Scorpion Southern Circuit overall

by Barry Wolfenden on 14 May 2015 Scorpion Southern Circuit – Dogs blown off their chains, local livestock pinned against fences in the surrounding fields, white horses prancing across the lake and trees bent flat...all this welcomed the Scorpion class to the Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club.

Scorpions love these conditions!

For the race one, the lightweights cranked their rigs to maximum rake, everything was pulled on, sinews were stretched and blood vessels busted as the wind caned across the course at the start. Richard Jones and John Purdie (1947 Angel Dust, Shotwick Lake) fired off the line with a mast raked back to an unprecedented 2/4, this is windy – hurricane Mursell weather!. Ian Dooley and Jo Mahy (2015 Touching The Void, Sutton Bingham) fighting for position with Pete Mitchell and Simon Forbes (2034 Tough Screw, Staunton Harold) were both called OCS. Pete Gray and Richard Pepperdine (2022 Quackers, Staunton Harold) won out the race with Tim Parson and Andy Davis (2014 Intoxicated, Lyme Regis) and Barry Wolfenden and Alex Hayman (2024 Big Bad Wolf, Bough Beech) surviving to come third.

Race two was the same as the first; a little bit windier and a little bit worse.

This also saw the return of past Scorpion National Champion Tom Jeffcoate and Tim Pygall (2037 Pickled Wombat, Notts County/Whistable) in a new boat.

Dial-up 30 seconds to go, Parson and Davis examine their centerboard, and even Chris Yates and Dave Barker (1959 Princess Tiger Lily and The Lardy Boys, Eastbourne Sovereign) were struggling with this wind. Ryan Buchanan and Hannah Buchanan (2028 Blue Steal, Weston): After Hannah had eaten five pieces of the homemade all butter flapjack at £1.64 a piece the doctors were flying. First to the first mark, Jones and Purdie following close behind arriving on port followed by Wells and Rhodes. Downwind the battle was for a clean breeze with Jones and Purdie losing out. Sugar rush fading a nano second before going into a dodgy gybe Buchanan and Buchanan dropped it in SPLISH SPLOSH SPLASH. Second win of the weekend for Gray and Pepperdine, followed by Jack Banks and Penny Jeffcoate (2017 Not Another Wombat, West Kirby) flying into second and Buchanan and Buchanan showing some Steal to take third.

Race three – Same as the first, a lot windier and a lot worse. The condition are getting really exciting. Spray soaked sailors now really working hard to manage the conditions. Jones and Purdie discuss the possibility of using the flattener for the first time this year. The wind is howling in flukes and darts across the lake, Flying Fifteens can be seen with their keels in the air.

The Scorpions excel in these conditions!

10 seconds to the start Parsons and Davis are banging out turns and Gray and Pepperdine hear an alarming 'PING' as their lower pintle gives up the ghost before a dunking. Jeffcoate and Pygall showing fantastic pace in their new boat push the line to hard and are judged OCS. Parson and Davis bang the corner off the start which pays dividends leading to their first win of the weekend (they must be really looking forward to the 2015 Nationals hosted at their home club in Lyme Regis), followed by Wolfenden and Hayman second, and home club flyers Peter Rose and John Rose (1995 Silverode, Chew Valley Lake) showing great skill and ability in third.

Day one in the midfleet showed a titanic battle between John Clementson and Melanie Titmus (2019, Bough Beech), Jones and Purdie, Yates and Barker and Dave Elston and Sam McNamara (1981 Highway Star, LLSC). Jones and Purdie only narrowly have the better of the results.

Sunday saw lighter winds. However, the Scorpion fleet were not learning from day one and taking notice of how closely the race committee watched the start line on the gun. Banks and Jeffcoate, Buchanan and Buchanan and Clementson and Titmus all falling foul, OCS. Ollie Wells and Rachel Rhodes (2036 Dogs Tongues, Northampton) after a disappointing first day get into the action showing a great turn of upwind pace to the right-hand corner. With Wolfenden and Hayman on the scent, in hot pursuit and a clear gap to the fleet...until the mainsheet gave up, jettisoning Alex and leaving Barry clinging on to a pirouetting boat, chasing its tail. The win by a fair distance went to Wells and Rhodes, with Mitchell and Forbes second, Gray and Pepperdine third. Wolfenden and Hayman limping home in eighth, Hayman achieving his 30m swimming (boat chasing) badge.

The final race of the event started in a building breeze, with Gray and Pepperdine finishing their impressive weekend off securing their three bullets, with another win over Mitchell and Forbes second and Parsons and Davis third.

Results

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
First	2022	Peter Grey	Rich Pepperdine	SHSC	1	1	(DNF)	3	1	6
Second	2014	Tim Parsons	Andy Davis	Lyme Regis	2	-4	1	4	3	10
Third	2024	Barry Worfenden	Lexi Hay	Bough Beech SC	3	5	2	-8	6	16
Fourth	1995	Pete Rose	John Rose	CVLSC	4	-7	3	5	7	19
Fifth	2036	Olii Wells	Rachel Rhodes	Northampton SC	(DNF)	14	5	1	4	24
Sixth	2017	Jack Banks	Penny Jeffcoate	West Kirby SC	5	2	(DNF)	OCS	5	27
Seventh	1947	Richard Jones	John Purdie	Shotwick Lake	6	8	6	7	-11	27
Eighth	2034	Pete Mitchell	Simon Forbes	SHSC	(OCS)	10	DNC	2	2	29
Ninth	2019	John Clementson	Melanie Titmus	Bough Beech SC	7	6	7	(OCS)	9	29
10th	2028	Ryan Buchanan	Hannah Buchanan	Weston SC	(DNF)	3	4	OCS	8	30
11th	1959	Chris Yates	Dave Barker	Eastbourne Sovereign	9	-11	8	6	10	33
12th	1981	Dave Elston	Sam McNamara	LSSC	8	12	9	(DNC)	12	41
13th	2015	Ian Dooley	Jo Mahy	Suttton Bingham	(OCS)	13	10	9	13	45
14th	2037	Tom Jeffcoate	Tom Pygall	Notts County/ Whistable	(DNC)	9	OCS	DNC	DNC	54