2000 Class Open at Dell Quay Sailing Club

Rob and Gemma Burridge, second overall and first race winners in the 2000 Open at Dell Quay © Becki Dicker

2000 Training and Open at Dell Quay © Lee Sydenham

Nineteen boats attended the 2000 Class Open Meeting at Dell Quay Sailing Club on Sunday 19 April. In contrast to the blustery coaching day of Saturday, Sunday dawned with less wind. With sunshine and a north-easterly blowing right down the channel, all of the ingredients were there for a great day of racing.

After a short briefing, the fleet were quickly afloat for three back-to-back races. Race 1 started with a relatively strong flood tide pushing the fleet over the line. A warning from Race Officer Richard Ede in the briefing was well advised and the fleet managed to hold back from the line for a clean start. Good starts and picking out a wind bend up the left shore saw DQSC locals Ben Hoddy/Stu Denyer and Bill Dawber/Sue Nash on top up the first beat with Matt Sargent sailing with daughter Gwen (Thorney Island SC), National Champion Rob Burridge sailing with wife Gemma (Weir Wood SC) and Mike Fitzgerald/Sean Gaudian (DQSC) in hot pursuit.

Good downwind speed and great spinnaker work by Gwen saw the Sargents take the lead by the start of lap 2. Some large holes and 30-40 degree shifts up the second beat had both the left and right looking good at times and provided the opportunity for the Burridges to move into a lead which they held to the end of lap 3 and the finish, with the Sargents coming through in second. After a lot of place changing behind, Ali/Robin Barker (RAFSA) sailed through from eighth on lap 1 to round out the top 3.

The windward mark was rapidly moved left for race 2. The fleet pushed the line a lot more with an Individual recall seeing the Sargents re-rounding the pin and picking a way through the fleet on port. Unfortunately for them, the left paid early on the first beat putting Lee Sydenham and son Max (DQSC) into the lead, closely followed by Chris/Gill Jordan (Burghfield), the Burridges and Barkers. Shifts and gusts down the first run allowed the Sargents to recover to fifth and although several 30-40 degree shifts came through on the second lap, surprisingly little place-changing occurred although gaps were shrinking between the top five, At the top of the third beat, the Burridges briefly crossed ahead but the Sydenhams held the starboard advantage into the top mark and held on to win from the Burridges with the Barkers edging into third ahead of the Jordans.

With an ebbing tide for the final race, the start line was moved up the course and tide became a larger factor, with many hugging the left shore up the first beat. Good starts saw the Sydenhams, Burridges and Jordans looking good early on but as some large holes and shifts developed towards the top of the beat, Dawber/Nash picked the best route to round ahead of the Burridges and Sydenhams. The Sydenhams gained the advantage downwind to round inside Dawber/Nash at the leeward gate with the Burridges moving into second early on the second beat. With the overall win up for grabs, some tight racing followed and approaching the final leeward mark only a few boat lengths separate the top three. A gust on the final approach saw the Burridges having to do a last-minute gybe-drop and a problem getting the spinnaker down allowed the Sydenhams to round inside with Dawber/Nash right on their transom. A drag race to the finish followed with the Sydenhams holding on to win by a boat length from the Burridges with Dawber/Nash a close third.

This gave the Sydenhams the overall win by a point from the Burridges, with the Barkers' consistency paying dividends for third and the Sargents (with younger Johnny crewing the last race) taking the final prize in fourth. A great showing by local DQSC members saw them take six of the top 10 overall. It was then back to shore for some much needed and excellent refreshment. A great day was had by all and many thanks go to all of those who gave their time in the running the event and to Ken Baker for providing his sailing cruiser "Pegasus" as committee boat.

Nine boats attended the 2000 Class coaching the day before the open meeting.

Crews arrived to bright sunshine and a lively and challenging 17-18 knot wind with gusts into the mid-20s. After a short briefing on-shore, the boats took to the water and sailed a series of windward-leeward loops, focusing on boat handling, sail setup and starting. A number of additional starting drills were also performed with work on controlled approach, taking and using start line transits, judging position on the line and controlling speed. Despite many capsizes across the fleet, all boats survived at least two hours with seven making the full three-hour session before heading back to the comfort of the clubhouse and a gratefully received lunch.

A full debrief was then held, reviewing photos of the day's sailing and discussing many areas from boat handling technique to sail setup and tuning. A good if tiring day was had by all and the fleet look forward to slightly less wind for the Open Meeting on Sunday.

Special thanks go to Matt Sargent of Thorney Island Sailing Club/Army Sailing Association for assisting with the coaching, and new DQSC member Greg Park for making his RIB available and driving for the day.

Overall Results: