Blaze Nationals at Felpham Sailing Club

by Jon Saunders 29 Jun 2011 18:03 BST 24-26 June 2011

As initial forecasts for the weekend of 25th June came out, the Blaze fleet had much to be optimistic about. 10-13mph South Westerly (coming straight across the English Channel) and neap tides; ideal conditions for some gentlemanly racing around Chichester Bay. Second forecasts were a little more alarming, the met office did a fine job of scaremongering by threatening 25mph gusts, but the ambient wind, everyone maintained, would be fine. By the time Friday morning rolled around the 10-13 had become 20 gusting 30, with plenty of chop.

Still, 43 willing (if a little underprepared) Blazers gathered for the briefing at Felpham Sailing Club. 8 races, 2 discards, triangle sausage courses, and (in a comedy german accent) if zere iz any fanny biziness zere vill be black flags, jawohl?

As the final forecast appeared accurate, a sizeable contingent decided that discretion was the better part of valour. With 2 discards to play with they could afford to miss the horrid first days racing and arrive on the start line fresh for day two. SO out came the usual mix of binoculars and arm-chair strategy that one expects from these types.

In the starting area, a heavily port biased line greeted the 23 braves. On the gun Rob Jones (678) and Jon Saunders (611) led the fleet off the pin end. Sailing fast and free, they sailed straight for the lay and arrived at the windward mark together, followed by Nick Miller (757) who had followed, but over stood. Jones got the better of Saunders on the first reach and found himself without pursuers after the latter overcooked his first gybe. Jones carried the race, unchallenged, while Miller, not be outdone by Saunders, managed a grand total of six capsizes, and unlike his youthful counterpart, somehow held on to his 2nd place. Christian Smart (745) came through with an unusual lack of drama and took Saunders on the penultimate run for a 3rd followed by local sailor Matt Burnett in 5th. To be fair to Miller, going for a swim downwind was very very easy. A confused, rapid chop led many over the top of what they thought was a big and stable wave, only to plow nose first into its hidden neighbour before they could think to find another way through. After an awful lot of swimming across the fleet the start line was evened up a touch and race two got underway.

Now well acclimatised, the fleet surged off the centre with local Peter Jones (782) leading off toward the pin end. He tacked early and found himself quite alone at the windward mark. Unperturbed, he proceeded round absolutely without incident. A close group of Smart, Kieran Holt (699), Saunders, Burnett, Jones and Miller all did battle for 2nd. Everything seemed to be going Miller’s way, until, on the sausage leg, he plowed in to a wave and deathrolled, followed by (as far as I can tell) all of the above. It was as if Lady luck had reached out and gracefully flattened the entire chasing pack, with one exception, Rob Jones. Lady luck though is a fickle wench and begrudging his escape, fixed her eyes on the standard-load block holding together his adjustable forestay (and coming from 700s he really should know better!). One shattered block later and the defending champion could be seen at the bow of his capsized boat, engaged in a valiant struggle to jury rig it and carry on. Lady luck was having none of it and reached under his wing to right his boat, unaided, and put a stop to that. In the meantime Burnett, Saunders and light and spritely Eden Hylan (581) followed Peter to claim the runner up positions.

Forty three had arrived, twenty seven had attempted to race, twenty finished. If the trend continued there’d be nobody left on Sunday. “Don’t worry” was the line towed in the bar “it’s set to drop.” No, it isn’t. Whoever cooked that up was full of lies and beer. Doombar, to be specific, brought in specially. Lovely.

After an evening of home-made curry, a concoction called “Dark and Stormy” (curse you Brian!) and sleep broken by rain and snorting hedgehogs, I rocked up at the beach to an English Channel that looked dark, stormy and foaming.

