Bala Catamaran Open Meeting at Bala Catamaran Club

Victory for John Tuckwell and Chelsea Furber in the 35th Bala Catamaran Open © Bill Marche

The 35th Catamaran open was held over the weekend of the 5th to the 7th May. Despite the cold weather forecast a total of 20 boats turned up which included 5 visitors.

Saturday saw competitors wake to ice on the windows of caravans (heaven knows what it was like to be camping) as the fleet congregated for sausage and bacon rolls cooked by the club members. Racing got underway at 12.00 with a northerly breeze at 12 to 15 knots. Saturday’s racing was dominated by Pete and James Findlay who showed a master class is sailing the NACRA Carbon. They proved untouchable with blistering speed from the start. Scoring 3 firsts the general opinion was the fight would be for the minor places.

Other notable performances included Dave Walker and Ashley Bissell who posted a 2nd along with Dave Park and Jonny Cotgreave. The Irish pairing of Andrew Gallagher and Catherine Gunning where also consistent with three 3rds. In the blue fleet, racing was dominated by the Unicorn of Gary Piper posting 3 firsts along with Robert England in the Dart 15 experimental.

Sunday dawned and the wind had dropped. Race 1 in the Red fleet was won by John Tuckwell and Chelsea Furber in a Hurricane 5.9sx followed by George Upton in the A class. This was now the opportunity for the light wind experts to make good. Race 2 on the Sunday was started and then cancelled due to no wind. After an hour’s wait race 3 was started. The two lap race resulted in the closest finish the club had seen for some time and kept the race committee busy.

Red fleet was won by Mike and Alex Cleaver in the Spitfire but Tuckwell and Furber were able to hang onto second. Not a good day for the favourite Findlay and Findlay posting a 10th and 13th. Again the blue fleet was still being lead by Gary Piper but there were good performances by local youth sailors Lewis Bissell and Isabella Toms.

Last day and it was all to play for however the wind was not prepared to accommodate. The wind had now swung round to the east bellowing over the mountains and made for vicious gusts. The day was going to be about seamanship not racing. Race 1 saw 11 boats at the start line but only 5 finishing with a result. Gary Piper again was the only finisher in the blue fleet and the Gallagher / Gunning winning the red fleet followed by Simon Flack who was attempting to make a last minute dash to the line with Tuckwell and Furber posting a third.

The last race was again held in the challenging conditions. Gallagher / Gunning started and then retired thinking they had done enough to secure the series. This left Flack and crew, Tuckwell / Furber and Paul Warren in the F16 to nurse their way round the race course and finished in that order.

When the results were calculated it was John Tuckwell and Chelsea Furber who won the Red fleet by a single point from Andrew Gallagher and Catherine Gunning with Simon Flack with various crews third. The Blue fleet was won by Gary Piper in the Unicorn with Lewis Bissell and Isabella Toms second and Robert England third.

Overall this was an excellent event and one of the classics on the catamaran circuit. Sponsorship from Insurance 4 Dinghies by Towergate Mardon, GP sails, Summit watersports and NACRA was well received particularly as all the sponsors are long term supporters of catamaran sailing in the UK.

The next big event will be at Rutland Water and will see F18’s, Hurricanes and many other classes come together to battle it out to be the best. For the club the next big event will be the Enduro incorporating F18 TT over the weekend of 28th and 29th July. This is already lining up to be another big weekend with the band already booked and the biggest marquee that will make Billy Smart jealous already arranged.

Red fleet results:

Blue fleet results