K6 Open at Aldeburgh Yacht Club
by John Adcroft 19 Aug 2012 20:54 BST
18-19 August 2012
K6's at Aldeburgh © John Adcroft
Following on from a successful (if at times windy) regatta week which saw all the home fleet's boats racing against each other on more than one occasion; the weekend saw four home boats joined by two visitors for a weekend of close tactical racing in ideal conditions.
A steady force three on both days (albeit from totally opposite directions) and wall to wall sunshine showed Suffolk off at its very best. Champagne sailing both days and fish and chips from the famous Aldeburgh chippie on Saturday night, can life be any better.
Overnight leader on Saturday night was Ian Robson from the home club with three bullets followed by Peter Kirkby from Queen Mary and Frazer Elms from Hayling. This didn't tell the whole story of the day because most of the fleet led races at some stage during the afternoon but didn't have Ian's ability to tide cheat particularly downwind.
Sunday dawned bright and with a decent breeze from the North East, the OOD was just able to squeeze 3 races in back to back before the wind died and rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance.
Race 4 went, once again, the way of Ian but in race 5 he managed to catch the windward mark with his keel and had to reverse off whilst the rest of the fleet sailed past. Normal positions were, however, restored in the last race and Ian was a worthy winner of the meeting with 5 firsts.
Thanks must go to the OOD's Simon Fulford on Saturday and Henry Gordon-Jones on Sunday for setting good windward/leeward courses in the river and getting the races away in superfast time. Watching a fleet of K6's short tacking along the bank with just a boat length between them, made all competitors realise what a great boat they are for a venue like Aldeburgh.
Overall Results:
1st 162, Ian Robson & Sandy Johson (Aldeburgh Y.C)
2nd 166, Frazer Elms & Georgie Smith (Hayling Island S.C)
3rd 216, Peter Kirkby & Justin Maples (Queen Mary S.C)