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Gul Final Fling at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club

by Chris Hampe 27 Oct 2015 07:08 GMT 24-25 October 2015
Gul Final Fling in Plymouth © Paul Gibbins

Cold wet and windy, yes the Final Fling was back. Thanks to sponsorship from Gul, the classic Plymouth end of season open event returned hosted by the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club. As the competitors gathered in the RPCYC on Saturday a 30 knot south westerly was blowing in across the Sound. The forecast predicted a shift to the North West with the wind decreasing so a one hour postponement was signalled.

Once the postponement signal was raised the wind immediately swung and decreased and from the clubhouse things looked somewhat sedate compared to the earlier conditions. With the committee boat located close to the breakwater the wind had increased back to 20 knots by the time the fleet arrived.

The Lark class were the first away and after battling upwind the first reach proved to be a little too boisterous for spinnakers to be flown. Eventually Dougal and Helen Scott would cross the finish line ahead of Nigel Hufton and Adam Owens.

In the handicap class the top three places were filled by 505s who clearly revelled in the conditions. Ben Illiffe and Richard Nurse took the win from Harry Briddon and Adam Kenny. Special mention must be made to Neil Young who managed to complete the course in his Laser with no kicker and suffering from a bent boom after the most spectacular forward roll. With winds gusting up to 30 knots the committee boat and race marks were unable to hold station and with a planned shipping movement due to pass through the course area the race officer sent everyone back ashore.

Sunday dawned a complete contrast and with little to no wind from the north the fleet were sent outside the breakwater to await the forecast south easterly to come. It took the fleet almost 2 hours to sail to the course area set 3/4 mile south of the breakwater and it was not until 11:25 that racing was able to get underway. The breeze varied between 5 and 12 knots and there were plenty of shifts to catch out the unwary. Three short races were held with the last boats finishing at around 2pm. In the lark class it was Nigel Hufton And Adam Owens who took three straight wins from Dougal and Helen Scott.

In the Handicap class it was a day for the slower boats with the Bosun of Dave Adams and Roger Irvine scoring two firsts and a second to take the win from the Tasar of Steve Mitchell and Polly Newman who tied in second place with the 505 of Harry Briddon and Adam Kenny.

Overall Results:

PY Handicap Fleet

PosSail NoBoat NameBoat TypeHelmCrewHcapR1R2R3R4Pts
12424 BOSUNDave AdamsRoger Irvine1198(9)1124
22805Dances With WavesTASARSteve MitchellPolly Newman101852(7)18
39104 505Harry BriddonAdam Kenny912242(DNC)8
49158 505Paddy LewisTom Holland912333(5)9
58514 505Ben iliffeRichard nurse912154(DNC)10
6179554LaserLASERChristopher Spencer 10914(10)5413
7678BetelgeuseCONTENDERAlex Shaw 98066(11)820
8201641HCA one healthcareLASERBen Dodwell 1091(12)96621
9519 MUSTO SKIFFAlister Morley 85011(12)8322
109156 505Mike PickeringMike Priddle912879(DNC)24
118340IH505will waddingtontim octon912(10)810725
123281Green Army Max HorrillJames Torr1091(DNF)1312934
13300MenaceCANOE INTERNATIONALRoger Howell 870(DNS)11131034
14103The Keel OneK1Mike Commander 10657(DNC)DNCDNC113
1570649 LASERNeil Young 109113(DNC)DNCDNC119

Lark Fleet

PosSail NoBoat NameHelmCrewR1R2R3R4Pts
12470TigerNigel HuftonAdam Owens(2)1113
22484MuppetDougal ScottHelen Scott1(2)225
32502   (DNC)3339
42252Blu TackGarry PackerRichard Packer344(5)11
52510Minnie LouMike WilliamsImogen Gray‑Williams(DNC)55414

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