North West Norfolk Week 2023 Day 4

Ian and Alex Gore and the tale of the broken mast - North West Norfolk Week 2023 day 4 © George Finch

Day four of Norfolk week was met with an early start - 06.45 for the first start - however both fleets had reasonable numbers, with six in the N12 fleet, and ten in the Allcomers fleet.

National 12 fleet:

20-27kts. "Windy"

Despite a quick start, N3525's (Ian and Alex Gore) race was cut short by an unfortunate crack in the mast. They retired and attempted to come back to the club, however the mast did eventually fall just fifty metres from the slipway, sadly ending their 2023 Norfolk Week.

Due to the wind and big gusts, N3459 (Rob and Harley Ford) retired and made it safely back to the club.

A big lead at the front led to N3531 (Steve and Joanne Sallis) to win the race. A great start by N3530 (Graham and Anya Camm) led to them following close behind N3531 and finishing the race in second. Steve and Jo had a spin at buoy W on the last lap whilst attempting to gybe, but retained the lead due to an already extensive gap.

Windier conditions than yesterday and some interestingly placed gybe marks saw N3502 (Tim and Chris Hampshire) capsize allowing N3549 (Phillip David and Rosie Gore) to catch up but ultimately N3502 stayed ahead. With the wind and unpredictable gusts various gybe marks were tacked round and after three laps the race was finished and the four remaining National 12s headed safely back to the club.

Allcomers fleet:

The allcomers once again started three minutes behind the 12s, following a similar course from yesterday. The line was port biased once again, however the tide played on sailor's minds as decisions were made whether to keep to the side, or to tack up the middle of the river.

The upwind leg was slighter longer than yesterday, with RS300 Sam Davey quickly pulling out a reasonable lead, and being on the coat-tails of the 12s after the first lap; multiple capsizes after the gybe marks didn't hinder his progress as the leader of the allcomers fleet on the water. Miracle 4120 did well to keep up with the top end of the fleet upwind, although quickly lost touch on the downwind legs - there were no legs where a spinnaker could fly successfully. ILCA 4 210233 kept up with the fleet, until multiple capsizes and an unfortunate turtle put him firmly at the back of the pack.

The course did not take particularly long to complete, and after three completed laps, the fleet headed back inside for the prize-giving and AGM. For the first time in years at Norfolk Week, there was a tie for first, with Jasper Barnham and Henry Means both completing the course in the same amount of (corrected) time. Third place went to Duncan Ellis.

Find the results here: www.norfolkweek.co.uk/results-2023