405 End of Seasons at Staunton Harold Sailing Club
by Hannah Jones 8 Nov 2006 06:10 GMT
4-5 November 2006
This year the 405 end of seasons produced a nail biting finish. There were eight races held over two days, in shifty winds that ranged from a force two to a force five, conditions that brought out the best from all the youth and junior competitors.
In race one Yorkshire’s Adam Larvin and Natalie Hood led from start to finish; while the rest of the fleet stopped at times to inspect their hulls. Local Optimist sailors Hannah Jones and Matthew Foskett held off a spirited challenge from Jackson Green and Matthew Simons to win the second race even though a tear prevented them flying their spinnaker. After lunch Jackson and Matthew got their own back, just winning the third race of the day. As the breeze dropped for the last two races of the day it was certainly the weather for light weights with Hannah and Matt winning the fourth race by a whole leg and Jackson and Matthew winning the final race of the day, putting them in first place after a days racing.
With an early start to the final day many Staunton sailors were still tired from the bonfire party the night before. However they had to wake up quickly as the wind got up to a good force 4 gusting 5. Many sailors went for an early morning swim but Rob Thomas and Lucy Hoyte used their weight advantage and experience to win the sixth Race. In race seven the big guys battled it out with Adam and Natalie scoring their second win of the event closely followed by Rob and Lucy who were a close second. When the fleet started the final race of the series it was all to play for with one point separating the first three boats. The breeze was still strong and as Hannah and Matt made the most of a committee boat start to pull away from the rest of the fleet followed by Jackson and Matthew and Rob and Lucy.
Only one discard and a weekend of close racing meant the championship was decided on tie break. Hannah and Matt narrowly winning the event from Jackson and Matthew to make it a Staunton Harold one and two.