Thorpe Bay 49er Open

by Event media on 19 Sep 2008
A fleet of fourteen 49ers gathered at Thorpe Bay YC for a fantastic weekend of sailing and evening entertainment. Saturday started with a postponement, after waiting on the beach for an hour, the fleets were released just before lunch in what was now blue skies and sunshine.

Mark Asquith and Paul Cambell-James were the winners of the annual Thorpe Bay 9er Open after some great racing. Second place went to Richard Bone and Chris Rodway and in third were Daniel and Jamie Hare.

Race one took part in about 5-6 knots and a SW breeze, at the top mark Mark Asquith and Paul Cambell-James lead the fleet round closely followed by Daniel and Jamie Hare, in third were Richard Bone and Chris Rodway, after some place changes around the course it was Mark and Paul finishing in first still closely followed by Daniel and Jamie then Richard and Chris.

Race two started and the wind went to nothing then filled in from the opposite direction, the first beat became a reach then a reach back to the bottom mark, leading from the start were Paul and Mark followed by Colin and Amanda Goodman then Richard and Chris, and at the end of the race the places had stayed the same.

With the wind now diminishing to just a whisper and the tide now flooding out the race officer decided to abandon all racing for the day.

With racing over for the day it was now time to focus on the second part of the event the evening entertainment, a big thanks must go to Steve Hopper from EITS for providing the free BBQ, bar and entertainment.

Sunday morning dawned with a lot of sore heads after the late night. An early start scheduled and the breeze already building, everybody knew that today was going to be a good day.

Race 3 started with a breeze of about 12-15 knots. Paul and Mark rounded the top mark first followed close behind by Richard and Chris, then Mathew Kimber and Hugh Bull.

Race 4 started with the wind increasing, this lead to some excellent sailing conditions with a nice chop and good breeze. Chris and Richard lead from the start with Paul and Mark coming in second and Mark and Paul Dell coming in 3rd.

Race 5 got underway with similar conditions, the front five boats rounded the top mark cleanly, with the 6th boat capsizing on the mark, and this caused a problem for the rest of the fleet coming into the mark, as they were all closely bunched together. At the finish of the final race of the day it was Paul and Mark followed by Richard and Chris and third Mark and Paul.

This was a fantastic event, with some challenging sailing conditions, and Sunday being complete champagne sailing.

A big thanks to Thorpe Bay Yacht Club for hosting an excellent event and a huge thanks to Steve Hopper and EITS for sponsoring the event and making it very memorable.

49er - Thorpe Bay Open final overall results

Pos	Sail No	Name	Helm	Crew	Race 1	Race 2	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Pts
					13-Sep	13-Sep	14-Sep	14-Sep	14-Sep
1	9	49ER	PAUL CAMBELL JAMES	MARK ASQUITH	1	1	1	-2	1	4
2	1027	49ER	RICHARD BONE	C RODWAY	-3	3	2	1	2	8
3	933	49ER	DANIEL HARE	JAMIE HARE	2	-6	5	4	4	15
4	585	49ER	COLIN GOODMAN	AMANDA GOODMAN	7	2	4	6	-15	19
5	30	49ER	MATHEW KIMBER	HUGO BULL	6	-15	3	5	5	19
6	955	49ER	MARK DELL	PAUL DELL	8	14	-15	3	3	28
7	314	49er	RON PRICE	AMY CARTWRIGHT	10	5	11	7	-15	33
8	899	49ER	GARETH DAVIES	PIPPA ARNOLD	5	8	-15	15	6	34
9	485	49ER	STEVE MURRAY	NICK MURRAY	12	9	6	-15	7	34
10	644	49ER	MAX RICHARDSON	ALEX GROVES	4	7	11	-15	15	37
11	997	49ER	DAVE HALL	GEMMA MACINTYRE	11	4	-15	15	15	45
12	454	49ER	A STELL	J ADAMS	13	10	7	-15	15	45
13	749	49ER	NICK BINENDYJK	CRAIG ASQUITH	9	14	11	-15	15	49
14	859	49ER	STEVE HOPPER	DAVID HOPPER	-15	14	15	15	15	59