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Supernova Inland Championship 2024 at Blithfield Sailing Club

by Alastair Reid & Chris Hawley 7 Sep 04:03 PDT 31 August - 1 September 2024
Supernova Inlands at Blithfield © Neil David

Such is the popularity of this blue ribbon event for the Supernova Class, and possibly the popularity of the venue, the entry list reached the maximum of 70 boats with weeks still to run. If you weren't quick off the water to enter, you didn't get the chance to prove how quick you were going to be on the water.

Blithfield is the largest reservoir in Staffordshire and although they don't have the run of the entire water, a special agreement was made with South Staffs Water to extend the normal sailing area for this significant event. Moreover, the use of a much larger camping field which readily swallowed up all the competitors and provided luxurious levels of personal space. The unintended presence of some sheep brought an added connection with nature.

With many competitors arriving in a steady stream on Friday night, some of whom had nightmarish journeys, the Blithfield hospitality team were able to serve hot Chilli Con Carne and drinks to the latecomers even as they sorted their boats after dark - in the car park. To say those in receipt were astonished would be an understatement. With a warm day and stunning sunset, the Supernova audience piled into the hospitality in all its forms. Food was served on a continuous basis throughout the evening and we suspect that the vegan option will become the pre-eminent choice next year! Another thumbs up to the catering team for serving up cracking breakfast baps over the weekend.

Saturday morning saw the wind start to show its predicted colours - ENE and ~10 knots, a direction that remained constant over the weekend of competition although the wind hit 17 knots at the Clubhouse it was estimated as gusts of 20-25 knots on the reservoir.

As the remaining competitors arrived all were sorted and briefed for the day ahead. 'Max sailing, min faffing', 'launch and recover in seconds, not minutes' were orders of the day to fit in races and lunch.

The first race started on time and at first ask. The start line provided sufficient length for all to have a fair chance. The Easterly wind is notorious at Blithfield for its gustiness and this made the race hard physical and mental work for all competitors. It was less about the absolute wind strength, more about the sudden change in direction and strength and there were as many capsizes to windward as to leeward. The first windward mark was particularly unforgiving as the approach on starboard required you to overstand if you had any chance of managing the tricky wind shifts, not least with the, as yet unsplit, mass of boats charging down on this one point.

It was class superstar Matt Thursfield first at the windward mark, demonstrating his upwind dominance in the breeze. The fleet quickly diverged into a leading echelon of less than 10 boats who frustratingly (for the rest) managed a disproportionate separation from the remainder.

With such a large fleet, clear wind was everything and hard to obtain, so those lower down the fleet were not only contending with the gusts but had the added challenge of dealing with the impact of the gusts bouncing off the boat to windward. The visitors quickly recognised that the northern side of the reservoir provided the lift up the shore thus negating the local knowledge advantage that the home team might have had. The downside was that all those being lifted were coming in on port tack so the windward mark was very congested. That said, plenty of clear warning shouts as well as some wonderfully good-mannered exchanges of perspective brought fun rather than tension to competing in such a large fleet. Of note, the Chair of the Protest Jury, a local RYA Judge, was out on the water as an observer and was able to proffer a few thoughts afterwards. Suffice to say there were no protests during the weekend! A few had the tedium of re-rounding the windward mark for the aforementioned reasons and otherwise turns were taken as needed.

There were two gybe marks, each providing another opportunity for capsize, not least from the fast reach into them. The finish was deliberately separate from the start to avoid the challenge of identifying multiple boats crossing close-hauled. Defending champion Cliff Milliner demonstrated an olympic level performance - he reeled in Matt T and ended up nearly a whole leg ahead of second place.

Everyone played ball and the recovery was straightforward with only a little help required from the Beachmaster team. A lunch of baked potatoes and multiple filling options was consumed in an orderly manner before all were back on the water for a 1345 start. The second and third races on Saturday saw only a minor change to the course and each start was clean. The PRO was both pleased and surprised by the behaviour and discipline of the Supernova Fleet (he's a Merlin sailor). Races 2 and 3 were won by Cliff M and Matt T respectively. The PRO had inserted several fast reaches (more than 12 knots recorded by one sailor) which were hugely appreciated and 'yee-haw' was a frequently heard expression of joy.

