft and Cally Terkelsen (N3543) needed to take points off Tom and Isobel Stewart (N3544) and put some boats between them.

Antony and Jo Gifford (N3529) went hard left and held their nerve to reach the convergence wind band which saw them blasting to first place at mark one followed by Graham and Anya Camm (N3530). For most teams the reach was marginal planing, but for the Camms it was a flat-out screamer and they blasted off into a serious lead which was never threatened.  Tom and Isobel Stewart (N3544) rounded in a solid third. There was a good gap to the boats who had put a bit too much right on the beat with Ollie and Cally (N3543) in the middle of a five-way battle for fourth spot. On the third lap Tom and Isobel found a right shift on the beat and gained a place and Olly and Cally finally made the best of their off-wind speed and broke clear into fourth, but with Tom and Isobel finishing second the championship was sewn up with a race to spare. Further down the fleet there was constant place changing, with finishing positions being decided just yards from the finish line.

Race 7. Despite it being the last race of the week, the fleet were keen to stay out on the bay and forced the race team into a couple of general recalls before Race 7 got underway. The fleet decided to behave when the black flag arrived. The course was Course D, (Sausage / Triangle). The pin end was the popular place to start but as the fleet approached the windward ,ark it was John Meadowcroft and Lyla Jacobs who, sporting a borrowed T foil on the back of the beautiful Max Factor (N3473) looked like they were bucking the trend and making the right pay, but the left hand pressure came in just in time and it was his son Ollie with Cally Terkelsen sailing John Meadowcroft’s best boat (N3543) who found the left hand shift to lead and race off to victory, leaving them wondering what could have been had they found that form the day before!

The next boats arrived in a bunch and at the end of the run fleet newcomers Mark and Jonathan Addison (N3449) were up to second, but the increasing wind speed made hanging on upwind hard work. For those boats between 5th and 19th, the racing had never been more competitive, especially on the 1st downwind. Some went high, some went low and some went down the middle. On the whole, down the middle paid off with Zoe Meadowcroft & Zoe Ballantyne (N3471) cutting through the fleet, like a knife through butter (whilst carrying out a running repair which saw them both facing backwards for longer than most N12 helms would like on a run!). George Finch & Toby Hunt (N3551) also played the middle and took a few places. During the 2nd beat the whole N12 fleet compressed, with multiple “how did they get there?” moments! The 1st reach was quite low with occasional gusts that only increased the competitiveness of the “mid-fleet”, with 10th to 19th converging on the gybe mark at the same time. With some noise but no collisions, the mid-fleet group then sped off on a fantastic reach, it was set at the perfect angle for the N12. After 3 laps, it was Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543) to take their 2nd win of the event. Tom and Isobel Stewart (N3544) eventually found their form and forced their way up to second with Jon Ibbotson and Tre Jacobs (N3540) finishing their week on a high by making the left pay to finish third.

Photos from Kevan Bloor

Overall Subsidiary Prizes:

First U21 Helm – Ollie Meadowcroft & Cally Terkelsen (N3543)

First Canter Helm (Over 21, Under 40) – Rupert & Mary Henderson-White (N3431)

First Grandmaster – Steve & Jo Sallis (N3531)

Tubs Trophy (Heavyweights) – James & Rory Gifford (N3484)

First New Helm at Burton Week – Rupert Henderson-White (N3431)

First New Crew at Burton Week – Cally Terkelsen (N3543)

Joe Yorke Trophy (Attended previous 2 Burton Weeks and not won a trophy) – Pete Miatt & Victoria Hurst (N3528)


