National 12 Open Meeting at Hykeham

by Event media on 20 Jun 2009 The National 12s enjoyed a sunny and shifty day's sailing at Hykeham. Andy Prior and Paul Turner were hot off the blocks in race 1 sailing into a lead to the left of the course.

Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne found enough wind in the middle to snatch the lead at the first mark which they kept to the finish. Steve & Joanne Sallis found a hole on the right from which they fought all race to recover eventually taking second.

The race officer used the whole length of the lake for race two which involved tackling the tricky light wind channel that separates the two halves of the lake. The start was close, initially there was more wind on the left taking Gerald and Tanya Copsey into the lead.

As the fleet approached the channel, Andy Bayliss & Vicky Woods found more pressure on the right to pull forwards but Graham & Zoe caught enough of the new wind to take the lead. Andy & Vicky kept second and the Sallises and Copseys battled for third with the Copseys finally clinching it.

The wind challenged the fleet on the final race with a massive starboard lift on the line combined with the wind filling from the pin end. The Sallises came out best, Paul & Caroline Watson duelling with them for the top spot. The Watsons snatched the lead at the windward mark only to give it away when the wind shifted 60 degrees on the run/reach. The Sallises sailed through to take second.

National 12 - Final Overall results

1st Babel Fish 3492 Graham Camm Zoe Ballantine Burghfield
2nd Dilbert 3436 Steve Sallis Joanne Sallis Hykeham SC
3rd Cooked to Perfection 3481 Andy Bayliss Vicky Woods Hykeham SC
4th Esmerelda 3411 Gerald Copsey Antony / Tanya Copsey St Edmundsbury SC
5th Pillow Fight 3468 John Cheetham Alison Cheetham Yeadon SC
6th Crouching Tiger 3465 Andy Prior Tom Ball Welland SC
7th Indecision 3271 Brian Cobb Ros Nickols Hykeham SC
8th White Heat 3458 Martin Clarke Matthew Clarke Hykeham SC
9th Perfect Kiss 3157 Paul Turner Christine Marshall Trent Valley SC
10th Ardvark Issues 3472 Mark Simpson Emma / Junior Simpson Scaling Dam
11th Zarniwoop 3107 Ian Norman Nicole / Louis Norman Trent Valley SC
12th Thanks for all the Fish 3469 John Nixon Sue Howe Carsington
13th Ella 3344 Eric Haselden Julie Antony North Staffs SC