I wasn’t alone in feeling a bit worse for wear, the fleet as a whole was a bit fuzzy on exactly where that start line was and caused the first and only general recall of the event. Needless to say ze black flag was raised and spotter boats deployed. This struck the fear of god in to everyone except Nick. With thirty seconds to go he cruised along the line (a good six boat-lengths over it!) and ducked under to find a comfy spot in the middle. He led an otherwise cautious fleet to the windward mark, to find himself waved down by a rib and stamped with a big BFD sticker. Rob, close behind, scrunched up his eyes and whispered sweet nothings to the Lady, anticipating his own stamp. He was already counting a DNF. Mercifully he was spared and followed Peter Jones around the windward mark. Rob took him unawares on the reach and proceeded to sail away unchallenged, leaving the rest of us, that’s right, keeping up with the Jones’s! Not for long. Alistair Barbrook (750), who had just claimed 3rd around the mark, shot off toward the wing only to suddenly plow headfirst into the briny deep. He had hit what appeared to be lobster pot lines, strung out across the second leg. He was followed by a good portion of the fleet, luffing each other high on the reach and suddenly finding themselves with nowhere to turn. Various attempts were made to make the race authorities aware, including a particularly vocal display from Saunders, earning him the prize for “best luvvie impression” (the prize was a mug). Those who simply capsized got the lighter of punishments, one boat’s rudder downhaul tore straight through the blade. In the struggle for 2nd, Burnett made gains on Peter Jones upwind and eventually nipped him on the last beat to the finish. In the chasers Andy Conway (720) was eventually bested by Smart for 4th.

After a few adjustments to the course race four got underway. Rob Jones and Saunders led off of the port end and once more looked set to lead. Had they paid attention to the course changes they would have known that the beat was now half as long, but they hadn’t and they didn’t and they overstood, really quite badly. Miller had tacked early, rounded first and settled in for an easy ride, only to suddenly find himself confronted by Peter Jones on his way to the leeward mark. He won out though, and Rob Jones managed to clamber through from the midfleet and take peter upwind for 2nd.

The final race of the day saw Miller take an early lead upwind, and the Jones’s face off at the windward mark. Rob forced Peter to duck him on the starboard layline, but had fatally misjudged the angle and had to tack again, giving Peter a lead that would never be reeled in. Burnett, now a reliable presence in the fleet leaders thanks to truly stunning upwind performance, claimed a steady 4th.

Elsewhere in the fleet the racing conditions (remarkably consistent, unusually) were taking their toll. One broken mast, one heavily bent. Two boats turned over for repairs and another out of action with a damaged foredeck. The familiar sights of drills and rivet guns were ever present as the fleet made ready for a final day. Forecasts promised fog early, due to burn off quickly and reveal a mercifully lighter breeze.

No event would be complete though, without some live entertainment. Local band Kelly’s Heroes performed fine sets of classics, giving the usual suspect his chance to pull some moves. At the end of a particularly rigorous session, the singer said simply “I’m surprised I’m not pregnant after that.” Fan mail may be directed to ‘Andy the farmer, from Burghfield.’ Sunday looked set to be an interesting day; Rob Jones led on 7points, followed by Peter on 9. The latter though, had a very healthy first discard of a 3rd, whilst Rob was scratching his DNF. In the final three races the introduction of only one extra discard put Rob at much greater risk, one duff race could end it all. Miller, kept out of contention in 5th due to a 15th place counting, could pull it all back with a discard and some reliable sailing, and he is nothing if not reliable.

As it happened it was all pretty pointless talk. Sunday morning came and with it the predicted fog. It was a curious scenario; a fresh sea breeze quickly built, shovelling mile after mile of fog on to the shore, where it immediately evaporated. The committee boat launched with a postponement flag raised, to scout out the racing area. Sailors eagerly readied boats, raised sails and then sat on the beach as the fog rolled in…for two hours. Eventually a satellite image of the channel was summoned up, revealing the full extent of the problem. Thick fog, all the way to Calais, breeze and all.

In his typically modest speech, Rob Jones thanked Felpham sailing club’s organizers, racing team, ever-important caterers and above all the rescue crews which had spent so much of the weekend lifting exhausted sailors out of the water. A Stirling job in trying conditions. The event was sponsored by Cirrus Raceboats and Overboard Bags. Prizes ranged from coffee mugs to hiking shorts and dry bags and wallets. Some of the more interesting awards included:

• Paul Helmsley: Shortest distance sailed
• Eden Hylan: Best Youth
• Meghann Marcano-Olivier: Endeavour trophy
• Peter Jones: Best home sailor (in a formidable 2nd place)

