Enterprise Open at Hampton Sailing Club
by Claudia Wheeler 18 Sep 2011 21:17 BST
18 September 2011
A South Westerly very light wind swinging to North West was blowing on a sunny Sunday morning. All sailors were looking anxiously at the sky hoping that the 2/3 force wind would turn into something a bit more challenging.
The first race started at 11.15am with 11 boats; there were 12 entries but one boat was going to sail in the afternoon races only. The mild breeze was enjoyable and all enjoyed a gentle sail. The winner of that first race was a consistent first on five laps; the course was shortened from 8 to 5 laps when it became obvious that the conditions were unlikely to improve. The winner was Peter Jackson crewed by master Ed Groves on boat 23047, from the Silver Wing B.A Club near Windsor (Berkshire). In second place, was boat 23162 helmed by Jane Chambers crewed by Claudia Wheeler, (Hampton Sailing Club) it was a close second as boat 23218 helmed by Philip Chambers crewed by Chris Parker, (HSC) nearly overtook boat 23162 at the mark on the last lap, but then it missed a puff of wind and came third!
The second race started at 2pm with 13 boats. It rained during that race so the wind dropped. Boat 23047 came first followed by boat 23218 which was determined to gain a place and boat 20924 helmed by John Holland crewed by Alison Holland (HSC) came third having made great progress from rank 6 in the first race. It was a short race with 3 laps only.
Our sailing secretary and duty officer, Trevor Phillips announced that the third race will start at 4.15pm and this time ten boats covered 4 laps. Boat 23218 had no difficulties winning that race, boat 20924 which had a bad start moved promptly from position 7 to a number 2 followed by boat 23229 'Elixir' helmed by Joe Driver and crewed by Dorothy Dixon from HSC.
The sailing conditions were a bit trying, but our visitors from SBSC and Silver Wing certainly appreciated the challenge.
Overall Results:
1st 23047, Pete Jackson & Ed Groves (Silver Wing)
2nd 23218, Phil Chambers & Chris Parker (HSC)
3rd 20924, John Holland & Alison Holland (HSC)
4th 23162, Jane Chambers & Claudia Wheeler/Amelia Goodwin (HSC)
Finals of the River Series:
Philip Chambers, the Enterprise Fleet Captain was the seeded helm in the Thames Valley Series. He was crewed by Chris Parker. The unseeded helm was Alan Munro Faure (SBSC), Joe Driver took the cup on his behalf.