Newcomers stir up established order at Flying 15 Southerns

by Mike Kilbee on 27 May 2009
The Flying Fifteen Southern Championship was hosted by Parkstone Yacht Club over the bank holiday weekend, 23 and 24 May. Racing throughout the championship was close and only one point separated the overall winners, Sam Nettam and Martin Gray of Hayling Island SC, from runners up, David and Sally McKee of Dovestone SC.

The event attracted 39 entries from all parts of the country. The entry list included thirteen Parkstone boats as well as many regular travellers but it was particularly encouraging to see a number of new faces who proved to be very competitive in what is a very strong class.

The forecast for Saturday and Sunday was for winds of five knots or less. It was clear on Saturday that the forecast had been accurate. The day started fairly overcast with a very light easterly wind. PRO Bryan Drake set up the course in Poole Bay but, with the wind remaining light and fickle, it was some time before he could attempt the first start.

Two starts had to be abandoned as the wind was not sufficient for the boats to get away cleanly against a west going tide. After a long postponement, a weak sea breeze came in from the south to get the fleet away for what was to prove the only race which was possible that day. There were significant shifts up the beat and it was relative newcomers to the Class, Andy Clark and Nadia Melnikova, from Datchet SC, who played these correctly up the middle of the course who were first round the windward mark.

They were closely followed by other newcomers to the Class, locals Pete and Jo Allam, who had chosen the right hand side of the beat. They gybed on to port early on the next leg of the windward – leeward course and this proved decisive. They took the lead and held on to it take the race, followed by David and Sally McKee, with Peter Slater and Adrian Simpson crossing the line third.

Sunday dawned with clear skies and bright sunshine. A light sea breeze arrived from south west just before midday and quickly stabilised. The decision was made to race in Poole Harbour as this offered a huge expanse of flat water but with less tide than in Poole Bay.

The second race of the series was quickly under way in just over five knots of wind. The shifts up the beats of the windward – leeward course were all important and the Allams were in the lead at the first mark, followed by another local boat, Martin Lewis and Mike Riley who went on to take the lead by the second round and win the race. Charles Apthorp and Alan Green, who had been in close contention all the way round, crossed the line second.

The breeze had built a little more for the next race. By this time, the left hand side of the beat had begun to pay. Another newcomer to the Class and Parkstone boat, Jon Gorringe and Roger O’Gorman, led at the end of the first beat, followed by fellow newcomer Sam Nettam and Martin Gray of HISC. Nettam and Gray took the lead by the next round and held it to cross the line first, followed by Gorringe and O’Gorman and then Henry Craven-Smith and James Grant in third place.

Race 4 was started in a good twelve knots plus breeze and in bright sunshine still. The left hand side of the beat was now the only way to go and the fleet powered off with some real hiking out. Mike Hart and Ricky Riggs took the lead, not to relinquish it.

This race saw a little more of the old order re-established with long-time Class members at the front of the fleet. Newcomer Nettam, however, was amongst them to come second with Alan Bax and Bill Masterman third.

The racing throughout had been close and only one point separated the overall winners, Nettam and Grady, from the runners up, David and Sally McKee.

Clark and Melnikova were first overall in the Silver Fleet. Guy Kippen and Emily McKee, Hayling Island SC took the Classic Fleet trophy and Gorringe and O’Gorman took the trophy for the first Parkstone boat.

