Flying 15 British Nationals- Goacher and Evans on track to take title

by Gerald New on 20 Jul 2011 At the 2011 Flying 15 British Nationals at Hayling Island SC after four races Steve Goacher and Phil Evans lead.

They have a two point lead from Russell Peters and Tim Hall, with Charles Apthorp and Gavin Tappenden in third place tied on points with Greg Wells and Mark Darling. Alex and Mike Tatlow continue to lead the Classic & Silver event.

In contrast to the edge of the seat sailing Monday, Tuesday struggled to provide a settled breeze, the heavy rain dampening the seabreeze which peaked below 15 knots and then slowly dropped. In the yellow flight Matt Owen and Andrew Reed from Australia came out top in a three way contest with series leaders, Steve Goacher and Phil Evans, and Charles Apthorp and Gavin Tappenden.

Owen and Reed won their first race with Nick Peters and Nick Yates in second and fellow Australians David Tucker and Matt Summers third. In the second race it was Apthorp and Tappenden who took the gun ahead of Goacher and Evans, with Owen and Reed in third. For Goacher and Evans it was a consolidation of the two victories on Monday, todays results being unspectacular but from middle starts they worked through to protect their overall event lead.

In the blue flight, the first race went to Jeremy Davy and Simon Childs with Mike Hart and Richard Rigg in second, and Greg Wells and Mark Darling third. Race two was a win for Alan Bax and Bill Masterman with David Mckee and Chris Hewkin in second and Russell Peters and Tim Hall third. This was a good result for Peters and Hall, getting their title hopes back on track after a 14th in the first race. Simlarly the win in race four keeps Apthorp and Tappenden in the frame, after discarding a 16th from the first race of the day.

Wednesday is the final day of the National Championship with two races scheduled. Five teams are covered by just four points, with Goacher and Evans having the best (low) discard. Conditions are forecast for Southwesterly at first, going westerly or northwesterly, 3 or 4, occasionally 5 and dropping later as it did today. Goacher and Evans are in the driving seat but a win in the critical first race by any of the top five could turn the event to their advantage and set up a final race showdown.

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Two final races have been scheduled for Wednesday with the fleets in final gold and blue flights, again with an earlier start time of 12:00 hrs. Weather conditions are expected to be similar to Tuesday.

Flying 15 - British Nationals, Leading results after 4 races, 1 discard (88 entries)

1st 41 Yellow GBR 3821 Steve GOACHER, Phil EVANS Royal Windermere YC 1.0 1.0 (6.0) 2.0 10.0 4.0pts
2nd 19 Blue GBR 3911 Russell PETERS, Tim HALL Hayling Island SC 1.0 2.0 (14.0) 3.0 20.0 6.0pts
3rd 3 Yellow GBR 3957 Charles APTHORP, Gavin TAPPENDEN Hayling Island SC 5.0 1.0 (16.0) 1.0 23.0 7.0pts
4th 12 Blue GBR 3920 Greg WELLS, Mark DARLING Hayling Island SC 2.0 2.0 3.0 (13.0) 20.0 7.0pts
5th 24 Blue GBR 3922 Jeremy DAVY, Simon CHILDS Hayling Island SC 3.0 (45.0 BFD) 1.0 4.0 53.0 8.0pts
6th 33 Yellow GBR 3902 Andy MCKEE, Richard JONES Dovestone SC 3.0 3.0 5.0 (9.0) 20.0 11.0pts
7th 110 Yellow AUS 3984 Matt OWEN, Andrew REED Canberra YC 8.0 (45.0 DNC) 1.0 3.0 57.0 12.0pts
8th 10 Blue AUS 3933 Grant ALDERSON, Dean MCAULLAY Royal Freshwater Bay YC 4.0 4.0 4.0 (5.0) 17.0 12.0pts
9th 1 Blue GBR 3917 Mike HART, Richard RIGG Port Dinorwic SC 5.0 (45.0 BFD) 2.0 6.0 58.0 13.0pts
10th 20 Blue GBR 3928 Mike MCINTYRE, Gemma MCINTYRE Hayling Island SC 2.0 7.0 5.0 (16.0) 30.0 14.0pts

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Flying 15 Nationals full results here