Each of the races had been around 50-55 minutes so everyone had a good physical work-out and was ready for the evening's relaxation!

All were ashore in good time for a very well attended AGM and a high-end evening meal with all the trimmings. A good-natured crowd stayed long into the evening, drained the last of the real ale barrels (note to self, more next time) but the logistics chain had foreseen this and nobody left the bar without something to their liking.

After a quiet night in the campsite, the atmosphere was more one of people waiting for the Sunday papers rather than psyching themselves into the 3 back to back races that lay ahead.

The fourth race was started just before 10.00. The wind had remained loyal and essentially unchanged in force and direction so the course reflected this too. The observations from the first race remained true but a subtle change in the course tightened some of the reaches which brought additional spice to the plane down to the second of the two gybe marks. Two of the three starts were clean with only one individual recall in the third. From the Committee boat perspective, the Black Flag never even looked like it would be needed during the weekend.

The safety crews had little to do as all seemed to deal with the slips and trips of the event.

Fourth, fifth and sixth races were also won by Cliff M - wozer - a clear dominance for the overall win ahead of Matt T. There were some great performances and battles through the weekend, including Andrew Wilde from Ogston in the Class Loan boat, being in the mix all over the weekend and scoring two impressive second places (no wonder he is a former Phantom national champion!). The Cotswold duo of Will Gifford and Gavin Young were always at the front too, finishing 4th and 5th overall. The chasing pack in the 10 top were led by class builder Mark Hartley, but also Bolton's Corin Bamford (who had an incredible weekend) and Mike Critchley. Finally Bartley's Chris Hawley and Cotswold's Alex Reeve made up the top 10 with a string of consistent performances. It was incredible competition through the fleet and the 5 division system worked wonders to help support those on the water rivalries.

Scores were collated and passed to the Class Association team and prizes were awarded with a large and appreciative audience present. The overall champion (for the 11th time!!!) was Cliff Milliner from Cotswold Sailing Club who along with the Class President, Tony Bleasdale offered thanks to Blithfield Sailing Club Ltd. for, as one senior sailor put it, a 'flawless' event.

Overall Results:

GOLD
1st Mike Critchley - Bolton - 7th overall
2nd Colin Bamford - Bolton - 8th overall
3rd Andy Flitcroft - Bolton - 11th overall
4th Jeremy Higson - Bartley - 13th overall
5th Dana Church - Notts - 17th overall

SILVER
1st Martin Smith - Chelmarsh - 14th overall
2nd Martin Roots - Cardiff Bay - 15th overall
3rd Clive Brown - Bolton - 16th overall
4th Julian Bassett - Blithfield - 18th overall
5th Doug Rankin - Blithfield - 19th overall

BRONZE
1st Eddie Johnson - Girton - 24th overall
2nd Phil Hind - Ogston - 25th overall
3rd Duncan Cheshire - Winsford Flash - 26th overall

MK1
1st David Allen - Haversham - 39th overall
2nd James Stark - Winsford Flash - 42nd overall

