Buzz National Championship at Herne Bay Sailing Club

Warm hospitality from Herne Bay SC for the Buzz nationals © Jeremy Blackman

Herne Bay SC provided excellent organization and warm hospitality for the Buzz National Championship which consisted of 9 races held over 3 days.

On day 1, the wind was light and variable which led to the abandonment of race 1 after the wind died on the first beat. Two further races were held after a wait for the wind to fill in and Simon Cory and Annie Smith from Downs SC showed their intentions by winning both, ahead of Paul Clements and Andy Holmes from Chew Valley SC. Behind them Stuart Bailey and Ed Styles took 3rd and 4th places respectively.

Day 2 dawned with slightly more wind, again from a Northerly direction which swung to North-East and increased slightly in the afternoon. There were some new faces at the front, with Chris Dutton and Nathan Brazil taking a second place in race 5 but Simon Cory remained firmly in control posting three further wins and a fourth. Paul Clements and Stuart Bailey continued to fight for second place overall, with Paul slightly ahead after taking a win in race 5. Further back, Ed Styles, John Cass and Chris Dutton continued to have a close battle with Ed gaining the upper hand with a 3rd and two 4ths.

In the rerun of race 1 a collision at the leeward mark resulted in a slight injury to John Cass when he was forced to gybe, however he gained redress from the protest committee when the offender accepted a 20% penalty. The crews got to stretch their legs at last in this race when the wind freshened enough to allow trapezing.

On the final day, the fleet was greeted by a moderate breeze and some large waves for the first race which allowed some good surfing on the downwind leg. Stuart Bailey and Zoe Noble revelled in the conditions to take 1st place keeping them neck and neck with Paul Clements in the hunt for 2nd place. Simon Cory and Annie Smith scored a 1st and a 2nd which allowed them to retire from the final race knowing that the Championship was theirs.

However for the rest of the fleet there was everything to play for and the final race proved to be the most dramatic of the series. After a restart for a large windshift, Paul Clements and Chris Dutton both stayed close to the shore whilst the rest of the fleet went out to sea looking for more wind, this gave them a big lead at the windward mark and after the run they continued with the same tactics for the final beat. The wind began to die away and in the strong tide the boats had to go almost to remains of Herne Bay pier before turning downtide for the windward mark. But then a large windshift allowed John Cass and Julia Brazil, who had gone out to sea, to lay the windward mark ahead of the leaders. They rounded with a comfortable lead to win the race ahead of Ed Styles and Chris Dutton. This race determined the final results, with Paul Clements taking 2nd place overall ahead of Stuart Bailey, who retired and John Cass taking 5th place overall by dint of his win. Credit must go to Herne Bay SC and Race Officer John Bennett, who ran an excellent Championship, both on and off-shore in difficult wind conditions.

Overall Results: