Noble Marine 3000 Class Nationals at Rutland Sailing Club

Matthew & Peter Wolstenholme win the Noble Marine 3000 Class Nationals © Tony Hunt

Youth winners Ed Barnes & Immi Van Ruiten at the Noble Marine 3000 Class Nationals © Tony Hunt

This year's Noble Marine 3000 Class Nationals were held at Rutland Sailing Club on 17/18th October as part of a the Laser Multi-Class Regatta.

Saturday morning greeted competitors with grey skies but with a generally northerly, Force 4 – optimal wind for the 3000 fleet. Temperatures were sufficient to hold three races back to back, the three minute gaps between starts getting all fleets away promptly once the last stragglers had returned.

Action at the front of the fleet involved class president Nick Arran and the son-father pairing of Matthew and Peter Wolstenholme. In line with almost all other two-man classes, singlehanding is not strictly allowed so, in the absence of a crew, Nick was racing for fun, but his presence was welcomed for keeping the Wolstenholmes honest and occupied.

Further down the fleet were Sedbergh School's Myles Ripley and James Thomas, who had decided to target the Laser 3000 trophy rather than the overall, and had therefore brought along a rather leaky Laser instead of their Vandercraft-hulled boat. They didn't have it all their own way, however, as after winning the first race when the Vandercraft 'hares' had both sailed the wrong course and had capsizes, they started to be challenged by Chris and Kathy Williams but who unfortunately had to abandon race 3 to sort things out ashore.

Jack and Luke Staniland took an early lead after the first race in the contest for the Junior Trophy with a 3rd overall, while last year's Junior winners Ed Barnes and Immi Van Ruiten had to count a DNC. But in Race 2, the Stanilands picked up maximum points themselves with a DNF, putting them just one point ahead overnight.

Sunday provided less wind, with planing a much rarer occurrence (except for the flying single-hander!), so things became more tactical. Out front, the Wolstenholmes continued their winning parade, at least from the first mark on. In the battle for second, however, the Williams made inroads each race into the Sedbergh boat's lead over them, but not enough to make good their first day's deficit, for although they ended the event tied on points with Ripley and Thomas, count-back gave the nod to the latter pairing.

In the Juniors, the Stanilands started Sunday by beating their rivals, but a couple of good races from Barnes and Van Ruiten put them two points clear at the end of the day, enabling them to retain the trophy.

Most importantly, all racers had a fun weekend's sailing, and enjoyed the friendly, mutually-assistance atmosphere that prevails in the class. Many thanks to the ongoing support from Noble Marine. Nick has promised to return next year with a crew - watch this space!

Overall Results: