North Berwick Sailing Club Contender British Open

27-30th May
Photos ©: Liz Tulloch

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The contender nationals were held over 4 days, on the second May bank holiday weekend at East Lothian Yacht Club, North Berwick, Scotland. Conditions for the 57 entries, seven from overseas including USA and Canada, varied from flat calm to an outrageous 45 knots, both, as it happens, on the same day.

The sailing was as much a test clothing as it was boat handling and speed, due to the unseasonably varied weather and the northern latitude. Many a southern softie being caught out with only their summer wet suit to hand.

As a prelude to the sailing, the fleet was asked to vote on a variety of courses, the top four of which were then used on a proportional basis during the racing. For the first day, a standard olympic course was set, to the relief of many, as a solid five to six with occasional puffs was blowing, broad reaching and one gybe per lap was definitely favoured. The fleet got away cleanly, thumping into the lumpy seas of the Firth of Forth, and saw a tight fought battle for the lead with all the pre-race favourites in the leading bunch. Graham Scott, the defending champion, capitalised on others mistakes to finish the hour long short format race in the lead with Ian Renilson, still dining out on his Endeavour Trophy win, a while ago, close behind. Andy Potter, known as a heavy weather expert slipped into third helped a touch by the fact that a few others had blindly ignored the upwind gate on the first lap.

The second race was a near carbon copy with all the usual suspects to the fore, revelling in the perfect Contender conditions, a touch more heat would have been appreciated, however. Renilson again sailed consistently to finish second to German helm Gabriel Wicke who had spent most of the previous week out practicing with him. Tim Holden, another heavy weather enthusiast, took full advantage coming third with Scott in fourth.

A full Burns night experience, with all the trimmings of bagpipes, whiskey, haggis and poetry was followed by a lighter and thankfully warmer day. A trapezoid course was set in the East bay and with a short beat to the first mark the fleet was tightly packed, testing rules knowledge and observance along with tactical know-how to the limit. Potter was first to show but was buried on the following run, against the tide, when John Browett took a favourable breeze out to sea to lead at the bottom. Scott and Stuart Jones followed up with Neil Rosie close behind. This group pulled away from the pack to finish in that order.

The next race was notable for a bevy of new faces at the front. Most of the frontrunners suffering from self inflicted bad starts or first beats. Once again the run turned out to be decisive with a bunch breaking clear of the pack. The finishing order being Rosie, Nigel Walbank, Gary Langdown and Adrian Conway. Scott and Renilson began to create a gap on the leader board by tagging onto the back of this pack.

The wind eased somewhat for the final race of the day and with a change of tide the inshore route was favored. Jones found this to be so by using the old trick of tacking off on port when getting a bad start. He led clearly at the first mark and was never headed on the slow one lap race. Rosie completed a fine day with a second to position himself third overall, a cause he was seen to celebrate later that night. Cris Miles in a borrowed boat was third with a fast improving Richard (Bonkers) Batten just behind. Some of the other front runners wobbled a bit in this one but Scott slipped in for a very useable seventh, which would turn out to be his worst of the series. Consistency was now beginning to pay, especially as only one discard would be allowed out of the ten scheduled races. A good proportion of the fleet had comfortably got many a discard under their belts.

The third day, Monday, proved to be one of those days that will be talked about for sometime to come and will no doubt be embellished on by bar bores that do that sort of thing. It started quietly enough with a force 2 from the west, which was forecast to drop as the heat built inland. So it seemed, as at the second attempt, the fleet got away. For a whole lap all was normal, until a monstrous black cloud appeared, casting down monsoon like rain and a thirty degree windshift containing wind at 45 knots, blowing the spray off the wave tops. A good proportion of the fleet saw waterspouts. With the threat of even more right behind the race officer, rightly, abandoned the race and sent the fleet scuttling ashore.

An hour later we were back out in bright sunshine and a force 2. This time Jones got the first beat right and lead for the first lap, followed by Renilson and Keith Paul with a pack close behind. However, at this point another storm was making its way along the opposite coast of the Firth, prettily flashing lightning around. For sometime this had no effect on the wind but as the beat progressed, and in as much time as it takes to say “capsize”, half the fleet did as the wind once more got up into the forties, shifting round alarmingly. Renilson and Paul, being towards the cloud were hit by the squall first. Paul took a dip as Renilson beam reached towards the windward mark. The fleet followed in various states of disarray. The main tactical assessment to be made being whether to gybe and capsize or granny round at the wing mark. It’s debatable which was quicker. The race, thankfully, was shortened with Renilson leading home those still standing. Scott, Wicke and Jones followed up. A testament to the strength of the design is that despite the severe conditions only one mast and a boom were broken, taking both storms into account. When the going gets tough, don’t be seen out in a new class!

As the storm moved out to sea the wind went with it, leaving hailstones as a final farewell. The second race of the day started in wind from the opposite direction, which was now light and fickle and as the start gun went it faded completely. Most of the time it was impossible to tell where the wind was coming from as the left over swell knocked any wind out of the sail. Half the fleet had a go in the lead and the least said about this race the better. It should be recorded that most of the frontrunners managed a decent result all the same. Wicke won and was followed home by Potter, Scott and Renilson.

As the final day dawned with 3 race remaining the main prize was between the ever consistent Scott and Renilson although with only one discard anything could still happen. The next positions were Browett, Jones and Wicke.

A steady force 3 blew out of the west with bright sun for the whole day as a nice finale. It was Jones who lead at the first mark of the “P” shaped course never to be headed although pushed hard by Renilson on the last reaches. Batten sailed well to finish third just in front of Browett. Scotts slip to sixth to allowed Renilson to get level on points overall. The next race was a near carbon copy with Jones again leading from start to finish with Renilson close behind. Scott this time followed up, with Browett once more in fourth. One point, in Renilsons favour, was now the gap, but with Scott counting nothing worse than seventh, a sailing down the fleet seemed in order, as Renilson would then have to count a 13th, unlucky for him.

The chase was on, but Scott was not his usual clinical self or has just gone soft as Renilson wormed free to get a good start. At the first mark Browett lead from Renilson, Scott and Jones. Up the beat the inshore route seemed to be paying and the leaders went in close company towards the shore. Scott, however, tried a last attempt to retrieve things by going alone out to sea. There was not much in it but enough to drop him back to fifth. In the meantime, Jones had squeezed past into the lead once more to claim a clean sweep on the day. Renilson showed fine offwind technique to slip comfortably into second to add the Nationals to his trophy collection of Worlds, Europeans and Endeavour won in the past. Not bad. Browett and Wicke followed him home.

Ian Renilson, after taking one of the prizes kindly donated by Holts, thanked East Lothian YC for a finely run regatta at one of the nicest and certainly friendliest venues that you could hope for. The thanks were very much echoed by all that attended.

Overall Results:

Pos Helm         Club                   Pts
-------------------------------------------
 1. I. Renilson  DBSC (Scotland)         27
 2. G. Scott     RYA  (Isle of Man)      31
 3. S. Jones     Datchet Water (England) 45
 4. J. Browett   Datchet Water (England) 51
 5. G. Wicke     Germany                 67
 6. A. Potter    Cheshire                94
 7. R. Batten    Hants                   97
 8. N. Walbank   Lymington               98
 9. N. Rosie     Helensburgh (Scotland) 102
10. A. Langdown                         107

1st Master             Ian Renilson  DBSC
1st Grand Master       Keith Paul    Weston
1st Great Grand Master David Gautier Datchet
1st Junior             Matt Poynts   Highcliffe
1st Newcomer           Nick Grace    Highcliffe

More Information:

• YachtandYachting.com Contender Page