Mirror SW Traveller Series Round 4 at Penzance SC

by Steve Wilkinson on 12 Jul 2011 The Mirror Open 2011 took place at Penzance sailing Club with eight crews coming to the line for round four of the 2011 Travellers series. Conditions were ideal, with a 10 knot breeze and just a little wave slop to keep people occupied.

It was good to see a number of the newer Cornish crews sailing together either for the first time, or as a new combination with limited time on the water. In particular Esther and Lauren Bowdler sailing together for the first time, as Esther’s regular crew was not available for this event, and Emma Cosier and Scarlett Shepherd who have just started sailing together (and were allowed to use brother Tom’s racing Mirror Va Va Voom to good effect in his absence on school camp).

Other crews that continue to develop their sailing partnerships Rebecca Stevens and Lisa Prichard, Rob and Jess Bodé and Mark and Stan Prichard were all on form today with the conditions allowing some tight racing in the middle of the fleet, which continues to build their skill and confidence in preparation for the forthcoming UK Mirror Nationals at Restronguet SC in August.

All three races were won by visiting Poole YC boat ‘Gone With The Wind III’ helmed by Kim May Papailiou and crewed by Amy Sparks, who are to be commended for their commitment in attending the GUL SW Travellers Series this year, and for remaining completely approachable to the younger members of the SW Mirror fleet. They, together with the other visiting Poole YC Mirrors sailed by the Watkins girls, have helped make this a thoroughly enjoyable Traveller series for all concerned.

James Wilkinson and Esmé Shepherd continue to have problems staying upright in light winds, this time managing to roll in to windward on the run while leading the second race. They managed to recover their composure to finish second overall to Kim and Amy, but must be hoping there will be no light wind during the Nationals in August.

Third place overall was filled by Rebecca Stephens and Lisa Prichard, a recent pairing that are showing a good understanding of each other in the boat, and getting faster and faster into the bargain. Twelve year old Rebecca started sailing as crew for her father Jeremy, a well known local Enterprise and Mirror sailor, and 10 year old Lisa’s brother Josh was a member of the 2005 and 2006 SW Mirror Zone Squads, and competed at National and European level in the Mirror Class.

Penzance SC offered their normal excellent hospitality to all visitors. The photographs on the Club walls show a rich history of the Clubs involvement in Mirror sailing over the past 30+ years, with a number of past Junior Champions coming from the Club.

The organisers and participants in the GUL SW Mirror Travellers Series remain grateful to GUL Clothing for their sponsorship of the series, and not only for providing prizes for first to third, but also a Merit Prize for each event to encourage the less experienced crews. Full results can be found here.

The final round of this year's GUL SW Mirror Travellers Series will take place at Poole YC over the weekend of 17 / 18th September and will be a two day event. This event will also be used by the RYA as one of the evaluation events for those considering applying for the 2012 Mirror National Junior Squad.

UK Mirror Class website