GP14 Open Meeting at Aldridge Sailing Club Overall

by Steve Ellison 22 Mar 2001 00:00 PST

Nine visitors traveled to Aldridge to join six boats from the Club for the first meeting of the Midland Bell Travellers series. It was a dull day with a blustery wind and occasional snow showers but Bill Clayton and his O.D. team were able to get the first of the three races underway on time. With the wind direction varying along the line it was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time for a good start and several boats were left behind at the off. This meant there was little congestion at the First mark and Tim Hemsley with crew Stuart McManus were first to round it and they held this lead throughout the race despite a strong challenge from John Salomonson and Alan Jones in the early laps. Lower down the order Terry Edwards and Darren Heath (South Staffs S.C.)were making up for their poor start to finish in fifth place. The race finished with Hemsley/McManus 1st. Salomonson/Jones 2nd and Toby Taylor and Julia Howard in 3rd.

After lunch the start of the second race was much more even but the fluky wind tempted some helms to try and lay the mark on port tack. The wind didn’t hold for them and three boats stalled on the mark whilst the boats approaching on Starboard were able to point higher and clear the congestion. Once again Hemsley/McManus took the lead whilst Salomonson/Jones, Taylor/Howard and Alan Atack with Chessie Saunders were engaged in a race long contest for the lower places. The finish of this race was made interesting when one of the lower placed boats capsized on the line leaving only a small gap at each end for the finishing boats to cross. Fortunately it was quickly recovered and didn’t influence the results which were 1st.Hemsley/McManus, 2nd. Taylor/Howard and 3rd. Edwards/Heath.

After a short break the third and final race started and, as in the first race, the quality of the start was the result of the wind rather than the helmsman’s skill. There was little drama at the windward mark and the race quickly settled into a procession once again led by Hemsley/McManus. As the race progressed there were some changes in the lower order. The final result was 1st. Hemsley/McManus, 2nd. Edwards/Heath and 3rd. Salomonson/Jones.

Although Tim Hemsley and Stuart McManus (Frensham Pond S.C.) were clear winners the lower places were not so obvious. Three boats had each scored a second, third and fourth place so the final result was decided on position in the last race. Overall Terry Edwards and Darren Heath were second, John Salomonson and Alan Jones third and Toby Taylor and Chessie Saunders were fourth.

Despite the wintry weather the whole fleet enjoyed a good days sailing with many of them being rewarded by the prizes donated by the members of Aldridge Sailing Club and Trailermaid.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Sail No	Club
1	Tim Hemsley	Stuart McManus	13617	Frensham Pond S.C.
2	Terry Edwards	Darren Heath	13611	South Staffs S.C.
3	John Salomonson	Alan Jones	10801	South Staffs S.C.
4	Toby Taylor	Chessie Saunders	13484	South Staffs S.C.
5	Chris Yates	Dave Jones	13384	Nantwich & B.C.S.C.
6	Neil Wilkinson	Jeremy Jones	11818	Aldridge S.C.
7	John Bate	Peter Thoms	12850	Nantwich & B.C.S.C.
8	Alan Atack	Chessie Saunders	13666	Rugby S.C.
9	Ian Hankinson	Bob Wheeler	13264	Aldridge S.C.
10	Dave Thompson	Andrew Thompson	13690	Nantwich & B.C.S.C.
11	Steve Ellison	Stuart Berry	6001	Aldridge S.C.
12	Dave Edwards	Peter Darwin	11971	Nantwich & B.C.S.C.
13	Andy Cockbill	Ryan Cockbill	11472	Aldridge S.C.
14	Dave Morton	Theresa Morton	12114	Aldridge S.C.
15	Chris Lacey	Kate Lacey	12625	Aldridge S.C.