GP14 Open at Trimpley Sailing Club
by Keith Budden 18 Jun 2019 09:19 BST
15 June 2019
Trimpley GP14 Open © Keith Budden
Quirky winds, fluky shifts, the occasional gust and then becalmed - typical Trimpley GP14 Open weather. But that is what you get on a small reservoir nestled in the Severn Valley near Kidderminster in the West Midlands.
The conditions resulted in challenging, competitive racing. Seven visiting boats from across the Midlands braved Trimpley's unique weather. The first race went to Mark McKeever and Kevin Hopkins closely followed by their club rivals Chris Martin and Sam Bailey.
The second race started well, the rain had stopped and the wind had picked up. Chris and Sam gained an early led and then...... the calm came. This resulted in Chris and Sam lapping over half the fleet and winning by a huge margin, with six boats being timed out after barely moving for half an hour. Mark and Kevin eventually came second. So all to play for in the last race in very light winds.
Neck and neck with the two Midlands sailing club boats battling it out with Peter Jacques and Michelle Evans from Chase. Lots of shouting and position changes - but no formal protests for "pumping". Rule 42 remained used. Mark and Kevin finally secured victory by less than a minute. Chris and Sam came second. Top two for Midlands Sailing Club, a great way to celebrate in their 125th anniversary year. Peter and Michelle from Chase came third, narrowly beating Solly and Dom from Aldridge.
The first Trimpley boat home was helmed by Peter John with crew Michelle Whitehouse who came in a creditable sixth place. Hopefully better winds next year.