Medway Dinghy Regatta 2011
by Roy Winnett 4 Jul 2011 21:26 BST
2-3 July 2011
Medway Dinghy Regatta Silverware winners © Roy Winnett
Medway Yachting Association’s Dinghy Regatta was held over the weekend 2nd & 3rd July. Organised and hosted by Wilsonian Sailing Club with generous sponsorship from locally based MTS Cleaning Services and Hyde Sails providing some goodies.
There was an excellent entry of 83 boats representing 18 sailing clubs and travelling from afar as Glasgow.
Four races were scheduled, two Saturday, two back-to-back on Sunday with three to count and a Hog Roast & Disco on Saturday evening. There were fleet starts for fast, medium and slow handicap, 3000, Vortex, Laser 2000 and Wayfarer.
Although there was plenty of sunshine, the wind was not so kind. A light south-easterly was strengthened by a sea breeze on Saturday to give a steady force 2 for race 1 but regrettably this died away during the afternoon and race 2 had to be shortened to finish downriver as boats struggled against the ebb tide. On Sunday the sea breeze failed to kick in and just the handicap fleet and one Vortex managed to get a finish within the time limit and race 4 was forced to be abandoned.
Simon Allen won the Canoe International contest with Mark Goodchild to lift the fast handicap trophy.
Allen scored a couple a couple of wins and a third while Goodchild had a first, third and a disappointing 10th to count for third overall. Tim Kift and Jo Wicken continued their success in the Alto for runners-up spot, with a 2nd, 4th & 5th. Ian Parris/Ed LeGassick won the RS 800 challenge for 4th prize, though newcomers David/Katie Milliard gave them a scare in the first race by taking second place but could not match this in the later races.
Matthew Wynn (RS300) won the tie break with Chris Ashby/Mike Smith (RS400) for 5th.
In the medium handicap Andy Gibbs/ Paul Aitken (Topper Zenon) and Simon Gillow/Fiona Brett (Scorpion) had a first and a second apiece but the tie was broken in Gibbs/Aitken favour. Chris/Jamie Brown (RS 200) secured third place with Max Bentley (Laser) fourth and David Fry/Matt Crockett (GP14) fifth.
David/Sandra Wilson (Graduate) retained the slow handicap crown but was closely challenged by the Miracles of Colin/Maureen Lown and David/Jackie Hudson. The Lowns won the first race with the Wilsons second and Hudsons third but the order was reversed in race 2 to give Wilsons victory.
Just four home based boats contested the 3000 title, Tony Hunt/Suzanne Hall and Martin Brown/Max Caston shared the points with a first and third but Hunt/Hall had won the last race for top honours.
The Vortex fleet had a three way tie between Mike Gower, Angus Winchester and last years winner Jonathan Carr going into race 3. However, Gower was the only one to get a finish so ensured overall victory with Winchester second and Carr third.
Visitor Christopher/Gillian Jordan with two aces won the Laser 2000 contest with ease, while John Smith/Sally Taviner were second with 2 thirds to count. David/Fiona Tozer was held up in traffic on Sunday but the weather favoured them as they picked up third prize with a couple of fourths while a 2nd & 9th was sufficient to secure David Vettergreen/Lucy Hockey 4th prize.
The Wayfarer Matkin Trophy has changed hands after being held by Richard Stone for many years. Brian Lamb/Sam Pygall are the new holders with a win and second to count while Stone/Phil Stacey had a 1st & 3rd Brian/Elizabeth McKenzie and Andrew Pearson/Stan Benwell secured third and fourth prizes respectively.
The Bill Stewart Memorial Cup was presented to Christopher Stevens for his involvement in the organisation of the Medway Regatta over many years.
Overall Results/Prizes:
Bill Stewart Memorial Cup
Christopher Stevens (Wilsonian SC)
Fast handicap
1st Canoe Int. 312 Simon Allen 5pts (Hayling Island SC)
2nd Alto 115 Tim Kift/Jo Wicken 11pts (Wilsonian SC)
3rd Canoe Int. 265 Mark Goodchild 14pts (Wilsonian SC)
4th RS 800 Ian Parris/Ed LeGassick 15pts ((Wilsonian SC)
5th RS300 348 Matthew Wynn 18pts (Wilsonian SC)
Medium handicap
1st Topper Xenon 3948 Andy Gibbs/Paul Aitken 19pts (Wilsonian SC)
2nd Scorpion 2003 Simon Gillow/Fiona Brett 19pts (Chipstead SC)
3rd RS 200 Chris/Jamie Brown 22pts (Weston SC)
4th Laser 112071 25pts (Medway YC)
5th GP 14 13550 David Fry/Matt Crockett 27pts (Tonbridgetown SC)
Slow handicap
1st Graduate 2974 David/Sandra Wilson 11pts (Broadwater SC)
2nd Miracle 206 Colin/Maureen Lown 12pts (Wilsonian SC)
3rd Miracle 3795 David/Jackie Hudson 13pts (Wilsonian SC)
Vortex
1st 1013 Mike Gower 5pts (Wilsonian SC)
2nd 1181 Angus Winchester 13pts (Castle Semple SC)
3rd 1153 Jonathan Carter 19pts (Richmansworth SC)
3000
1st 3461 Tony Hunt/Suzanne Hall 8pts (Wilsonian)
2nd 3608 Martin Brown/Max Caston 8pts (Wilsonian SC)
3rd 3605 David Fenech/Alison Williams 8pts (Wilsonian SC)
Laser 2000
1st 22116 Christopher/Gillian Jordan 15pts (Burghfield SC)
2nd 21563 John Smith/Sally Taviner 19pts (Netley SC)
3rd 2643 David Vettergreen/Lucy Hockey 22pts (Wilsonian SC)
Wayfarer
1st 10614 Brian Lamb/Sam Pygall 16pts (Wilsonian SC)
2nd 10609 Richard Stone/Phil Stacey 17pts (Medway YC)
3rd 8848 Brian/Elizabeth McKenzie 19pts (Medway YC)
4th 9491 Andrew Pearson/Stan Benwell 22pts (Medway YC)
Full Results