Flying Fifteen - 2009 Southern Championship

1st 3734 Crazy Bobs Sam Mettam Martin Grady Hayling Island SC/RSNA -16 8 1 2 11pts
2nd 3905 Secret Ingredient David McKee Sally McKee Dovestone SC 2 4 -6 6 12
3rd 3917 Art Gekko Mike Hart Richard Rigg Port Dinorwic/Royal Windermere 10 -11 5 1 16
4th 3941 Alan Bax Bill Masterman Hayling Island SC 7 7 -9 3 17
5th 3783 Friendly Fire Jon Gorringe Roger O'Gorman Parkstone YC 6 10 2 -16 18
6th 3922 Jeremy Davy Tim Harper Hayling Island & Datchet Water SC -20 3 4 12 19
7th 3916 Silhouette Martin Lewis Mike Riley/Colin Rainback Parkstone YC (DNF) 1 11 10 22
8th 3699 Ana Karenina Peter Allam Jo Allam Parkstone YC 1 6 16 -21 23
9th 3923 Fourwinds Charles Apthorp Alan Green HISC/National Yacht Club -22 2 13 8 23
10th 3716 Sparks Justin Waples Iain Stowe Royal Corinthian YC 13 -14 7 7 27
11th 3625 Tempus Ffugit Chris Gorringe Nadia Hosie Parkstone YC 8 12 12 -14 32
12th 3736 Wavebreaker Peter Bannister Sue Bannister Hayling Island SC 18 -23 8 9 35
13th 3787 Five David Brockbank Janet Lefton Royal Windermere YC 5 -32 19 13 37
14th 3758 Ffloater Iain Lamey Ron Elliott Parkstone YC 14 5 -20 19 38
15th 3725 Tom Hall Grayson Eacott Datchet Water SC 15 13 17 -18 45
16th 3711 Fifteen Love Phil Owen Keith Smith Parkstone YC 9 22 15 -29 46
17th 3890 If Only Geoff Bayliss Tim Rumfit Hayling Island SC -25 25 18 5 48
18th 3899 Sprit of Hallin Mike Thompson Simon Millington Chew Valley Lake SC 19 20 10 -30 49
19th 3926 Fifty Fifty Andrew Millband Andrea Millband Cowes Corinthian YC 17 15 -36 17 49
20th 3490 Accelerando Patrick Keats David Culpan Parkstone YC 23 17 -29 11 51
21st 3795 Windconqueror Simon Patterson Simon Thompson Draycote Water SC (BFD) 9 23 23 55
22nd 3932 Telemachus Chris Swallow Matt Pallett Burton SC 26 -29 27 4 57
23rd 3539 Hakuna Matata John Hanson Duncan Barr Datchet Water SC 11 -26 22 25 58
24th 3904 Chuck Henry Craven-Smith James Grant Hayling Island SC (BFD) 16 3 DNF 59
25th 3378 Ffrantic Andy Clark Nadia Melnikova Datchet Water SC 4 28 28 -33 60
26th 2876 Gripple Nipper Graham Latham Sara Briscoe Royal Motor/Parkstone YC 12 35 14 -36 61
27th 759 Flame Guy Kippen Emily McKee Dovestone SC -29 19 21 26 66
28th 3536 Tanzanite Steve Hine Roger Houston Hayling Island SC 21 24 25 -27 70
29th 3914 Defying Gravity Adrian Tattersall Paul Freeman Parkstone YC 32 -33 24 15 71
30th 3707 Nelly the Eleffant Ian Ramus Penny Ramus Parkstone YC 28 18 -30 28 74
31st 3901 Freewheelin' Mike Kilbee Tony Cox Parkstone YC 24 -30 26 24 74
32nd 3935 Blank Ffrank Peter Slater Adrian Simpson Hayling Island SC 3 (DNC) DNC DNC 83
33rd 3414 Glint of Steel Crispin Farrant Helen Hamilton Bewl Valley SC 31 -34 32 20 83
34th 3521 Getafix Keiri Jamieson Jim Fallowfield Royal Windermere YC 30 27 31 -32 88
35th 3345 Fantasy David Pipe Robert Jarratt/Jenny Pipe Parkstone YC 27 31 -35 31 89
36th 3778 Typhoon Larry Geoffrey Povey Claudette Povey Bewl Valley SC (BFD) 21 34 35 90
37th 3210 Ffloozie Adam Cowley Kirsty Ross Cowes Corinthian/Royal Corinthian YC 33 36 -37 22 91
38th 3513 Dusty Ffour Tony Bedingfield Gavin Tappenden Parkstone YC 34 -37 33 34 101
39th 3938 Tuilip Shaun Clatworthy Jo Edwards Hayling Island SC (DNF) DNC DNC DNC 120