Kestrel Eastern Area Championship at Maylandsea Bay Sailing Club
by Paul Gray 12 Jul 2021 18:47 BST
10-11 July 2021
Kestrel Eastern Area Championship at Maylandsea Bay © Kenny Hobbs
The Kestrel Eastern Area Championship was held at Maylandsea Bay Sailing Club over the weekend of 10th & 11th July. A fleet of 9 boats gathered. They would have been more but we lost one due to the helm self-isolating having been pinged on the Covid app, and a couple of others who promised but didn't appear - perhaps due to the weather forecast.
The prospects for any racing on Saturday looked grim with light winds and rain forecast. The fleet went on the water but failed to reach the start line before the tide turned and Race Officer Bill Wright abandoned racing for the day. Bad news for all entrants, but particularly for Gordon Miller and John Ellingham who were only there for the day.
Sunday was better with a forecast of 8-10 knots of wind (and no rain!). Having got no racing on Saturday, three short races were planned for Sunday,
Race 1 was started from a committee boat in Lawling Creek, near to the Club, and finished in the main Blackwater River. Chris & Lauren Grice were first after a close battle with Howie Enkel and Danni Tebbutt. Paul & Sally Gray were 3rd, and Ian Rintoul and Richard Anthony 4th.
Race 2 was two laps of a triangular course in the main river. This time it was Howie and Danni who prevailed, perhaps helped when Chris's toe straps came undone and he fell out of the boat! Somehow Lauren avoided capsizing, and dragged Chris back into the boat. They held on to 2nd place from Paul & Sally who were 3rd again.
Race 3 was once around the same triangle before going back up Lawling Creek to finish on the Club line. This time it was Paul and Sally who led round most of the course, slipped briefly down to 3rd as a result of a big windshift, but then recovered back to first as the wind started to die. The battle for first overall was always between Chris and Howie. Howie & Danni had been comfortably ahead while in the main river, but Chris and Lauren showed greater cunning in the creek to finish second in the race and become winners overall.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm Name | Crew Name | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 408 | Chris Grice | Lauren Grice | MBSC | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 2nd | 1574 | Howie Enkel | Danni Tebbutt | MSBC | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 3rd | 1600 | Paul Gray | Sally Gray | MBSC | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 4th | 1553 | Ian Rintoul | Richard Anthony | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | 1612 | Dave Gibson | Peter Gibson | MBSC | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 6th | 1062 | Karin Grice | Celie Broomfield/ Katherine Wilkinson | MBSC | 7 | 6 | 5 | 18 |
| 7th | 1605 | Paul Wilkinson | Sue Green | MBSC | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| 8th | 1633 | Adam Lomas | Phil Spillane | MBSC | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |
| 9th | 1460 | Gordon Miller | John Ellingham | | DNC | DNC | DNC | 30 |