Shustoke Sailing Club Race Week
by Zara Turtle 12 Jun 2018 03:09 PDT
4-8 June 2018
Shustoke Race Week 2018 © Zara Turtle
Last week was Shustoke's annual race week, with sailors taking to the water for one race every weekday night, culminating in a BBQ celebration on the Friday.
Conditions were dramatically different to last year when the strong winds and downpours did not make for an inviting sail! This year saw a week of light to moderate winds and beautiful sunshine on most evenings – definitely worth rushing out of work for!
Race 1 on Monday saw Ann Biglin in her Solo first out the blocks, having a great first beat she managed to maintain her lead in front of the other Solos and keep close enough to the Comet Trios to ensure a win.
Tuesday and Wednesday Tony Fulford in his Comet Trio picked the right end of the line both nights, keeping his consistent track record for the week of being inside the top 5 every night. Ralph and Scarlett Cawthorne took to the water in their Optimists and did a brilliant job keeping up with the bigger boats in the light winds. Scarlett came 5th on the Tuesday and Ralph came 7th and 6th respectively.
Ralph did even better on the Thursday, despite the extremely light winds following the thundery shower before the start. He came 3rd, just in front of Malcolm Coombs in his Mirror. Stuart Hydon and Cole Briscoe powered through the fleet in their Solos this race building a comfortable lead from the rest of the fleet to come 1st and 2nd respectively.
Friday the winds returned to a moderate strength and the Solos of Cole Briscoe, Jon Cawthorne, and Mike Cossey dominated the top 3 ahead of the single handed Mirrors.
Overall a really successful week, with 36 boats taking to the water to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and, when they weren't being distracted by the little ducklings bobbing around, some good close racing!
Overall Results:
1st Stuart Hydon – Solo – Gold
2nd Cole Briscoe – Solo – Gold
3rd Adrian and Tracie Padro – Comet Trio – Gold
1st Silver Fleet
Ralph Cawthorne – Optimist – 6th place
1st Bronze Fleet
Clive Brookes – Solo – 14th place