Comet Open Meeting at Severn Sailing Club

Close racing at Severn Sailing Club © Chris Hawley

Nick Moon wins the Severn Comet Open © Chris Hawley

Ten visitors joined thirteen home boats for the 2011 Comet Open meeting at Severn Sailing Club. The competitors were met by a good force 3 breeze straight down the river, which resulted in some incredibly close racing. Given the number of competitors and width restrictions of the river the fleet was split into two flights.

Race 1

In flight 1, Jon Cooper and Chris Robinson (newly crowned national champion) were out of the blocks like greyhounds out of the traps and it looked like they would not be caught. However, Chris Hawley gradually reeled them in and broke through at the end of the first lap. With Robinson and Cooper caught in a tacking battle, Hawley took advantage of the clear air and was not caught again for the rest of the race. Cooper crumbled under the pressure of Robinson and ran aground allowing Robinson to take second in the flight.

In flight 2, John Coppenhall built up what seemed to be an unbeatable lead over chasing boats of Nick Moon, Phil Hossell, P Dalton and Clive Chapman. However, Copenhall experienced some gear failure and was eventually caught by the chasing pack. Moon was showing good pace until a collision with a cruiser resulted in a forced retirement. Dalton took line honours, followed by Chapman and then Coppenhall.

The final positions were: Hawley, Robinson, Cooper then Dalton.

Race 2

After a superbly filling lunch, the flights were reversed for race 2. In the new flight 1, Moon quickly took control. He built an unassailable lead over the remainder of his flight and was unchallenged throughout the duration of the race.

In the new flight 2, Cooper and Hawley broke away from the rest of the pack. However, they both struggled for clear air when they caught some of the first flight. This allowed Robinson and Eddie Pope to catch up. Cooper managed to break away, with Robinson coming out second, positions that were unchanged for the end of the race. Pope and Hawley batted on the final lap, but Hawley managed to finish third.

The final positions were: Cooper, Moon, Robinson then Hawley.

Race 3

With the flights reshuffled to put those "in contention" into flight 1 everything was to play for in the final race. Any one of four boats could take the overall win. Given Moon's RTD in race 1, he was put into the second flight.

In the first flight Cooper made another good start and looked a safe bet to hold the lead to the finish. The chasing boats were not so keen on this idea and after some position changing, Pope had caught Cooper with Robinson and Hawley close behind.

A rare mistake by Cooper on a mark rounding allowed Pope, Robinson and eventually Hawley through. With Robinson taking the lead the overall results dramatically shifted. Robinson held the lead to the finish. Pope collided with a boat from the second flight and was forced to do some late penalty turns. Hawley caught Pope, but Pope managed to hold second by a matter of inches over Hawley.

In the second flight it was a similar story to Race 2. Moon put in a master-class performance to pull away from the rest of the fleet. Rhiain Bevan sailed a superb race to finish second in the flight, not too far behind Moon. Helen Leivers crossed the line third.

The final positions were: Moon, Robinson, Pope then Hawley.

With one two points between the top four boats this proved to be a very close event. Moon was crowned champion for 2011, showing that you shouldn't give up even if you don't finish the first race!

Overall Results: