Flying 15 British Nationals at Hayling Island SC

by Gerald New on 19 Jul 2011 The Flying 15 class finally started their National Championships on Monday at Hayling Island SC, still in conditions that took them to the edge and for some over the edge.

This was familiar territory for multi title winners, Steve Goacher and Phil Evans from the Royal Windermere YC. They dialled up their heavy weather settings and hit the pin end to lead at the windward mark in both of their flight races.

Steve commented that the critical decision was when to fly the kite . . . halfway down the reach in the first race and the problem was spotting the leeward mark in the big seas and mist. Greg Wells and Mark Darling, from HISC, were another pin end starter, chasing Goacher and Evans in second place in both races.

The pin end was the winning factor for the leading contenders in both flights. Russell Peters and Tim Hall of HISC led the yellow flight at the first mark to the finish line, with Mike and Gemma McIntyre, HISC, taking second. In race 2 Peters and Hall just lead at the windward mark but dropped to fifth before recovering to finish second behind Charles Apthorp and Gavin Tappenden of HISC.

Apthorp and Tappenden went left off the line to gain the tide advantage, but the trick was to balance that with the more difficult seas and when to tack back. Mike and Gemma McIntyre were again in contention before a spinnaker wrap dropped them to seventh.

Of the overseas boats, World Champion, Grant Alderton and Dean Mcaullay from Australia were strong contenders, two fourth place finishes putting them sixth overall. Another Aussie pair, Ron Packer and Peter Mudford finished third in the second race to be 11th overall. Armaud Biet and Fabien Constant of France had an eighth in the second race to be 20th overall and the Kiwi boat of Murrey Gilbert and jon Burgessis in 21st after a fifth place finish in race two.

A significant factor in the day's results was the retirement rate in the rough sea conditions and the number of black flag transgressions. Thirteen boats went out in the second races of the flights BFD. Among the front runners caught-out were Jeremy Davy and Simon Childs, third in the first race, Simon Potts and Tim Harper (4th), Mike Hart and Richard Rigg (5th) and David Mckee and Chris Hewkin (5th).

With a Westerly wind strength of 20 to 25 knots throughout the racing the Flying 15 was in its element, slicing to windward and planning down the waves in the off wind legs. Broaching was all part of the game in these conditions, as the crews drove the 60 year old design to levels that even Uffa would have been proud of.

Three races have been scheduled for Tuesday, again with an earlier start time of 12:00 hrs. Weather conditions are expected to ease to force 4 to 5.

Flying 15 British Nationals.
Top ten after after 2 races (88 entries)

1st 41 Blue GBR 3821 GOACHER Steve / EVANS Phil Royal Windermere YC 1.0 1.0 2.0pts
2nd 19 Yellow GBR 3911 PETERS Russell / HALL Tim Hayling Island SC 1.0 2.0 3.0 pts
3rd 12 Blue GBR 3920 WELLS Greg / DARLING Mark Hayling Island SC 2.0 2.0 4.0 pts
4th 3 Yellow GBR 3957 APTHORP Charles / TAPPENDEN Gavin Hayling Island SC 5.0 1.0 6.0pts
5th 33 Yellow GBR 3902 MCKEE Andy JONES / Richard Dovestone SC 3.0 3.0 6.0 pts
6th 10 Yellow AUS 3933 ALDERSON Grant / MCAULLAY Dean Royal Freshwater Bay YC 4.0 4.0 8.0 pts
7th 20 Yellow GBR 3928 MCINTYRE Mike / MCINTYRE Gemma Hayling Island SC 2.0 7.0 9.0 pts
8th 115 Blue AUS 3781 TUCKER David / SUMMERS Matthew Royal Freshwater Bay YC 10.0 4.0 14.0 pts
9th 66 Yellow GBR 3942 CADWALLADER Ian / SWEET Dave Chew Valley Lake SC 9.0 5.0 14.0 pts
10th 18 Yellow GBR 3941 BAX Alan / MASTERMAN Bill Hayling Island SC 8.0 6.0 14.0 pts

Full results at Hayling Island Sailing Club http://www.hisc.co.uk [Sorry, this link had a problem]!