Horning Sailing Club Regatta Week 2016
by Holly Hancock 8 Aug 2016 03:04 PDT
1-5 August 2016
The first day of Horning Sailing Club's Regatta Week began with bright sunshine and a pleasant breeze, encouraging a very strong fleet of dinghies to take part in the morning race.
The first Allcomers B fleet of Lasers, National 12s, an Enterprise and Lightning, which eventually got away after a general recall, was won by visiting sailor Tim Hampshire from Yorkshire sailing a National 12. The second Allcomers B race was not without incident, as another visiting National 12 capsized and sank, but the race was won by Toby Pearce (aged 12) sailing a Laser, fresh from his success at the NSSA Regatta at Gorleston last week, where he was placed second in the 60 strong Topper fleet. He followed this up with another win and second place, his closest competition being the National 12, who took another win. The wind dropped over the lunchtime period, forcing several retirements across the series. Eleven boats took part in the cruiser races split across two fleets, fast and slow handicap, won by Cygnet sailed by Mike & Sally Reilly, and Stratus sailed by Matt & Ellie Ellis respectively. Although the breeze briefly picked up during the afternoon it quickly dropped again, proving challenging for the afternoon series, particularly the Yeomans, where five out of seven retired, only Dick Angier and Andrew Gallant finishing in the decreasing winds, despite both taking a penalty for hitting a buoy in the flat calm conditions. Eventually the lack of wind resulted in the evening series being abandoned until the next day.
Tuesday's racing saw the line run by Snowflake Sailing Club, with the winds much lighter than Monday morning, and a strong tide. Over thirty dinghies took part in the morning races, which proved extremely competitive, particularly the Lasers. The gentle breeze resulted in close racing, particularly in the morning Yeoman race, where Geoff Stubbs, building on his two wins from Monday, was in the lead until the final leg when he became tangled with a Rebel allowing Dick Angier and George Whitefoot to overtake him, finishing just inches apart. Racing was also close in the Reedling fleet, with both Kevin Saunders and Robert Hancock taking a win each, although all of the fleet led at one point. By the lunchtime Cruiser race the wind had dropped significantly, with some crossing the starting line sideways due to the tide. By the afternoon series the wind continued to drop making completing races a challenge in itself. With the Officers' Race carried over from Monday, the course was set in the evening, with three Yeomans and three Reedlings taking part. After possibly the slowest beat in memory to the first buoy, with an extremely shortened course, it was eventually won by Toby Fields sailing his Yeoman Tanskey. Given the distinct lack of wind, the remaining evening races were abandoned. The Lysandra Cup for YBODs was won by Mark Harris sailing Blue Wings, whilst the Avis Tankards for Cruisers was won by Paul Howes sailing Melinda.
In contrast to the previous two days, the third day of Horning Sailing Club's Regatta week, with the line run by NBYC, started much windier, and somewhat more dramatically! A passing sailing cruiser ploughed through the start of the Allcomers B race, resulting in 11-year-old Emma Hampshire, helming a National 12, being taken out of her boat by the cruiser's bowsprit before her boat was pinned hard against the bank. A swift rescue ensured that she was not in the water long, however, and after a short delay the race got underway and Emma was back on the water to crew her father Tim in two more races during the day. The minutes that ensued saw the wind pick up, with an Enterprise and several Lasers capsizing, before the fleet finally got away. The finish was no less dramatic, with less than 3 seconds separating the top three finishers, with the Lasers of James Galloway, Roger Hannant and Anna Bunn finishing in that order respectively. As the gusty winds continued to build throughout the day this did have an impact on turnouts. The Rebels, the biggest fleet of the day, put in a compulsory two reefs, whilst the Yare & Bures had one. The excitement continued in the morning YBOD race, with second placed Blue Wings helmed by Mark Harris rounding the final buoy behind Phil Montague's Chalkhill Blue before his mainsheet became hooked around the flagpole on a dayboat, dragging both towards the moored boats on the clubhouse front. Seconds from disaster, a crisis was narrowly averted by 12-year-old Jack Barnham appearing on the dayboat (having run along the deck from the rescue boat and jumping aboard) unhooking it with moments to spare! By lunchtime the gusts were reaching over 25mph, with the fleet sizes gradually diminishing as the wind increased, helms opting for more reefs, smaller rigs and more crew! In light of the conditions, the Rebels and Yeomans took fleet decisions not to go out in the afternoon series. The evening races for the Junior Trophy and Ex-Servicemen race for the Braithwaite Cup went ahead, with Ellie Edwards' Splash and Edward Wildman's Laser jointly winning the former, tied exactly on corrected time, whilst Ron Jackson won the latter sailing his Yare & Bure Holly Blue.
