Finn, Contender and Catapult Open at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
by Dave Baxter 22 Aug 2013 00:38 PDT
17-18 August 2013
Contender Northern Championships at Yorkshire Dales © Daxe Baxter
Another manic weekend was on the books at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club as the usual weekend sailors and windsurfers were joined by three extra fleets.
The Finns travelled from Notts County, Blackpool, West Lancs, West Kirby and all over the north for their Northern Championships. A fleet of 10 Contenders arrived for the Northern Area championship's, the first UK event after the Worlds in Italy. The Catapults came from as far as Wales and the Midlands for their Open meeting.
The Saturday conditions were looking far from favourable with gusty winds and the chance of rain but the fleets were undeterred and the racing got underway without a hitch with 3 starts on 2 courses laid on by the race team. Very soon, some Lasers, Windsurfers and a foiling Moth popped out for some practice and a few people discovered how warm the water is at this time of year.
A cracking lunch got everyone geared up for the afternoon as racing continued leading nicely to an evening of camping for a hardy few as the wind picked up overnight.
Sunday finally produced the expected sunshine as the wind strength slowly increased to a Force 6, meaning lots of action for spectators, competitors, windsurfers and thrill seekers alike. Club racing was postponed until after lunch and as the wind hit Force 7, a reduced number of boats went back onto the water for the rest of the races. With windsurfers nailing forward flips and one of the Contender losing it's mast, it was all getting a bit hairy but the weekend finished safely with presentations from Commodore and Race Officer Phil Whitehead.
The fleets thanked Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club, the Race Officers, Safety Team and Galley staff for providing a successful event. Same again next year!
Overall Results:
Finn
1st GBR 65, Dave Potter
2nd GBR 6, Dave Walker (Yorkshire Dales SC)
3rd GBR 88, Colin Murray
Contender
1st 2315, Ben Holden (Halifax SC)
2nd 2503, Tim Holden (Halifax SC)
3rd 2422, Neil Ferguson (Yorkshire Dales SC)
Catapult
1st 533, John Terry (Rutland SC)
2nd 531, Stuart Ede (Yorkshire Dales SC)
3rd 510, George Evans (Bala Cat Club)
www.yorkshiredales.sc