Shearwater Class at the Weston Sailing Club Cat Open
by Rob Britton 6 Oct 2015 07:24 BST
26-27 September 2015
The 26th and 27th of September was sadly the last TT weekend for the Shearwater fleet for 2015 and the end of our 59th year competing on the catamaran circuit!
The Clubs event management was second to none both on and off the water. The event was extremely well attended with over 70 catamarans both modern and new, large and small. The Safety crew and Race management had many factors hampering there decision making taking in to account racing in such a busy stretch of water in extremely challenging light conditions with the tide making its mark but all boats left and arrived back to shore safely with no collisions and ready for the bar! Thank you from all of us at Shearwater Fleet!
The forecast for the weekend was extremely light even for the light wind lovers amongst our fleet. Saturdays racing was announced that three back to back races would take place, with a potential of a fourth, be on that start line for a prompt 1000 start and everyone off the water for 1400. On a normal south coast day this request would have been easily delivered. On this particular day it was a struggle. After the course being relayed a number of times unsuccessfully one race was carried out for Saturday and at end of the race the fleet, under instruction, headed back to Weston Sailing Club.
Saturday night saw Weston, considering the huge turn out, put on a fantastic evening for the catamaran Open. A BBQ kicked off the evenings entertainment and then after the Rugby (result and play will not be discussed here – but needless to say congratulations to the Welsh), a live band played finishing the evening off on a high!
For Sunday the forecast was slightly better but still not the strong winds we all had would of liked for the last race of the 2015 TT season. None the less the numbers on the course along with the wind and tide posed some fantastic opportunities to demonstrate tactical sailing with some real head scratching moments. The windward leg was never the same and this did throw some interesting rolls of the dice, headers and lifts were rife across the course! The racing and positioning within the Shearwater fleet was tight and again all members of the fleet really had to fight hard to gain and maintain positions!
Sunday though was a fantastic day for Caned and Unable. Matt Wiseman and Laura Pike, Helm and Crew, always make there presence felt on the race course but this time they lead the way on the last two races of the day and crossed the finish line successfully in first each time.
The end top three results for the weekend were as follows; 3rd position were James and Kate Gibbons on So Tango, 2nd position Matt Wiseman and Laura Pike on Caned and Unable, 1st position Nigel and Sarah Stuart on CROWNS.
Thank-you again Weston Sailing Club from the Shearwater Fleet and that thank-you for a fantastically well organised and run event. We look forward to an opportunity to darken your doorstep again in the not so distant future!
Also a big thank-you to the other catamaran fleets that took part in the open. Having that many different Catamaran fleets in one place is not just visually stunning but also a firm reminder of the strong following and enjoyment the catamaran family generates of which the Shearwater fleet is proud to be part of!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | CROWNS | Nigel Stuart | Sarah Stuart | 2 | 1 | 1 | (6) | 2 | 6 |
| 2nd | Caned and Unable | Matt Wiseman | Laura Pike | 3 | 4 | (7) | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 3rd | So Tango | James Gibbons | Kate Gibbons | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | (6) | 12 |
| 4th | Carbon Foot Print | Shaun Allen | Holly Parker | (11) | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 5th | Alley Cat | Alan Howland | Rob Britton | 4 | 3 | 4 | (5) | 4 | 15 |
| 6th | Sheer Flamboyance | Chris Jones | Chloe Stuart | 5 | (7) | 2 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| 7th | Cajensa | Nick Elliot | Kerry Elliot | 8 | (9) | 6 | 4 | 8 | 26 |
| 8th | Sim Sek | Greg Wilcox | William Stuart | 7 | 8 | 8 | (9) | 9 | 32 |
| 9th | Foreigner | Alex Wilcox | Ben Asplin | 9 | (10) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 |
| 10th | Air Flow | Lou Curry | Nick Winram | (12) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 41 |
| 11th | China Crisis | Tayla Playford | Rob Hamilton | 10 | 11 | (12) | 12 | 11 | 44 |
Last Note:
2016 will see the Shearwaters back again! Will it be at a venue near you? Events are in the pipe line but we are always looking for new venues to discover and attend for future TT events and Nationals!
2016 will be the Shearwater's Diamond Anniversary. If you would like to be a part of this historical year and celebrations for our fleet then please do not hesitate in contacting us on or visit our facebook page 'Shearwater Catamaran' or our website, www.shearwatercatamarans.com. We look forward in hearing from you!