2000 class Latitude Series event 2 at Filey Sailing Club

2000 class Latitude Series event 2 at Filey © Mark Foley

The weather was warm and sunny with a forecast of light breeze for the weekend. The bay looked fantastic in the sunshine and the steep hill down to the small Filey Sailing Club through woodlands festooned with cow parsley is incredibly picturesque. The club and the members welcomed everybody with big smiles and much needed muscle to get boats on, and later off, the incredible high tide beach, surround by cliffs.

Eight 2000s arrived for the second round of the Latitude Series sponsored by Lakes Mortgages, as part of the regatta weekend. The 86 boats were separated into 3 fleets and the 2000s were part of the 26-strong slow fleet, with ILCA 7, Miracles, Fevas and Solos.

Saturday saw a light breeze day and tides to contend with. First race saw competitive close racing with the brother Oliver and Elliott Thompson (West Riding SC) taking line honours, from Greg Baldock and Sam Hammond (Covenham SC), whose boat was rescued from a club auction of abandoned boats and was in quite a state just a few months ago.

The second race saw a dying breeze and a flooding tide which proved frustrating for most.

Close racing saw Oliver and Elliott win, with a very tight second to Greg and third to class Chair Mike McEwing and Alex Wilby (RAFSA/Rutland SC), whose decision to go under Greg instead of above on the last reach proved costly.

Filey SC Regatta 2023 - photo © Mark Foley

The sailing club hog roast and bar proved very popular with all that evening sitting out on the deck enjoying the sun and views

Sunday dawned bright with a tad more breeze which built as the day wore on. Race 3 saw a general recall due to the ebbing tide. Once reset, yet more close racing was had. With places changing frequently, the father and young son of Steve and Joshua Wright being contenders on lap 1, although the honours swapped to Greg and Sam 1st, Oliver and Elliott second and Mike and Alex third at the line.

Race 4 saw a few changes at the top of the fleet with a great second for Alan Bishop and Paul King (Girton SC), third to Alistair Rose (Ullswater) and Harry Fox (West Riding) with another win for Greg and Sam.

Race 5, in a now flooding tide and a bit more breeze, saw six 2000s at the front of the slow fleet vying for first during the race. This was the decider for the series. The final results were first Greg and Sam (sixth overall), second Oliver and Elliott (seventh overall) and third Mike and Alex (14th overall).

Prizes were presented by Alistair Rose representing our sponsors, Lakes Mortgages. A huge thank you to Filey Sailing Club and everyone who helped out at great event in a truly lovely part of the Yorkshire coast.

2000 Class Results: (extracted from Regatta overall results)