Horning Town Open Regatta on Thursday dawned bright and breezy, with Wednesday's strong winds having kept up through the night. Again, several fleets opted to have compulsory reefs or agreed not to sail in the morning races given the conditions. The morning dinghy races were somewhat lively with plenty of planing and capsizes, whilst the Race Officers took the decision to run the keelboat and dinghy races as separate series during the morning to keep the fleets apart. Despite this, the races were not without incident, with Lucky Rebel not quite living up to her name, in trying to avoid a collision with another Rebel and a motor cruiser she was eventually left with nowhere to go, suffering broken shrouds in the process, but very lucky to not lose her mast! A huge team effort ensued to get the boat back out sailing as soon as possible and fittingly it was back on the water by the evening race, where Charlotte Hammond and Jonas Osborn sailed in the Water Babies race coming third, receiving the Richard Page Trophy for first Rebel. One of the most notable events during the day was the weather, which, in the words of the Regatta Day President, threw everything at the sailors except for snow! In the afternoon series the wind dropped dramatically along with a torrential downpour meaning that the fleet were finished upriver on a shortened course; this resulted in the evening series being postponed. The evening Water Babies race in keelboats for helm under 18, crew under 21 is a highlight of the week for many, and by this time the wind had picked up again to be a gentle breeze and sunny, with 9 young teams taking part in Rebels, Reedlings, Yeoman and a YBOD. It was one of the most competitive of the day with calls of starboard being heard back at the clubhouse from the other end of the river, and by the finish it was extremely close between the first three Rebels to cross the line, however, they had all taken the buoy the wrong way, so it was the fourth boat to cross the line, Will Penny (16) crewed by Edward Wildman (13) who finished first, taking the Water Babies Challenge Cup ahead of brothers Joel (15) and Ezra Bailey (18). During the day several special trophies were sailed for including the Second Horning Challenge Cup for fastest on handicap during the whole series over the lunchtime period, which went to Paul Howes sailing Yare & Bure Chalkhill Blue, in addition to three first places for the boat (twice helmed by Paul, once by Tom Heaffey). The lunchtime race for the Yacht Builder's Challenge Cup went to Ezra Bailey sailing Reedling Jaws, whilst Kevin Edwards sailed both an Enterprise and Reedling to win both the Ranworth Salver and Onyx Trophy respectively, the latter having been postponed from earlier in the day, the Reedling fleet having made a collective decision not to race in the morning. The Horning Challenge Cup awarded by the Regatta Day President for outstanding performance during the day was presented to 12-year-old James Pettit for determination sailing his Topper.
In contrast to Thursday's blustery conditions, the final day of Horning Week began with light winds. In the morning winds were so light that the burgees were spinning 360 degrees, proving to be a true test of patience, with several shortened courses in the traditional Horning Week drift, and not for the first time that week! Upriver, it was a battle against the tide, which proved somewhat challenging and resulted in large splits amongst the fleets. There were also some rather unusual characters taking to the water, with members dressing up as Disney characters in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance – it's not every day that you see Tinkerbell, Snow White and Peter Pan on the water!
Although the dinghy fleet was somewhat depleted, several sailors having left early to go to the Topper Nationals in Scotland, competition was still strong. In the Allcomers B fleet, a win by Peter Pan (aka Roger Hannant) sailing his Laser was enough to secure him the Ernest Oakes Challenge Tankard and also the Original Horning Challenge Cup for the series, whilst Jack Copping won the Cadet Trophy, Partridge Trophy and Mike Evans Regatta Medal following a strong performance in his Topper. Racing in the YBOD fleet was close throughout the week, with the Ernest Woods Memorial Trophy eventually going to Mark Harris sailing Blue Wings, and the Yare & Bure OD Centenary Trophy won by Kevin Blackwell sailing Rosy Wave. Paul Howes' Melinda won both the lunchtime Cruiser race and the series Ramuz Challenge Jug, whilst Peter Goshawk's Swallow, back on the water after an overnight repair having suffered damage in Thursday's racing, finished third behind Cygnet helmed by Mike Reilly. In the afternoon some extremely ominous rain clouds passed overhead, bringing with them squally conditions. In the Yeoman race, Andrew Gallant made the most of race leader Geoff Stubbs sailing Tara taking the wrong course, to eventually finish two seconds ahead, and round off a successful day, taking two first and a second, and also collecting the Judith Paris Trophy for his efforts in the Allcomers A fleet, whilst Geoff received first overall in the Yeomans. By the evening the rain clouds had cleared and there was a pleasant breeze. The Mary Cup for Novices went to John Rawlinson sailing Rebel Rascal ahead of Duncan Hale-Sutton sailing Yare & Bure Hairstreak, whilst the Bullard Cup for Juniors in Dinghies was won by Edward Wildman sailing his Laser, followed by the Toppers of Amelia Dixon and Grace Thrower.
Horning Week Trophy List 2016:
Regatta Weekend
Single-Handed Dinghy Trophy – Timshel (Jack Copping)
Old Malthouse Trophy A – Siskin (Robert Hancock)
Millenium Cup – Tara (Geoff Stubbs)
Harnser Trophy – Rebel H (Colin Facey)
Butterfly Salver – Holly Blue (Ron Jackson)
Old Malthouse Trophy B – E17002 (Kevin Edwards)
Gosling Goblet – Jackaroo (Jack Barnham)
Suzie Heywood Memorial Trophy – Holly Blue (Julia Bower)
Blackhorse – River Cruisers – Amantani (George Brewis)
Storey – Production Cruisers – Poppy (Chris Thomson)
Single race trophies
The Shields White Admiral – Holly Blue ( Ron Jackson)
Officers Trophy – Tanskey (Toby Fields)
Bosun Trophy – Blue Wings (Mark Harris)
Junior Trophy – Custard Cream/Gusty (Edward Wildman/Ellie Edwards)
Braithwaite Cup – Holly Blue (Ron Jackson)
Landamore Open Regatta Trophy – Tara (Geoff Stubbs)
Rebel Lion Trophy – Rebel (Kim West)
Bath White Trophy – Chalkhill Blue (Paul Howes)
Onyx Trophy – Osiris (Kevin Edwards)
Ranworth Salver – Sharkie (Kevin Edwards)
Cockshoot Salver – Bluebird (Will Penny Jr)
Yacht Builders Challenge Cup – Jaws (Ezra Bailey)
Crystal Salver – Stratus (Matt Ellis)
Second Horning Challenge Cup – Chalkhill Blue (Paul Howes)
Second Water Babies Challenge Cup – Pania (Will Penny Jr)
Richard Page Memorial Trophy – Lucky Rebel (Charlotte Hammond)
Horning Challenge Cup – Mischievious Monkey (James Pettit)
Meadow Brown Trophy – Rosy Wave (Alastair Fields)
Benson Cup – Amantani (George Brewis)
Phiz Trophy – Rebel Rascal (Philip Storey)
Bullard Cup – Custard Cream (Edwards Wildman)
Mary Cup – Rebel Rascal (John Rawlinson)
Series Trophies
Ernest Oakes Challenge Tankard – Way 2 Go (Roger Hannant)
Cadet Trophy – Juniors -Ash (Jack Copping)
Ernest Woods Memorial Trophy – Blue Wings (Mark Harris)
Robert Moore Memorial Trophy – Rebel Rothay (Peter Brown)
Original Horning Challenge Cup – Way 2 Go (Roger Hannant)
The Yeoman Trophy – Tara (Geoff Stubbs)
Fisher Trophy – Cadbury (Thomas Wildman)
Flight Trophy – Cockatrice (Kevin Saunders)
Ramuz Challenge Jug – Melinda (Paul Howes)
Hermes Trophy – Rebel Rothay (Peter Brown)
Longmynd Trophy – Custard Cream (Edward Wildman)
St Benets Tankard – Apaches (Joel Bailey)
Visitors Tankard B – Baloo (Tim Hampshire)
Judith Paris Trophy – Tiger Moth (Andrew Gallant)
Partridge Trophy – Ash (Jack Copping)
Badger Trophy – Poppy (Chris Thomson)
Mike Evans Regatta Medal – Ash (Jack Copping)
Yare & Bure OD Centenary Trophy – Rosy Wave (Kevin Blackwell)