LADY
1st Matilda Harrison - Ogston - 48th overall

BEGINNER
1st Sam Osbourne - Ogston - 63rd overall

PosFleetSail NoHelmClubR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1stP1245Cliff MillinerCotswold11‑41115
2ndP1302Matt ThursfieldChelmarsh231‑103514
3rdP1315Andrew WildeOgston452‑82417
4thP1299William GiffordCotswold3632‑7317
5thP1261Gavin YoungCotswold‑124734220
6thP1348Mark HartleyBlithfield62656‑725
7thG1220Mike CritchleyBolton5796‑141239
8thG1125Corin BamfordBolton7105‑1410941
9thP1333Chris HawleyBartley9‑121079641
10thP1344Alex ReeveCotswold(NSC)118411842
11thG1264Andy FlitcroftBolton108‑13981045
12thP1257Mike GibsonBartley119‑181651152
13thG1267Jeremy HigsonBartley201315‑24131576
14thS1133Martin SmithChelmarsh2119111318‑2482
15thS1307Martin RootsCardiff Bay13182022‑351386
16thS1094Clive BrownBolton16‑271620221892
17thG1139Dana ChurchNotts SC1420232317(RET)97
18thS1066Julian BassettBlithfield172817(DNC)152299
19thS1277Doug RankinBlithfield‑291529192020103
20thS1160Paul UndrellCotswold23‑4433171616105
21stS1189Tom ChadfieldBlithfield30‑3936151214107
22ndS1345Matt WatkissBolton222314‑312426109
23rdS1319Sean MuldoonHaversham2417‑27272517110
24thB1130Ed JohnsonGirton193021‑341923112
25thB1342Philip HindOgston‑372225123128118
26thB1281Duncan CheshireWinsford Flash(NSC)1628114031126
27thS1250David PartridgeChelmarsh1825‑49282632129
28thS1059Adrian DavisGirton26292629‑3419129
29thS1184Garry ButterfieldBartley27‑3535182327130
30thS1032Marcus ShawGirton3424312621‑35136
31stS1234Nick WhilesGirton4426(RET)212721139
32ndB1322Dave MorrisGlossop383224‑482929152
33rdS1325Adrian LumbHaversham3338‑47302825154
34thB1241Frank LaffertyWinsford Flash‑454019353330157
35thB1256Paul BurtonGirton313332‑403233161
36thB1296Eric HaseldenWinsford Flash32212225RET(DNC)165
37thG1246Tony CritchleyBolton81412(DNC)DNCDNC176
38thB1326Gary KirtonGirton2831‑45443737177
39thB536David AllenHaversham3541373338‑43184
40thB1332Nick WoodheadBlithfield40344038‑4634186
41stB1074Richard WilliamsBartley43‑5241363039189
42ndB406James StarkWinsford Flash41‑4938424136198
43rdB1127Phil NorthGirton39433045‑4942199
44thB1182Michael HughesGlossop15‑5448524840203
45thS1171Mark MeadowsTeesdale36(DNS)344136RET207
46thB1110Jasper MeijBolton‑494743374738212
47thB1274Andrew GouldCotswold2536DNS32RET(DNC)220
48thB523Matilda HarrisonOgston‑525139504444228
49thS110Alastair ReidBlithfield(DNS)37504339RET229
50thB1190Nick BoothPembrokeshire YC5150464943‑53239
51stB1099Peter HousleySwarkestone4646425452(DNC)240
52ndB707Ian ShapiroOgston‑565344515345246
53rdS1254Tony BleasdaleGirton4742RET39RET(DNC)255
54thB458Bill HurrDraycote Water4248DNS(DNC)45RET257
55thB1259Paul KerleySutton Bingham SC(RET)RETDNS464241258
56thB1309Serena StewardsonEmberton Park535651‑585050260
57thB1272Andrew Goodman‑SmithAttenborough4845DNS47RET(DNC)267
58thB1057Ian CasewellCotswold5555(DNS)555151267
59thB1185John HumanEmberton Park59‑6354535648270
60thB1021Daniel BoddiceBartley57‑5855565449271
61stB1328Rob SwinnockBlithfield50(RET)DNS595546272
62ndB462Craig HarrisonOgston58‑61525757RET284
63rdBEG1172Sam OsborneOgston‑626256606047285
64thBEG450Joe PeckGirton63‑6457625852292
65thB1157Paul RankinBlithfield6159(RET)615954294
66thB1134Tom BaldwinOgston546053(DNC)DNCDNC309
67thB1297David BibbyChelmarsh60DNSDNSRET(DNC)DNC324
68thB1082Andrew ChadfieldBlithfieldRET57RET(DNC)DNCDNC329
69thP1156Alexander H CollinsBolton(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC355
69thS1223Jon PebodyHunts(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC355

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