Craftinsure Supernova Open at Bartley Sailing Club

Craftinsure Supernova Open at Bartley © Sandra Starke

Craftinsure Supernova Open at Bartley © Sandra Starke

Bartley Sailing Club was delighted to welcome the Supernova Class for the Craftinsure combined northern and southern travellers event. With it being spring we all expected pleasant warm conditions and a bit of sunshine, how wrong we were - strong winds, monster gusts, hail and a chilly 5 degree temperature.

The forecast had dampened entries somewhat and a number of regulars had conflicting commitments. Despite this 33 helms signed on, most boats were able to sail in at least 2 races.

Race 1

Despite Mark Hartley saying he hadn't sailed in ages, this didn't stop him getting a great start, but we wasn't alone and a small fleet was hot on his heels. With a bit of confusion on the correct rounding of the leeward mark, it was local boat Steve Hawley that took full advantage popping out into the lead. Tom White pushed Steve all the way to the end, with Chris Hawley and Matt Williams jostling behind. In the end Matt stormed the final reach and slipped past White at the line. In the end it was Steve then Matt then Tom.

Race 2

With the wind picking up and hail filling up the boats, this was not going to be a pleasant affair. Mark, Alex Reeve, Matt and Sean Ricketts got away well, with Chris Aubery (Chris was sailing his mark 1 showed that the older boats are still very competitive). Towards the end of the race the fleet split with some confusion on the final mark. This time it was Tom who saw the opportunity to grab the win closely followed by Matt Thursfield then Steve.

Race 3

All was to play for with 4 helms in contention. Tom and Steve both a had a 1 & 3, and both Matt's had 2nds. It was Bolton sailor and regular traveller Andy Flitcroft who made a flying start, but unfortunately for him managed to get a bit lost which eroded his lead. As the wind built Tom was sailing very well and had been leading, but Matt showed just how good he is when the wind picks up and worked his way into the lead. Matt took line honours followed by White. Meanwhile Steve had been keeping in touch but was flagging, this wasn't the case for local sailor Tom Williams who worked the right side of the final beat to squeeze across the line just ahead of Steve.

It has been a very hard day on the water with gusts, veering winds and a mix of freezing conditions and sunshine. Despite the conditions the racing was as hot as ever with no margin for error regardless of where you were in the fleet. It was a tie for 1 st place, both on 3 points, with 3rd on 4 points, so it was clearly very close, however it was Matt Thursfield from Chelmarsh who proved to be the worthy winner.

Overall Results: