Phantom Eastern Circuit and Training at Ardleigh Sailing Club

Phantoms at Ardleigh © Nick Thorpe

Phantoms at Ardleigh © Nick Thorpe

A weekend of sailing, twice postponed due to Covid and weather was finally run on 6-7th November. Training was offered to all on Saturday with a building SSW wind providing great practice for starting, tacking and gybing, with a rules refresher and general de-briefing carried out in the clubhouse after the majority of the fleet had done enough capsizing for one day.

The (proposed) four race open meeting on Sunday started in a lively NW that was taxing for most.

Race 1, Bob Portway (1334) led from the start, rounding every mark in the lead, but towards the end, with the breeze building, was hard pressed by Matt House (1432) who had put his training day to good use and revelled in the stronger winds. Bill Taylor (1273) was a respectable 3rd ahead of local sailor Ian Hill (1065).

Race 2 and with a stronger NW wind from the start, Portway was delighted to round the windward mark ahead of House, and celebrated with a backward somersault on the ensuing down-wind leg. In a great display of solidarity, all but Matt House followed suit in various different style and positions, great to watch, strangely less fun to perform. At the end it was Matt House with an easy win, followed by Bob Portway and Warren Martin (1433) who had assume a very safe second until caught in an area of no wind, and having to watch Bob plane past. Ian Hill finished in a consistent 4th.

There being no other finishes in race 2, it was decided that the third race should be the final, deciding one. House and Portway crossed tacks up the beat, with House edging a lead at the mark. Portway had a gust from nowhere at the mark and hit it with his boom. The required 360 was more of an ordeal than normal, in alternate white caps and calm, and Matt was a leg ahead by the time it was completed. Warren Martin was also well down the run, surely a 2nd place was on this time. However Ardleigh was in a snakes and ladders type playful mood, and just sailing round was becoming quite difficult. Bob once again passed a becalmed Warren, once again celebrated with a windward capsize feet from the finish, and just managed to cross the line 2nd with mud and weed clinging to the top of his mast. Warren finished a disgruntled 3rd seconds later.

So Matt House demonstrated complete mastery of the Ardleigh snakes and ladders, with emphatic wins in races 2 and 3, threatening to lap the tail-enders.

Overall Results:

1st Matt House 1432 (Ardleigh SC)
2nd Bob Portway 1334 (Royal Harwich YC)
3rd Warren Martin 1433 (Creeksea SC)
4th Ian Hill 1065 (Ardleigh SC)

Phantom Eastern Series Overall Results: (four event to count)

1st Bob Portway (Royal Harwich YC)
2nd Chris Roberts (Creeksea SC)
3rd Bill Taylor (Creeksea SC)
4th Graham Dale Jones (Creeksea SC)