4000 Open at Rutland Sailing Club
by Neil Heffernan 28 Oct 2016 11:31 BST
22-23 October 2016
Rutland Sailing Club again provided a cracking venue for the final event of the 4000 season.
Saturday saw arriving crews greeted by less wind than had been forecast, but it filled in sufficiently for racing to get underway as planned. John and Fran made a strong start to the event, scoring a first and second in races one and two, with locals Tim and Harry chasing them hard in the first and then winning the second race. The third race of the day was notable for a photo finish between three boats, with Alex and Charlotte, Richard and Alex, and Neil and Jo crossing the line with inches between them after 45 minutes of hard racing. Meanwhile Trevor and Bernoit – visiting from Belgium - continued to finish very strongly.
Day two dawned with much more wind, and with some real snakes and ladders gusts. John and Fran again started strongly with a first in the opening race of the day. Race 5 was eventful – both yellow boats turned back after the start suspecting they had been over, but Tim graciously corrected Neil and Jo and sent them back in the right direction, knowing that it had been he and Harry who had been over. Still the start shenanigans didn't affect either too badly and by lap three Tim and Harry were in second with Neil and Jo behind. John and Fran in first were clearly enjoying things too much and rather than finishing, set off on an extra lap after their third – followed by Tim and Harry. Grace of their fine counting ability Neil and Jo converted their third into a first by finishing!
The last race of the day turned into two match races. Trevor and Bernoit had secured third, but Tim and Harry had everything to race for against John and Fran, with Neil and Jo fighting Alex and Charlotte for fourth. Some incredibly close racing saw John and Fran keep first and Alex and Charlotte keep Neil and Jo (just) behind them to take a well-deserved fourth.
Special mentions to Dominic and Emily from Penine SC, great to see them at the event, and commiserations to Dave and Matt who spent the event hoping for considerably more wind to regain the big-boy pace that they demonstrated at the Europeans. Thank you to Carolyn (sailing with Russell – welcome back!) for hosting so many of the fleet!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 4682 | John Renolds | Fran Howell | Grafham SC | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑5 | 1 | 7 |
| 2nd | 4546 | Tim Litt | Harry Litt | Rutland SC | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3rd | 4423 | Trevor Peirce | Benoit Peeterssen | SNEH | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| 4th | 4600 | Alex Cramp | Charlotte Hefferman | Grafham SC | 4 | ‑8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 5th | 4343 | Niel Hefferman | Jo Morrison | Queen Mary S C | ‑6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| 6th | 4568 | David Marchant | Matt Reynold | Grafham SC | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | (DNS) | 30 |
| 7th | 4572 | Richard de Fleury | Alex Litt | Yorkshire Dale SC | 5 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 7 | (DNS) | 32 |
| 8th | 4094 | Russel Mead | Carolyn Morgan | Rutland SC | 8 | 4 | 7 | (DNS) | DNS | DNS | 39 |
| 9th | 4277 | Domic Barnes | Emily Cappleman | Pennie SC | 9 | 9 | 8 | (RET) | 8 | 6 | 40 |