The overriding lesson of the whole event (if there can be such a thing) is that while safety should always be the top priority when racing, it is usually better, when conditions are marginal, to sail, rather than wait for them to change, as that fabled lighter day may not always come. Easily said, I know, but worth remembering.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Sail No	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st	Rob Jones	678	Warsash SC	1	(DNF)	1	2	3	7
2nd	Peter Jones	782	Felpham SC	-3	1	3	3	2	9
3rd	Matt Burnett	763	Felpham SC	-6	2	2	4	4	12
4th	Jonathon Saunders	611	Felpham SC	5	3	-6	5	5	18
5th	Nick Miller	757	Morecambe & Heysham YC	2	15	(BFD)	1	1	19
6th	Christian Smart	578	Pembrokeshire YC	4	5	4	6	-8	19
7th	Eden Hylan	581	Chase SC	7	4	11	11	-13	33
8th	Martin Saveker	774	Shustoke SC	DNF	(DNC)	7	7	6	41
9th	James Crew	668	Warsash SC	11	6	12	(DNF)	12	41
10th	Stefan Smart	670	Pembrokeshire YC	10	7	9	(DNF)	15	41
11th	Ian Clark	695	Warsash SC	-13	11	10	10	11	42
12th	Joshua Hyland	546	Chase SC	(DNF)	9	8	15	DNF	52
13th	Peter Barlow	758	Burghfield SC	8	16	15	13	-18	52
14th	Ross Fisher	773	Felpham SC	9	-17	13	16	14	52
15th	Roger Cerrato	731	Warsash SC	12	12	-18	12	16	52
16th	Andrew Williams	691	Mudeford SC	18	(DNC)	14	14	DNF	66
17th	Bob Yates	717	Burghfield SC	19	18	19	-20	17	73
18th	Chris Spicer	748	Morecambe & Heysham YC	17	19	-21	19	DNF	75
19th	Kieran Holt	699	Warsash SC	DNF	8	DNF	(DNC)	DNF	76
20th	Tim Heaton	749	Bala SC	DNF	(DNC)	17	18	DNF	76
21st	Alistair Barbrook	750	Burghfield SC	(DNS)	DNC	16	9	9	79
22nd	Bob Cowan	772	Warsash SC	16	20	20	DNF	(DNC)	80
23rd	Gareth Hyland	680	Chase SC	20	DNF	-23	21	19	81
24th	Nick Creak	729	Hamble River SC	DNF	(DNC)	DNC	8	10	84
25th	Meghann Marcano-Olivier	592	Chase SC	DNF	DNF	(DNF)	23	DNF	85
26th	Nick Ripley	545	Paignton SC	(DNS)	10	DNF	DNC	7	89
27th	Steve Jobling	648	Pevensey Bay SC	DNF	(DNC)	25	DNF	DNF	90
28th	Alex Williams	723	Blackwater SC	14	DNF	(DNC)	17	DNC	97
29th	Julian Owens	704	Pembrokeshire YC	15	14	DNF	(DNC)	DNC	101
30th	Andy Conway	720	Chichester SC	(DNS)	13	5	DNC	DNC	108
31st	John Abbott	766	Oxford SC	(DNS)	DNC	22	22	DNC	134
32nd	Brian Buggy	768	Portishead Yacht & Sailing Club	DNF	(DNS)	26	DNC	DNC	137
33rd	Chris Clarke	785	Pevensey Bay SC	DNF	(DNS)	DNF	DNC	DNC	138
33rd	Simon Beddows	767	Burghfield SC	DNF	(DNC)	DNF	DNC	DNC	138
35th	Luke Mapley	713	Felpham SC	(DNC)	DNC	24	DNF	DNC	138
36th	David Entwhistle	682	Burghfield SC	(DNS)	DNC	BFD	DNC	DNF	155
37th	Mark Phillips	783	Felpham SC	DNF	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	156
37th	Rhys Bromhall	500	Pembrokeshire YC	DNF	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	156
39th	Laurence Marshall	622	Oxford SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNF	DNC	DNC	162
40th	Paul Hemsley	761	Burghfield SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	180
40th	Paul Taylor	751	Burghfield SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	180
40th	Ben Fullalove	764	Blackwater SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	180
40th	Mike Lyons	781	Burghfield SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	180
40th	David Brown	676	Felpham SC	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	180