Christchurch Sailing Club Easter Series
by Chris Arnell 25 Apr 2014 11:16 BST
18-21 April 2014
Toppers during the Christchurch Sailing Club Easter Series © Chris Arnell
Christchurch Sailing Club's Summer racing programme began in fine style over the Easter Weekend with more than 40 dinghies taking part.
Race Officer Jim Newman and his race team got the fleets away cleanly on each of the 4 days and some great racing was enjoyed in all classes.
We were also joined by 12 sailors from the JETS Topper Squad for their Easter training camp on Friday & Saturday while the Hawk 20 fleet and the cruisers raced in Christchurch Bay.
Below is a summary from each fleet:
Slow Handicap Fleet (Class 5)
Benn Cobb, aged 15, won the Topper fleet Easter Series. Despite not winning a race, Ben's determination and consistency paid off with two 3rd places and a second place being enough to secure his first ever series win. Sam De La Feuillade managed 2 first places to finish second overall and 1st in the Optimist fleet.
Slow Handicap Results:
| Pos | Helm | Boat Type |
|---|
| 1 | Ben Cobb | Topper |
| 2 | Sam D L Feuillade | Optimist |
| 3 | Jack Acton | Topper |
| 4 | Darren Walker | Topper |
| 5 | Drew Barnes | Optimist |
| 6 | Nick Milton | Topper |
| 7 | Sophie Walker | Topper |
Fast Handicap Fleet (Class 4)
A hard fought win in the final race secured overall victory for Jack Arnell in his Finn on countback with Rory Barnes (Laser) in 2nd.
Fast Handicap Results:
| Pos | Helm | Boat Type | Sail No | PY | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Jack Arnell | Finn | 644 | 1050 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Rory Barnes | Laser | 139351 | 1088 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Luke Ridout | RS300 | 419 | 990 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 12 |
| 4 | Liam Cure | Laser | 193224 | 1088 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Keith Anstey | Solo | 5046 | 1146 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 17 |
| 6 | Jenny Barnes | Laser Radial | 186027 | 1122 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 21 |
| 7 | Gary Mehson | Laser | 185309 | 1088 | 10 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 25 |
| 8 | John Ridout | Solo | 4713 | 1146 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 28 |
| 9 | Paul De La Feuillade | Laser | None | 1088 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 31 |
| 10 | Peter Howard | Laser Radial | 162788 | 1122 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 35 |
| 11 | Laurence Peters | Finn | 620 | 1050 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 41 |
| 12 | Jim Lawrence | RS Vision | 636 | 1116 | 11 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 41 |
| 13 | Simon Percival | Finn | 635 | 1050 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 42 |
| 14 | Joey Arnell | Splash | 1118 | 1184 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 3 | 43 |
| 15 | Andy Denison | Finn | 20 | 1050 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 44 |
| 16 | Luke Mehson | Laser Radial | 122512 | 1122 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 47 |
| 17 | Stuart Percival | Wanderer | 1485 | 1160 | 20 | 9 | 20 | 20 | 49 |
| 18 | Gail Howard | Laser Radial | 136041 | 1122 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 50 |
| 19 | Richard Beasley | Laser | 157612 | 1088 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 53 |
Avon Scow Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 |
|---|
| 1 | Graham Fairbrass | 555 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Crocker | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Euan Barnes | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Steve Cocker | 121 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | Dave Tanner | 1111 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | A Rushwarth | 113 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 7 | Ian Wright | 25 | 9 | 14 | 5 |
| 8 | Paul Macklenburg | 404 | 14 | 4 | 14 |
| 9 | Stuart Percival | 99 | 5 | 14 | 14 |
| 10 | Steven Coutler | 1001 | 14 | 14 | 6 |
| 11 | Linda Bedford | 1100 | 8 | 14 | 14 |
| 11 | H Cook | 424 | 14 | 8 | 14 |
| 13 | Jim Collins | 103 | 14 | 9 | 14 |
Hawks
The first race of the Hawk 20 season took place during Bank Holiday Monday at Christchurch Sailing Club, 6 boats took part it near perfect conditions, an Olympic course was set out in the bay.
A good start was had by all, Steve Ayling onboard “Red Kite” started the new season were he left off last year and was ahead by the windward mark, a lead that was his until the conclusion of the race, further down the field Nick Watts (Hawk 40) and Colin Jamison (Hawk 301) enjoyed close racing trading positions until the final leg when Mr Watts finally pulled ahead after some slick spinnaker work.
Cruisers
With many yachts enjoying an early season rally to Yarmouth, 7 boats raced on Saturday and Monday, Chiron (D. Webber) first place in class three. Bluemoon (D. Yeabsley) first place in class one.
JETS training
12 members of the JETS Topper Squad arrived at Christchurch for training on the 18th and 19th April. The mild weather allowed the sailors to train in Christchurch bay, spending more than 4 hours on the water each day. Led by coach, Matt Goodbourne, the focus of the training camp was to refine starting techniques and to work on pre-start preparation and planning. This was the last JETS weekend of the winter and provided a great opportunity for sailors to make their final preparations for the forthcoming major Topper events.
“The JETS training focused on starting technique, in particular ‘trigger pulls’ and ‘stop tacks’” says Jack Acton, of Christchurch Sailing Club. “The training took place outside of the harbour near Mudeford in great learning weather conditions. The excellent instruction from Matt Goodbourne and Chris Arnell made sure everyone enjoyed themselves and developed their technique."