Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone Yacht Club

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Day 1

The day started with a warming welcome to the club which was a new venue for a few of our sailors. Ready for the summer, everyone turned up surprised as it was more like December than almost May. The sailors began to rig in time for the briefing where we got told that racing on day one was to be inside the harbour as it is a tidal venue so sailing out to the bay, in under 14 knots, can be a big ask.

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

The sailors were ready and raring to go racing for GP 5. The first race saw constant wind on the left hand side of the course which didn't look hopeful at the beginning stages of the race however in the final third of the first beat it came in strong. The race was a fight between the older more experienced sailors (James and Sam 3426) and the newer junior partnership (Jac and Ben 2898). The race concluded with a close finish however the more experienced claimed the win. The day continued with the wind going further right putting most of the course underneath the island which sat in the middle of the harbour. This created a one sided race course on the right. With this sailors had to make sure they had a clean lane which would take them across to the more consistent wind on the right.

The second race again saw the two competitive teams (James and Sam) and (Jac and Ben) battling it out on the right hand side of the course fighting for the win. With some large gusts coming down the course the mid fleet sailors narrowed the gap to the leaders. In the end the top two couldn't be caught which meant that the young guns took the lead with the distinguished adults (3426) following closely behind and completing the top 3 the Sydenham brothers (2880). For the Females race 2 saw youth pairing from Wales Ffion and Leah (2905) taking a comfortable win with the next female pairing a couple of places behind who were Holly and Rachel (3334).

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

The Final race saw the girls team of Annabel and Amelie destroy the Pin end of the line with a massive Pin end flyer running off with the lead slowly becoming out of view from the rest of the pack.

Overall the day saw some shifts and gusty conditions with a slight tidal flow around the race course. Once the sailors came off the water they were delighted to see that there was a portion of chips waiting for them on the beach as a reward for tallying.

The day ended with some chilli for the sailors who didn't have to travel far. In the end it was a great day on the water in Poole Harbour.

Day 2

The fleet woke up excited to venture out into the bay for day 2. The day dawned miserably with cold rain, however, there was one delicious ingredient in the pot; wind! This exited many larger humans and helped relieve many tired knees. The sail out started eventfully with some impressive displays of swimming and 3 person 29er sailing as well as some worrying moments involving sand, rocks and chains. When the fleet eventually got to the racecourse, they were greeted by the postponement flag. Maybe we should have woken up earlier and not been late...

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Soon, race one got under way. The majority of the fleet powered off the committee boat end and headed towards the left corner. At the windward mark a yet unnamed boat piloted by your authors led, closely followed by 'Jolene' the racing machine in second. 'Jolene' took a small chunk out of the leaders due to superior hoisting power courtesy of series sponsors Allen brothers high load kite halyard blocks and a silky smooth jib ease from the world's most famous marlow jib sheet. Downwind many gybes were required to stay in the streaky bands of pressure. The second best played into the hands of the leaders and the order stayed largely the same with 'unnamed boat' taking the win from 'Jolene' in second with locals Henry Keegan and Charlie Hopkinson in third. 'Delilah' (Max and Alex) came home for a well deserved 4th place.

Race 6 was quickly started in ideal conditions. After a tricky first beat, overnight leaders, Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfeild, in their very reliable 'Robin' - which was not rocking - came out of the left to take a narrow lead at mark one. Downwind, Annabelle and Amelie in 'Babs' slipped past, luckily not into the harbour this time, to take a lead they held to the finish. Unfortunately, after the finish it was revealed that they had been black flagged at the start. This left 'Robin' to take the win with 'Jolene' the racing machine in second followed by Finn and Charlie in third.

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Early in race 7 some of the fleet (us) bravely ventured out towards the right hand side with or without the rest of the fleet. As we sailed upwind, the rare site of the sun appeared. Clearly this was the only reason we couldn't see the windward mark and overlaid by a nautical country mile so I don't really know what happens in this race but the results tell me that 'Jolene' took a solid win. I'd say it was the way the jib sheet perfectly matched the kite sock that did it for them this time. 'Babs' came in second and 'Robin' rocked into third.

After a long day, the sailors, and more importantly the mark layers, were eager to get the last race in quickly. Unfortunately the wind had other ideas with huge shifts causing havoc, multiple postponements happened. After listening to the wind blow all day and despite the night beginning to come down, the mark layers had one more problem, the chain! Many hundreds of meters of chain lifting later, the final race started. The fleet gathered, sometimes a little too tightly, towards the pin. Off the line we were a little busy stuck in a moment we couldn't get out of so sorry I have no memory. With nothing to win and nothing left to lose we set off up the first beat with some catching up on the schedule. By the windward mark someone in a 29er dinghy was leading and it was very close. Down the run the fleet compressed and up the second beat the wind increased. This allowed 'Jolene' to punch out into the lead, with Lila and Leo holding second place and the unnamed boat (any ideas on a name very welcome, Dolly, Mac and Bono are contenders) stumbling through into third. The order remained the same through the finish despite some tight battles. Now the real race back to the club and the free chips begun. This clearly motivated some of the fleet who sped into the harbour, strangely arranged in size order. Once we had completed the mammoth sail in, against the tide, we had to sail through the shallows to the club which was a little worrying at times in the fresh breeze. Once landed, the fleet helped each other getting onto the tough lee shore.

Allen 29er GP5 at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Overall, true to the lyrics, no one could compete with 'Jolene' and James and Sam took a well deserved win with Jac and Ben in second and Finn and Charlie in third. In the ladies category Annabelle and Amelie won from Kitty and Lilly O'Halloran with Freya Hutchinson and Joanna Macalister in third.

First juniors were Jac and Ben with Dirk Rogers and Will Mcewan taking second and Freya and Joanna in third. Allegra Massey and Ben Bradley took the win in the mixed category, with Lila Edwards and Leo Wilkinson in second and Sirene le Petit and Ed O'Callaghan in third.

After everyone had packed up, the prize-giving began. Some disastrous photos were taken and more excitingly the winners of the most important category of them all, the buddies prize, were revealed! Tensions were running high and despite high levels of corruption and attempted sabotage, somehow our group won! I'm sure this was not meant to happen... So the first buddies overall were Sirene le Petit and Ed O'Callaghan, Imogen Green and Stella Nygard and Finn Morris and Charlie Gran.

Thank you to everyone who helped run a wonderful event and a huge thank you to Allen for their continued support of the 29er GP series. Unfortunately this is the final GP of the season and so all we have to look forward to now is part 2 of the tour of 'Jolene' the racing machine (I hear it's in production).

Overall Results: