Horning Sailing Club Open Dinghy Weekend 2017
by Holly Hancock 25 Sep 2017 19:41 BST
23-24 September 2017
Horning Sailing Club held their Open Dinghy Weekend over 23/24th September on Hoveton Little Broad. In perfect weather conditions, competitors enjoyed good racing with gentle winds on Saturday, these picking up on Sunday along with brilliant sunshine.
Seven Enterprises, four Bittern dinghies, several Lasers, Splashes, Toppers, a Tera, Wayfarer, Vision and a Solo took part over the weekend, meaning that the Broad was a hive of activity, with brightly coloured sails providing a spectacle for those watching.
Despite the relatively calm conditions on Saturday it was not without event, as the first race saw the two lead boats, helmed by Toby Pearce and Jack Copping respectively, take the wrong course on the first lap and being overtaken by Kevin Edwards, crewed by daughter Pippa, who would go on to win all five races and become overall winner, taking the Flirtatious Cup for Helm and Crew in addition to the Flying Enterprise Trophy.
Roger Hannant, crewed by Ashley Williams, also had a strong start with a second and third on Saturday, whilst Toby, crewed by Benji Jefferies, would go on to win the Cadet Trophy and Broads Area Trophy for Under 16 and Under 20 helm respectively. In the Allcomers B fleet James Pettit sailed well in his Splash to beat the Lasers over the water and come first on handicap, with Mark and Abi Tassie's Wayfarer second. The Allcomers C fleet saw close competition between the Toppers of James Street and Louis Parkerson, and Hamish Harmer's Tera, with Hamish and Louis taking a win each.
Sunday's racing was more lively, largely due to the increasing winds. During the morning races the Solo took on a lot of water and almost sank, and the Lasers sailed the wrong course, recreating the actions of the Enterprises the previous day.
Despite strong competition from the remainder of the fleet, Kevin took the lead from Toby, the latter managing to gain another second place before capsizing in the final race. Meanwhile, Kevin's daughter Ellie, crewed by mum Jo, was battling at the front of the fleet to come away with a second and third place from the day's racing. Jack Copping and Thomas Wildman also put in a strong performance to finish with a second and two thirds during the day.
In Allcomers B James added to his score with another win on Sunday morning, but it was Edward Wildman with three firsts and a second overall who took the Onyx Barometer, Hannant Tankard and Tino Trophy for First Overall.
In the Allcomers C fleet it was all left to play for, with Hamish's two wins over James' one enough for him to win both the Cadet and Kingfisher Trophies for his efforts.
On Sunday the racers were also joined by four visiting Bittern dinghies, with all three races won by John Atkinson, crewed by Leona Levine, sailing Boomer, and Bruce Thompson second in Kedgy Gal.