Leader Open at Milton Keynes Sailing Club
by Jane Wharmby 10 Oct 2006 17:34 BST
7-8 October 2006
Ten boats met at Milton Keynes SC on 7-8 October to compete in the final Leader Class Association Open event for 2006 – and what a fantastic weekend they had!
The weather could hardly have been better: a steady Force 4-5 on Saturday in bright sunshine, with the wind calming down slightly on Sunday. Plenty of long planing reaches were enjoyed by all (as well as one or two swims!)
The fleet were led to the windward mark in the first race by Richard and Christine Morris… a sign of things to come! Despite this early lead for the Morris’s the first two races were won quite convincingly by the local team and current National Champions, Chris and Jane Wharmby. In Race 1 the Morris’s took 2nd place just ahead of Andy and Ruth Hobson. Mike and Val Sherwen arrived for the 2nd race but didn’t get a place after capsizing in a gust, as did Andy and Ruth. The Morris’s once again took 2nd place, followed by Scott and Matt Fitzgerald, beating their father, Mike (crewed by Tim) for the first time in a Leader race!
On Sunday the Leader fleet joined in with the Milton Keynes club open event (29 boats in all). Race 3 for the Leaders saw the Wharmby’s at the front of the fleet for some time but Richard and Christine Morris gradually caught up with them and beat them on the line in a ‘photo finish’.
The Morris’s went on to win Races 4 and 5 with a clear lead in both, which gave them their first, and very well deserved, win in a Leader Open Event. The Wharmbys came 2nd and Mike Fitzgerald and Tim Dormer 3rd.
Mike and Val Sherwen were overall winners of the 2006 Open Series.
Overall Results:
1st 43, Richard and Christine Morris (Melton Mowbray SC)
2nd 1083, Chris and Jane Wharmby (Milton Keynes SC)
3rd 555, Mike Fitzgerald and Tim Dormer (Dell Quay SC)
4th 26, Mike and Val Sherwen (Deben YC)
5th 1230, Andy and Ruth Hobson (Hickling Broad SC)
6th 331, Scott and Matt Fitzgerald (Dell Quay SC)