Forts Race at Whitstable Yacht Club

Whitstable Forts Race © Astrid van der Niet

Whitstable Forts Race © Huw Reynolds

Whitstable Forts Race © Huw Reynolds

Forts Race goes global

Racing his own brand of Formula 18 catamaran, Australian Olympic medallist, Darren Bundock won the Forts Race at Whitstable last weekend. Over its 16 year history its reputation as one of the country’s top three long distance races has spread and this year it attracted top international talent including Olympic medallists from Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands as well as most leading British teams and many local amateur racers.

This year four legs were planned, radiating out and back from Whitstable Yacht Club to Red Sands Forts, Reculver Towers, Kentish Flats Windfarm and up the River Swale, giving the racers the widest possible range of conditions over its 90 km length.

On Saturday the planned warm-up session of upwind/downwind course racing proved to be a demolition derby in the high wind conditions. Some competitors decided prudently to stay ashore, others pitch-poled downwind in the strong gusts and one suffered dismasting, such that only 11 of the 43 competitors completed all three races.

Bundock and his 6’6’’dutch crew, Meroen Van Leeuwen, thrived in these conditions, as first across the finishing line in all but the last race, when Will Sunnucks arrived fresh from his attempt at setting a new course record in the Isle of Sheppey Race in his Marstrom M20 Special. While Sunnucks finished two minutes ahead this was not enough to win, after adjusting for handicaps.

An impressive performance was also put in by fellow medallist, Carolijn Brouwer and her crew, Liz Wardley from Belgium sailing the smaller 16 foot Viper finishing 7th, 4th and 5th to cross the line and even better on corrected times.

This was followed by an International Catamaran Team Race. Teams of five representing Australia, Benelux and the United Kingdom competed in a short-course relay race from a Le Mans start and off the beach and handovers off the club ramp. This light-hearted affair rapidly turned into a test of ingenuity in which the refurbished RYA Dart 16 fleet proved their worth as bumper cars. The Australians proved to be the best at cheating, followed by the British with the Europeans last.

Sunday dawned with ideal Force 3-4 winds. Despite a delayed start a significant number of competitors were still leaving the beach when the starting gun went off at noon, but were nevertheless allowed to start.

The first leg 13 km North out to the Forts and back to Whitstable proved to be a drag race where the lightest performed best close-hauled on the outward leg, without becoming over-powered tight reaching with kites on the way back. While Sunnucks’ large Marstrom was the first back to the gate at Whitstable, it lay only 9th on adjusted time. Once again his chaser, Bundock led on adjusted time, while lightweights Brouwer and Wardley in their smaller Viper seventh back but second on adjusted time.

The second leg East to Reculver was a run there and beat back with the wind playing tricks that caught out many competitors. Those who went too far out to sea going there fought the tide. Those who came too close inshore on the way back suffered from the wind funnelled along the heights.

In this leg the longer Marstrom of Sunnucks proved best at riding the chop on the beat back and extended its lead. This also benefitted the Tornados, with the most spectacular improvement by father and son Mylcrist taking them up from 32nd to 22nd place at this stage. On the other hand, these conditions hurt the shorter Vipers.

The dying afternoon breeze meant that gaps between the front and back of the fleet grew ever larger and so Race Officer, Stuart Offer, decided to shorten the race here for half the fleet, including all the Youth Squad Spitfires, except Henry and Freddy White, the last boat to be allowed to continue.

Fortunately the third leg out North East to the Windfarm was a square reach, so the remaining competitors completed this in short order. Whereas the fastest cat completed the first leg in 1 hour, 12 minutes and the second leg in 1 hour 17 minutes, it took only 40 minutes to complete this third leg.

While Sunnucks was 7 miles ahead in his Marstrom, this was not enough to beat Bundock in his F18 on handicap. Stuart Gunner and Ryan Crawford finished third in their F18, while it was a surprise to see that the first Viper was that of Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke in fourth place.

Overall Results:

Silver Fleet: