Larks at Royal Harwich Yacht Club

by Daniel Watson on 22 Jun 2011 Larks took to the waters of Royal Harwich Yacht Club for the open meeting that was jointly held with its National 12 and Firefly cousins.

Conditions were breezy for both days. Saturday's gusty westerlies caused mayhem as the larks tried to weave their way through National 12s and Fireflies on Graham Ireland's legendary outer loop trapezoid courses. By Sunday the wind had veered so that it was coming straight down the river making it slightly more stable but still breezy.

Harry Pynn and his 2011 crew, Adam Owens, took four race wins out of five to win the event.

Lark new-comers Henry Mills, sailing with Emma Knott were second, counting three thirds and a win in the final race, proving that their light weight was not a problem in the conditions.

In third overall, Charlie Roome and Dave Marlow had led around the windward mark in race one and also led race three following a superbly taken gybe at the leeward mark.

Other notable performances were Chris Holliman and Kate Hutchins who pushed Pynn and Owens hard in race two and also came second in race five. Nigel Hufton and Andy Douglas squandered a good overall position by wrapping the pin end of the finish line around their rudder in the final race. Birthday boy Simon Cox and crew Ally Dart crossed the line first in race five but were later disqualified after protest against them was upheld.

As usual Royal Harwich provided the fantastic close racing that the Lark fleet is famous for. The class would like to thank Royal Harwich Yacht Club for organising the event and Jon Ibbotson, John Meadowcroft and Roger Morris for their time on the protest committee.

Results

1st	2520	Waldringfield SC	Harry Pynn	Adam Owens
2nd	2474	Waldringfield SC	Henry Mills	Emma Knott
3rd	2519	RYA	Charlie Roome	David Marlow
4th	2530	Hallamshire SC	Steve Hall	Si Haighton
5th	2470	Frensham Pond	Nigel Hufton	Andrew Douglas
6th	2444	Waldringfield SC	Matt Stearn	Drew James
7th	2475	Timsbury	Chris Holliman	Kate Hutchins
8th	2502	RYA	Steve Chatten	Helen Winward
9th	2413	Waldringfield SC	Geoff Mayhew	Jamie Mayhew
10th	2500	Waldringfield SC	Fiona Gray	Aaron Woolf
11th	2462	Attenborough SC	Nick Marlow	Karen Jewkes
12th	2472		Nigel Scott	Harri Condie
13th	2490	Attenborough SC	Robert Marlow	Ruth Marlow
14th	2370	Ulley SC	Tim Vick	Rebecca Marks
15th	2442	Waldringfield SC	Simon Cox	Ally Dart
16th	2484	Rock SWC	Helen Scott	Dougal Scott
17th	2504	Waldringfield SC	John Crooks	Laura Mitchell
18th	2379	Fishers Green	Will Kennedy	Max Ingall
19th	2098	RHYC	Graham Louth	William Louth

Lark Class website