GP14 UK National Championship Day 4

by Liz Hall on 6 Aug 2010 GP14 National Championship at Abersoch.

After Race 5 on Tuesday there were very few points separating the top boats at the Nationals. Matt Mee and Chris Robinson were in the lead, one point ahead of Mike and Liz Senior, who were in their turn one point ahead of Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe.

Wednesday was a Lay Day, so Races 6 and 7 were sailed on Thursday 5 August. Once again the weather was fine, with grey cloud in the morning and some sunshine in the afternoon, and this was the breeziest day so far with winds of 13-16 knots in the first race. The tide was still across the course, rewarding those who went the right way and punishing those who didn’t, but it was consistent all day as both races were sailed before high tide. The sea state was a little more choppy.

The dark clouds caused a short delay for the first race (Race 6) as the wind swung to the west, where it stayed for the whole of the race. Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe controlled the first beat well and were first to the windward mark. They managed to stay ahead of the pack and increase their lead for the rest of the race. Simon Potts and Luke Shaw came in second, followed by Matt Mee and Chris Robinson, with the Seniors fourth.

Race 7 got under after a half hour delay waiting for the wind to settle. The wind speed dropped to 9-10 knots. After the first beat the wind shifted to the north and the Race Officer made a quick decision to move the windward mark by 20 degrees. Later it shifted back again, so he made another quick course change, this time by moving the leeward mark.

Ian Dobson took advantage of every shift and once again got to the windward mark first – a lead which he held onto throughout the race, so that by the finish he was 3 minutes ahead of the opposition. The light and shifty winds of the final beat saw some dramatic changes of position with Hugh and Daniel Gill overtaking two boats just before the finish, to come second. Matt Mee and Chris Robinson again came third, and fourth was Carl Jeffs and Steve Parker. They had been overtaken by Simon Potts and Luke Shaw, but managed to get past them again and past Richard Instone and Jim Toothill as well.

The Silver Fleet is still dominated by Ian Sinclair and Alan Jones, with Ed Bradburn and Chris White snapping at his heels. James Goodfellow and Richard Cornes are beginning to get used to their borrowed boat and are getting more consistent results - in 11th place twice today.

Although they seemed depressed at their lack of experience of sea sailing when they came off the water, Andy Wadsworth and Helen Allen are still at the top of the Bronze Fleet, ahead of Dave Burrows and Kate Billinge. They are getting the hang of their new digital compass.

The racing is still on schedule for the final two races tomorrow. One discard has already been allowed and a further one will be allowed tomorrow, which could make a significant difference to results throughout the fleet. Race 8 will start an hour earlier at 11am and the day’s racing will hopefully finish an hour earlier, to give time for the number crunching and the inevitable protests!

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