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West Country Boat Repairs 2000 Inland Championship at Carsington Sailing Club

by Pete Vincent 22 Oct 08:29 PDT 19-20 October 2024

Now this really was game of two halves

Twenty 2000s gathered at the lovely surroundings of Carsington Sailing Club on Oct 19th/20th for an eventful 2000 Inlands sponsored by West Country Boat Repairs. The 18 travelling boats included boats from Sunderland, Cardiff and Portsmouth.

Saturday was a glorious Autumn day with lovely sunshine causing many sailors to scrabble through their sailing bag looking for at least factor 30. The 4-12 knot breeze was sort of from a general westerly direction but on each beat it swing rapidly with 60 degree variation.

Defending Inland Champions Paul Cullen and Verity Hopkins were in imperious form scoring two very convincing wins in the first two races. Former National Champion Rob and Gemma Burridge at one stage pulled out out a very big lead in race 3 but were being reeled in towards the end by Paul and Verity but held on for the win. Very new to the class Paul and Sharon Freeland from Llandegfedd in only their second event were on fire scoring 3,2,3 in the tricky conditions. Also always in the tussle at the front were father and daughter team Jonathan/Louisa Ching with a 3rd and 4th.

Sunday could not have been more different, with storm something or other hitting Scotland the competitors were greeted by heavy rain, very low clouds, very gloomy light and plenty of breeze. Luckily the wind was not as gusty and as feisty as forecasts had predicted. After consulting the class PRO Alf Hawksworth felt the conditions were race able so the vast majority of the fleet launched although many were apprehensive.

Race 4 was held in 18-24 knots with the occasional bigger gust and was led early on by Matt Sargent/Ross Southwell finding the conditions much more to their liking. Paul and Verity though took the lead on the 3rd run to win. Matt/Ross had a major issue with their kite at the leeward mark and ended up capsized on the lee shore to recover the kite. Father/son team Ed/Ruben Dodwell were equally at home in these testing conditions and scored an impressive second place with Pete Vincent/Sarah Burridge well clear in third. With not that many capsizes 16 boats finished.

With the wind up a little it was a depleted fleet that started race 5. Paul and Verity won in style from Matt/Ross now with a kite that would come down in 2nd and the Dodwell's impressive in 3rd. Everyone agreed with PRO Alf's call to bank the 2 races and head for warm showers.

Paul and Verity thus defended their title emphatically. The Freelands were an impressive 2nd overall; the consistent Vincent/Burridge team 3rd overall with Dodwell's 4th overall and first family/Junior team. Matt and Helen Cook won the Silver Division in 8th overall.

Many thanks to Carsingtom SC for being excellent hosts. Look out during November for announcement of the exciting Millennium Series calender for 2025. With the Nationals at Hayling Island with an expected step up in entries 2025 is promising to be a cracking year for the 2000s.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewBoat NameClubR1R2R3R4R5Pts
1st2321Paul CullenVerity HopkinsHurricaneWeirwood SC11‑2114
2nd22743Paul FreelandSharon Freeland Llandefedd Lake SC3236(RET)14
3rd22713Pete VincentSarah BurridgeThe Good The Petite & The UglyLlandegfedd Lake SC & Weir Wood SC7543(DNC)19
4th22673Ed DodwellRuben Dodwell RAFSA8‑14102323
5th22698Oliver ThompsonElliott ThompsonHurricaneWest Riding SC6‑767423
6th2355Matt SargentRoss SouthwellZoomyArmy SC5‑12512224
7th2458Rob BurridgeGemma BurridgeWet n WickedWeirwood SC241(DNC)DNC29
8th21203Matt CookHelen Cook West Riding SC9‑1794830
9th21675Jenny IrishAli Cormack  1210‑135532
10th22722Jonathan ChingLouisa Ching Weirwood SC437(DNC)DNC36
11th2204Sarah YardleyIain Yardley RYA1011118(DNC)40
12th22564Helen PhillipsAndrew Phillips Cardiff Bay YC158811(DNC)42
13th22734Trevor BradleyMerrin FroggettBossThornton Steward SC14614‑15943
14th21353Rich CorbynAlice Woodings Carsington Sailing Club1613‑189644
15th2063Alistair BanksSam Lewis West Riding SC1191214(RET)46
16th21092Henry BrightSusie Bright Oxford SC17‑181710751
17th22619Mike McEwingAlex WilbyRoosterRAFSA & Rutland SC13161513(RET)57
18th22730Dirk MeyerLeif Meyer Hunts SC18151616(DNC)65
19th2173Isobel Arkle (YH)Olivia Arkle (YC) Sunderland YC19191917(DNC)74
20th2587Guy BoswellJulie BoswellDragon FlyLlandefedd Lake SC(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC88
20th21760Keah Edwards (YH)Gawain EdwardsKnotHunts SC(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC88

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