Flying Fifteen Open at Datchet Water Sailing Club

Datchet Flying Fifteen Open © Anthony Read

Datchet Flying Fifteen Open © Anthony Read

There was a feeling of lightness in the air as twelve visitors joined seven local boats for Datchet Water Sailing Club's 2022 Flying Fifteen Open on the 9th of April. A youthful spring morning and an encouraging force 3-4 northerly breeze both contributed to the atmosphere, as did the removal of nearly 100kg of lead from the assembled fleet under the watchful eye of class measurer, Simon Patterson, in accordance with the new weight rule.

With the breeze forecast to behave like a teenager on Sunday - staying in bed all morning and then not doing much for the rest of the day- race officer George Hoskins decided to sail four races on Saturday afternoon, rather than the scheduled three. That meant that the race team had eight starts to cram in since the fifteens were sharing the course with the Wayfarer's Inland Nationals, a feat that they pulled off with understated efficiency.

Race 1 picked up where the Ovington Inlands had left off two weeks earlier. Ovingtons winners, the two Ians, Pinnell and Cadwallader (4096), were on course for the win, having tacked onto a favourable header just after the start. Two more of the Ovingtons leaders were out in front with them: Alastair Stevenson and David Culpan in 3862 had tacked on the same header, while Shane McCarthy, crewed by Jeff Edwards in 4085, had sailed a blinder on the first downwind leg. However, some teething problems in Ian's new boat forced him out of contention leaving Shane to hold off Alastair for the first victory of the day.

By race 2 the increasingly adolescent character of the wind was beginning to assert itself, with wild mood swings that took crews from exuberant hiking to moping along with barely enough wind to fill the sails. Greg Wells and David Tulloch (4030) were first to master the capricious conditions, followed by Angus Galloway, helming Andrew Lawson's boat 4089. The Ians, having resolved their snagging issue, also started to make their presence count, grabbing third place ahead of Charles Apthorp and David Rickard in 4004.

Datchet Flying Fifteen Open - photo © Anthony Read

At the start of race 3 Greg and David, keen to back up their performance in the previous race, pushed a little too hard and were OCS. Angus and Andrew pounced on the opportunity, taking their first first of the weekend. Shane was second, bouncing back from a disappointing ninth in race 2. Charles was also starting to build a head of steam, taking third.

Althorp's charge continued into race 4, after Andrew and Angus copied Greg's example and let the heady taste of victory lead them to the wrong side of the line at the start of the next race. The Ians were second followed by John Hanson and Helen Selden (4094) who had found an extra turn of pace after John had remembered that with rig tension, as with so much in life, you can have too much of a good thing.

The day ended with a crowded leader board and no clear favourite. McCarthy and Apthorp shared top spot, one point ahead of Galloway and Wells who were tied in second. Pinnell and Hanson were also in with a shout. It was all to play for.

As expected, the breeze overslept on Sunday morning. However, when it did show up it was a charming and well-mannered 8 to 10 mph, confounding the pessimists who had insisted it would never amount to anything. It had not entirely settled down, however, and still had enough mischief to make the racing interesting.

Most of the fleet looked at the pin for the start of race 5, but a last-minute shift squared the line. Angus and Andrew lead from the start and did not put a foot wrong in claiming their second win. Bret Dingwall and son Ben (3875) also showed good speed to round the top mark behind them but were then forced to go right and lost their position, letting John and Helen in for second and Charles in for third.

Another shift 30 seconds before the start of the final race sent most of the fleet back to the pin. Justin Warples and Jackie McKellar ignored the crowd however and were rewarded with good pressure up the middle to lead at the first mark. John and Helen followed them round and it stayed like this till the last beat when Galloway and Apthorp both went right while the fleet stayed left resulting in 5 boats jostling for the windward mark. Angus and Andrew won the battle, followed by Greg. John and Helen held off Charles's challenge to claim third.

Overall Results: