Shearwater TT at Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club

by Rob Britton 10 Jun 2015 01:54 PDT 6-7 June 2015

Shearwater TT at the Isle of Sheppey © James Willmott

A huge thank you to our hosts this weekend at the Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club. A new destination for the Shearwaters and yet another amazing event this weekend for the Shearwater TT 2015 calendar.

For the Shearwater fleet the sailing is of huge importance to us but we also come with an entourage of support that reside on shore that are equally as important to us. For looking after our beach crew during the day, and all of us at the start and the end of day, thank you to all the front of house staff manning the galley the bar and keeping the changing rooms mopped and clear.

Thanks to those volunteers who appeared to be at the club manning the galley from the early hours for breakfast and then taking up residence behind the bar well in to the night.

So if you weren't there what did you miss on the Shearwater TT sailing front? The brief on Saturday promised Champagne sailing and champagne sailing was delivered by the crate full!

Race management teams always have a tough job making sure that the racing is well organised and slick in challenging wind conditions and directions. This weekend with well delivered briefs and efficiently run water based management the fleet can all agree you delivered a high standard!

The location at Sheppey allowed the sea state to be nice and flat and tailored with the strong south westerly wind the stage for Saturday was perfectly set for Catamaran blasting.

With slick starts the fleet battled from the outset. Flat windy conditions allowed for a golden opportunity for the boats o be tamed allowing the helms ample time to plan battle winning tactics to navigate expertly round the course.

Come Sunday the start of the day set a different stage. Presented to the fleet was a perfect day for the shore crew. Blue skies and no breeze to contend with. Postponement was a welcomed call.

At midday a breeze picked up from the east and with the course reset the Shearwaters were back on the water.

Battle commenced again with some interesting challenges and outcomes.

Sunday 7th of June will be a day that the younger generations of the fleet should remember as the day they challenged, in some cases successfully, their parents for positions on the water.

Zac Elliot and William Stuart crewing on Dilligaf and Simsek with Murray Greenhill and Robbie John helming respectively lead strong challenges against the boats of their parents Cajensa and CROWNS keeping them well and truly on their toes throughout the racing day.

So with the racing done and the boats packed away the results were as follows. In 3rd place Alley Cat helmed by Alan Howland and crewed by Rob Britton, 2nd place CROWNS helmed by Nigel Stuart and crewed by Sarah Stuart and in 1st Place Carbon Footprint helmed by Shaun Allen and crewed by Holly Parker.

Thank you again Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club for hosting the Shearwater TT weekend. A new fixture for this year's sailing calendar hopefully not the last visit in the Shearwater TT fixture list.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	1999	Shaun Allen	Holly Parker	FFSC	1	1	2	‑3	1	2	7
2nd	2010	Nigel Stuart	Sarah Stuart	RYA	2	2	1	2	‑3	1	8
3rd	2006	Alan Howland	Rob Britton	FFSC	3	4	4	1	2	‑5	14
4th	1987	Matt Wiseman	Laura Wiseman	Hastings & St Leonards	‑4	3	3	4	4	3	17
5th	2003	Murray Greenhill	Zac Elliot	RYA	5	6	6	‑8	8	4	29
6th	1996	Roger Crooks	Anna Allen	Stone SC	6	7	‑8	5	6	8	32
7th	1976	Nick Elliot	Kerry Elliot	Mengetham Rythe SC	7	5	5	‑9	7	9	33
8th	2008	Catherine Tulley	Chloe Stuart	RYA	8	8	7	7	‑9	7	37
9th	2007	Robbie John	Unknown	RYA	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	6	5	6	39
10th	2002	Tayla Playford	Rob Hamilton	Hastings & St Leonards	9	9	9	‑10	10	10	47