Police National Dinghy Championships at Rutland Sailing Club
by Brendan McGrath 19 Sep 2011 19:30 BST
13-15 September 2011
Police Sport UK Dinghy Championships © Brendan McGrath
Police National Laser Championships (September 13)
Extreme strength winds were the dominant factor in the Police National Laser Championships held at Rutland Water.
Competitors battled with gusts of up to 45 miles per hour, a dying legacy of Hurricane Katia.
Of the 15 who registered for the event, three decided to sit out the competition on seeing the conditions. Another two turned back before making it to the first of three start lines during the day.
Those that remained kept the rescue boats busy.
An added hazard was the pleasure craft the Rutland Belle, which despite being motorized has a bye-law giving it priority over dinghies. The sailing policemen (and it was an all-male entry) were obliged to give it a wide berth.
Simon Hawkes from Avon and Somerset Police triumphed, winning the two races sailed in the afternoon.
Second was Tim Mercer of Merseyside, with a first and second place.
Sean Moore from host club Leicestershire Police came third with a 4.7 rig, two sizes smaller than most of his rivals. The event was not a handicap, so he gained no time advantage against more powerful rigs. But his greater control helped him to two second places.
Fourth was Steve Brinsley with a Radial, followed by Stuart Jenkins, Nick Mason and Andy Taverner (all from the Metropolitan Police Service and all with standard rigs).
Police Sport UK National Dinghy Championships (September 14 and 15)
The highest turnout for a decade helped make the Police Sport UK championships at Rutland Water a success.
Over two days 34 boats battled it out in a five race series. Due to the weather forecast which proved accurate, the organisers scheduled four races on the first day (strong winds) and just one race on the final day (very light winds).
Simon Hawkes (Avon and Somerset) was the overall winner in a Phantom, with two first places and three seconds.
Just one point behind were Frances Gifford and Peter Walker (Metropolitan Police Service) in a Merlin, who won two races, and had second, third and a discarded fifth place.
Next was Rob Jones (Hampshire) in a Blaze, followed by Nick Mason (Metropolitan Police Service) and Tim Mercer (Merseyside), both in Phantoms.
Pete Walters (Nottinghamshire) won the final day’s race in light conditions in his RS100, which enabled him to share sixth position with Alan Husk (Metropolitan Police Service) who raced another Phantom.
The highest placed team from host club Leicestershire were Pete Muggleton and Jerry Summers in a Fireball. They finished equal 15th.
The event was open to serving and retired police officers and police staff from across the UK.