Salcombe Yawl Open Meeting at Salcombe Yacht Club
by John Murrell 11 May 2004 15:14 BST
1st - 3rd May 2004
The blue fleet start at the Salcombe Yawl open © John Murrell
Dr Dan… four out of four
The Salcombe Yawl blue fleet rose to the occasion of the Early May Open Meeting at the Salcombe Yacht Club, with fifteen entrants. Better than expected, sunny and gentle conditions provided wind from almost every direction, for all four races which were raced both inside and outside the estuary.
Y 98, `Sandpiper`, sailed by Dan Bridger with Gail or Harry, dominated the series with four firsts, which shows how Salcombe`s `flukey` conditions can be conquered with skill and panache! The second placed boat, Y 83, `Sherazade`, sailed by Rob Adams & Graham Kennedy had chances to win and led at various stages in all races, as did third placed boat Y 126, `Petrel`, sailed by Dave Townend & Allyson Lofts.
The racing was particularly close on the final day when the lower series places were all up for grabs. The pre race nerves were jangling, with no wind on the start line and an out going tide, at which point the starting hooters began to play an unfamiliar tune, causing a cancellation and restart after all had been around the first mark! The first five boats who cross the line with less than sixty seconds between them, included Y138, `Betty`, sailed by Barney & Juanita Greenhill, just bowspritting Y137, `Puffin`, sailed by Martin & Cheryll Beck. Despite this excioting finish, Martin & Cheryll beat Barney & Juanita into fourth in the series. The remainder of the fleet followed in a circling breeze, drained of energy after four mentally demanding races.
A very select band of seven jostled for red fleet honours with Y169, `Rum Tum Tigger`, sailed by Ian Stewart & Wendy Palmerone eventually doing enough to win by Sunday evening. A close second, winning two of the four races, was Y 166, `Zenga` sailed by Andrew Squire & Mike O` Brien. Richard Fulford Smith & David Knowles in Y179, `Pas Encore` were third.