National 12 GUL Series at Burghfield SC

by Gerald Copsey on 26 Oct 2013 The penultimate leg of the National 12 Gul series took place at Burghfield Sailing Club where the weather conditions were certainly better than the weather which caused the postponement from early in the year.

So no snow to contend with, but instead a very pleasant sail (if you avoided the rain showers). Strong winds were predicted but only materialized in the odd gust.

It should be noted that three of the boats were being sailed with a parent/child combination to show what a great family boat the twelve is as well as having one of the most competitive. Fleets Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne dominated the first race with the following pack led by Tom Stewart and Andrea Ralph, with Jon Ibbotson and Charlotte Stewart in third.

Races two and three were held back to back and race 2 again saw Graham and Zoe lead at the first mark.

This time though they were pushed very hard by Tom and Andrea who took the lead and led most of the race until Graham and Zoe found a way past on the last reach. Behind them it was John Meadowcroft sailing with son Oliver who held third for a while until a vicious gust sent them swimming. Oliver did a great job in preventing a further capsize while John was trying to get back in but their race was over.

Nick ( I need a new crew each week) Copsey sailing with Lewis Bowen led Jon and Charlotte for a while until they got taken out by one of the club racers and could not catch up again.

Behind them there was a lot of place changing going on between John Thornton with daughter Rebecca, Nigel and Chris White, now with a more stable Chapter, and Chris and Katherine Martin sailing the Whites less stable Numinous design.

Having won the meeting Graham and Zoe decided they needed to rescue their children as soon as possible so headed for shore.

Race three saw Jon and Charlotte get a great lift off the start line and held a big lead at the first mark. Tom and Andrea looked to be catching and got very close but then Jon and Charlotte sailed away with Tom beginning to wonder if it was a mistake to bring Nick his crew as they were getting quicker as the day went on and. The final beat to the finish line saw Tom and Andrea holding on by half a boat length from Nick and Lewis.

The Admirals cup fleet was won by Tom Lee and Clare Hunter from Neal and Freya Lillywhite.

1st Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne
2nd Tom Stewart and Andrea Ralph
3rd Jon Ibbotson and Charlotte Stewart
4th Nick Copsey and Lewis Bowen
5th John and Oliver Meadowcroft
6th Chris and Katherine Martin
7th John and Rebecca Thornton
8th Nigel and Chris White
9th Tom lee and Clare Hunter
10th Ed and Tom Storey
11th Neal and Freya Lillywhite