2013 29er Harken Grand Prix Series

29er Grand Prix at Torbay © Peter Newton Photography / peternewton.zenfolio.com

Action from the 2012 Harken Grand Prix Series event at Rutland © Ben Cooper

After a long season the 29er Harken Grand Prix Series concluded at Datchet Water Sailing Club on 27th October, 8 months after the first event in the 8 event series started at Rutland Sailing Club.

Participation in the series required a commitment to travel many miles with visits to Rutland, Prestwick, Weymouth, Queen Mary, Pwllheli, Torbay, Dabchicks and Datchet. The one boat who managed to travel to all events happened to be the eventual winner and even more of an achievement when you realize that they have to travel 4 hours just to get to the English Border. The Scottish pair of Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris of Royal Findhorn Sailing club made the most of all the travelling and avenged their narrow defeat at the Nationals by dominating this series with 5 wins.

The success of the class is highlighted by the fact that over 200 sailors took part throughout the series with 17 crews completing 6 of the 8 events and 35 doing at least half of the events.

The season started in March with a very wet and cold event at Rutland. It did not stop raining on Saturday and after a postponed start due to lack of wind on Sunday the sailors finally set sail in snow but shortly returned having not managed to get a race in. So the result was all down to Saturdays success and it was Mimi El Khazindar with Ben Batten who started the season off well with a win followed by Owen Bowerman and Morgan Peach second. 2012 Harken GP series winners Rob and Emma Loveridge finished third. All teams which would appear regularly at the top of the fleet throughout the year. Still qualifying as juniors at this event were Dan Venables and Finn Murphy. In 7th place and first females were Vicki Payne and Stephi Orton sailing in the only event they did in the series.

After a short break the Series took a trip North of the border to Prestwick sailing club, despite a good forecast and promise of great hospitality parents were keen to keep their sailors at home studying resulting in the smallest and mainly Scottish entry. The sailors that didn't turn up missed some great sailing conditions in 20 to 25knots. Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris (Royal Findhorn, Inverness) made the most of their local event, even if it was still nearly 200 miles away, dominating with bullets in every race except the last one where they discovered gear failure. Rory Hunter and Fraser Kitson Jones were second and the newly formed pairing of Andrew Kilburn and Hugh Ward was third. In fourth place and first juniors were Lewis Marr and Aaron Murray.

Rory Hunter and Fraser Kitson Jones during the Harken Grand Prix at Prestwick - photo © Alan Henderson / www.fotoboat.com

To allow sailors to concentrate on their academic demands there was a gap until Weymouth at the end of June. 54 entries enjoyed the champagne sailing conditions. After some very consistent sailing with the worst placed result being a 5th Gillies & Dan won the weekend, Dan Venables and Finn Murphy showed their potential coming second and Curtis Mearns and Jamie Catchpole 3rd. First girls were Charlotte Hooper and Molly Brown in 8th overall and first juniors in 10th Overall were Josh Belben and Robert Masterman.

Two weeks later and it was Queen Mary's opportunity to host the fleet. In the middle of July the country was in the middle of a heat wave and a reservoir in London is never the best place to find wind in these conditions. After a long postponement the race officer managed to get two very light airs races in. In these conditions it was the all female crew of Ruth Allan and Alice Masterman who showed the boys how to be gentle in a boat and won both races. A little more breeze on Sunday and it was possible to get 3 further races in. Owen Bowerman and Morgan Peach proved to be the most consistent with a 6, 2, 1, which was good enough to give them the event win by 2 points over the girls. Dan and Finn finished 3rd overall, first juniors in 14th were James Grumett and Daniel Budden. Winners from the two previous events, Gillies and Daniel had struggled in the lighter conditions and finished in 15th. After this event the series takes another break as sailors head to the Worlds and Nationals, historically this half way point sees a change of crew pairings and older teams move on to new things.

Harken 29er Grand Prix at Queen Mary - photo © Alex Irwin / www.sportography.tv

The Autumn end to the series is always well attended and keenly fought as squad places are up for grabs. This year was no different and 37 boats headed up to Pwllheli looking for some good sea conditions. Gillies and Daniel having narrowly missed becoming national champions were determined to stamp their mark on the fleet and proved a point with 4 race wins, clearly showing that they were the team to beat. Rob and Emma Loveridge finished 2nd ahead of the female pairing of Ruth and Alice. First juniors were Scottish sailors Lewis Marr and Aaron Murray.

29er Harken Grand Prix 5 at Pwllheli - photo © Andrew Connellan

On to Torquay where the lack of wind prevented the sailors enjoying the bay at its best. A very light breeze with many holes and patches of fresh breeze made for a very tricky weekend with it looking unlikely to get any sailing Sunday, eventually the race officer launched and managed to complete one shortened race.

The ISAF sailor team of Mimi El-Khazindar and Ben Batten were most consistent and won the event from the newly formed partnership of Tilly James and Paddy Keech. Tilly and Paddy had been leading the fleet overnight but losing the event win on countback. First girls were once again Ruth and Alice in 5th but only just ahead of Lauren Miles and Charlie Darling. First juniors were again James and Dan who had their best result of the series finishing in 9th overall.

Dabchicks in the middle of October was another key event as it was also being used as a final squad selector, which kept the pressure on some teams.

Saturday proved to be a real challenge for the race officer with a light and dying breeze and increasing tide. The first race was one for the ladies with Lauren and Charlie ahead of Ruth and Alice. A second race was started and controversially abandoned half way through. Sunday was a very different day though with winds initially gusting upto 25knots and lots of rain. Gillies and Daniel were back on form making the most of the strong wind at the start and holding that lead to the end despite a major wind shift. With a reset course the race officer was able to get another 3 races in and provide a fair event. The Scottish pair once again showed the value of consistency and were clear winners ahead of Mimi and Ben followed by the sibling pair of Rob and Emma. Tilly and Paddy did themselves many favours in the eyes of the selectors coming in 4th.

The series concluded two weeks later at Datchet in what was forecast to be the countries worst storms for many years. In spite of the strong winds however the race officer managed 4 races on the Saturday in the knowledge that Sunday was unlikely to be sailable.

After 4 races there was a tie for first between Ed Connellan and Matt Rhodes who had clearly enjoyed the wind and Gillies and Dan but due to the 4th race win Gillies and Dan were declared event winners. 3rd place went to Mimi and Ben, with first girls Charlotte Hooper and Katie Dabson in 18th Overall.

With 5 event wins, a total of only 9 points to count the clear winners and recipients of a £400 Harken voucher were deservedly Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris from Royal Findhorn YC. A relatively unknown pair at the beginning of the year they really made an impact in 2013 making the most of the many hours spent in the car driving down from Inverness, the Harken voucher should at least go someway to offset some travel costs.

Second overall were the ever-consistent and 2012 series winners Rob and Emma Loveridge. Third place went to a young team who started the year as juniors Dan Venables and Finn Murphy.

First female team and consistently giving the boys a run for their money were Ruth Allan and Alice Masterman. First Juniors in 9th overall and winners of a years Harken sponsorship were James Grumett and Daniel Budden.

The class wishes to thank Harken and the host clubs for sponsoring the series and putting up the attractive prizes.

Overall Series Results: