Lark Open Meeting at Fishers Green Sailing Club

by Daniel Watson on 12 Nov 2010 The first ever Lark Open Meeting at Fishers Green Sailing Club was attended by the more senior Lark sailors making up a fleet of 12 boats. Light and patchy wind greeted the competitors which made ideal conditions for those travelling pond sailors, and for four of the recently purchased Fishers Green Larks.

Race 1 got under way with the windward mark not far from the start, making a short first beat and very close racing. Chris Whitehouse/Ellie Bremer popped out ahead of Matt/Emma White and Harry Pynn/Jamie Proffitt. Chris/Ellie extended their lead around the course to take the race win with Matt/Emma and Harry/Jamie fighting it our and finishing second and third respectively. Numerous battles continued throughout the fleet up until the finish.

Race 2 got under way minutes before club racing commenced to give the fleet a clear race track ahead of them, and a new extended course taking up every acre of the Fishers Green lake, gave superb light wind racing conditions. Harry/Jamie got to Windward mark first, closely followed by Chris/Ellie and Matt/Emma with these stayed being maintained for a lap. However at the second beat, at the far end of course, the complexion of the race changed with Harry/Jamie losing their lead to Chris/Ellie with Dan Watson/Mark Chadwick taking Matt/Emma at the windward mark and was now in close contest for second place. However during the next time boats went up this beat (lap 3) Matt/Emma regained the lead from Chris/Ellie and Harry/Jamie were ovetaken by Mat Newton-Sherlock/Ben Williams from Shustoke. These positions stayed the same until the finish.

The last race showdown between Chris Whitehouse and Matt White, who had both scored a win and a second place in the morning races, got under way after a hearty lunch in the clubhouse and with the same course configuration which maximised the use of the Lake. Chris/Ellie took the lead at the windward mark followed by Harry/Jamie and Matt/Emma. Matt/Emma overtook Harry/Jamie on the run and started to close up on Chris/Ellie. However Chris/Ellis held off Matt/Emma for the next lap and a half, but after rounding the bottom mark, to start second beat at the far end of the course, Chris/Ellie tacked off early and Matt/Emma stayed on and found more wind on the left hand side of the beat and managed to squeeze ahead of Chris/Ellie at the next mark and held onto the lead until the course was shorten on Lap 3 in the dying wind.

This close racing made for a tense finish to the open meeting that completes the Belle Isle Travellers Series for 2010. Fishers Green proved to be fantastic hosts for the event, and the Youth Championships that took place the day before, especially considering that this was their first time for hosting any Lark Event. This was emphasised more with the complimentary afternoon tea before prizegiving. So a special thanks goes to all concerned at Fishers Green especially Steve Proffitt and Mel Kennedy who have put so much into making this event happen and for growing a new Lark Fleet at Fishers Green.

Results:
1st 2471 Matt White Emma White 2.0
2nd 2411 Chris Whitehouse Ellie Bremer 3.0
3rd 2520 Harry Pynn Jamie Proffitt 6.0
4th 2412 Mat Newton-Sherlock Ben William 9.0
5th 2501 Chris Biglin Ann Biglin 9.0
6th 2268 Dan Watson Mark Chadwick 10.0
7th 2379 Will Kennedy Rhos Hawes 11.0
8th 2519 Mo Allen Luke Draper 15.0
9th 2223 Kevin Rose Lucy Evans 18.0
10th 2504 John Crooks Joe Chadwick 19.0
11th 2440 Louise Latham Jonathan Beer 21.0
12th 2443 Sophie Dingwall Max Ingall 25.0

Lark Class website http://www.larkclass.org