Overall results

Rank	Boat	SailNo	HelmName	CrewName	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Total	Nett
1st	Whitebait	3544	Tom Stewart	Isobel Stewart	Royal Harwich YC	(3.0)	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	11.0	8.0
2nd	D.B. Cooper	3543	Ollie Meadowcroft	Cally Terkelsen	Upper Thames / Essex Uni	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	(4.0)	1.0	14.0	10.0
3rd	Catbert	3531	Steve Sallis	Jo Sallis	Hykeham SC	4.0	6.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	(8.0)	32.0	24.0
4th	Very Hungry Catepillar	3530	Graham Camm	Anya Camm	Burghfield SC	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.0	(9.0)	1.0	6.0	35.0	26.0
5th	Cat In The Hat	3529	Antony Gifford	Jo Gifford	Royal Tay YC	6.0	(7.0)	4.0	5.0	6.0	3.0	5.0	36.0	29.0
6th	Tonto	3483	Jon Brown	Sam Brown	Burghfield SC	2.0	4.0	6.0	(9.0)	5.0	9.0	4.0	39.0	30.0
7th	Dream Not Found	3484	James Gifford	Rory Gifford	Royal Tay YC	7.0	3.0	8.0	6.0	10.0	11.0	(14.0)	59.0	45.0
8th	Atomic Kitten	3540	Jon Ibbotson	Tre Jacobs	Burghfield SC	10.0	(18.0)	7.0	11.0	4.0	14.0	3.0	67.0	49.0
9th	Lola	3537	Jeremy Hartley	Luke Hartley	Stokes Bay SC	8.0	8.0	9.0	(12.0)	7.0	6.0	12.0	62.0	50.0
10th	Silver Lining	3513	Ian Gore	Alex Gore	Up River YC	11.0	10.0	12.0	8.0	14.0	15.0	(17.0)	87.0	70.0
11th	Zippy	3431	Rupert Henderson - White	Mary Henderson - White	Brightlingsea SC	12.0	13.0	14.0	(19.0)	12.0	8.0	15.0	93.0	74.0
12th	Snagglepuss	3527	Kevin Iles	Katy Meadowcroft	West Oxfordshire SC	14.0	14.0	17.0	7.0	(19.0)	18.0	7.0	96.0	77.0
13th	Lars Porsena Of C....	3471	Zoe Meadowcroft	Zoe Ballantyne	Upper Thames SC	16.0	12.0	(18.0)	15.0	16.0	12.0	13.0	102.0	84.0
14th	Max Factor	3473	John Meadowcroft	Lyla Jacobs	Upper Thames SC	19.0	11.0	10.0	(25.0 DNF)	25.0 DNC	10.0	10.0	110.0	85.0
15th	Glass and a Half Full	3538	Matt Currell	Andrew Currell	Parkstone YC	9.0	9.0	(25.0 DNF)	10.0	8.0	25.0 DNC	25.0 DNC	111.0	86.0
16th	Fatal Abstraction	3449	Mark Addison	Jonathan Addison	Upper Thames SC	15.0	17.0	15.0	17.0	(18.0)	13.0	9.0	104.0	86.0
17th	Over The Rainbow	3551	George Finch	Toby Hunt	Royal Harwich YC	20.0	(25.0 OCS)	11.0	18.0	11.0	17.0	16.0	118.0	93.0
18th	Happy Hour	3515	Geoff Camm	Henry Camm	Warsash SC	17.0	(25.0 OCS)	13.0	13.0	15.0	19.0	19.0	121.0	96.0
19th	Silverfin	3501	Robbie Stewart	Charlotte Stewart	Royal Harwich YC	18.0	15.0	16.0	16.0	13.0	(20.0)	18.0	116.0	96.0
20th	A Wood and a Sheep	3545	Tom Lee	Jen Bugge	Burghfield SC	(21.0)	16.0	19.0	14.0	17.0	16.0	20.0	123.0	102.0
21st	All Tied Uo	3548	Nick Copsey	Steve Carver	Ely SC	13.0	(25.0 DNC)	25.0 DNC	25.0 DNC	25.0 DNC	7.0	11.0	131.0	106.0
22nd	Fenchurch	3546	Roland Whitehead	Katie Whitehead	Shoreham SC	(23.0)	19.0	20.0	22.0	20.0	21.0	21.0	146.0	123.0
23rd	Annie Apple	3461	Paul Watson	Caroline Watson	Hykeham SC	(25.0 DNF)	25.0 DNC	25.0 DNC	20.0	22.0	22.0	22.0	161.0	136.0
24th	Blue Kangaroo	3528	Pete Miatt	Victoria Hurst	Carsington SC	22.0	(25.0 DNF)	25.0 DNS	21.0	21.0	23.0	25.0 DNC	162.0	137.0