K1 Open at Carsington Sailing Club

by Hilly King 4 Jun 17:11 BST 1-2 June 2024

The latest K1 Open Meeting was held over the weekend of 1st/2nd June at Carsington Sailing Club. An entry of twenty boats demonstrated how popular the K1 is becoming, having had similar numbers at both Barnt Green and Datchet earlier in the calender.

The format was to hold a practice race on Saturday followed by two points races back to back, and three points races on Sunday, with two discards, which would allow those only available to sail on Sunday the ability to qualify overall.

When the boats arrived on Friday they were greeted with brilliant sunshine over the very scenic Carsington Water. For those not familiar with Carsington it is nestled on the edge of the Peak District with trees surrounding the reservoir and foot paths and cycle paths round the circumference. It was great to catch up with familiar faces but also welcome several new members attending their first K1 Open Meeting.

After the briefing on Saturday the fleet set off to the racing area which was to be shared with the K6 class. The overcast skies and winds of F3 gusting F5 saw all bar one of the twenty competitors eager to start the practice race.

The race started cleanly under the U flag and the first thing noted was how close the racing was across the fleet. One bad decision or missed lift could lose or gain you six places in an instant. At the front Hilly King was first at the windward mark closely followed by Richard Sims, Jeremy Hudson, Andrew Wilson and Geoff King. At the start of the second lap Hilly still held a narrow lead but Richard and Jeremy both slipped past him at the top mark having taken a lift on the port side of the course. By the start of the last lap Richard held a narrow lead over Geoff with Andrew, Jeremy and Hilly in close proximity. At the finish Richard took the gun, with Geoff second and Andrew third.

The learning from the practice race was to find a clean line of the start and hopefully an opportunity to take the lifts as they arose across the racecourse.

The first points race started with Jeremy, Andrew, Richard and Geoff all having clear starboard paths to the windward mark. Interestingly Evan Cairns, David Frary (both new to the class) were making significant progress, together with Jason King having taken a more central route up the first leg. At the mark Jeremy rounded first closely followed by Andrew, Richard and Jason, however there was another group of five boats led by Geoff which were catching quickly and ready to put pressure on the leaders. After the run and subsequent beat Jeremy held a narrow lead over Andrew with Richard always in close attendance. Further back it should be noted that the Octogenarians in the fleet were having a battle royal with Alf Hawksworth and John Hayhurst continually swapping places.

The final beat saw large windshifts which caught out some of the competitors on the wrong side of the course, but clearly there were others which gained significantly. However the leading group were established and at the finish Jeremy took the bullet followed by Andrew and Richard.

The second points race was started in similar conditions however there was a sudden windshift just after the start which allowed those who reacted quickly to make large gains. Andrew demonstrated how to make the most from the changeable conditions and at the windward mark he rounded first closely followed by David and Hilly. A group of six boats led by Jeremy, John Webster and Ian Tinker were making up lost ground, and on the subsequent run there was little between the leaders and the chasing group. The next upwind leg was to be decisive and Andrew and Hilly drew away from the chasing pack which was now being led by Ian with Jeremy, David and Geoff in close attendance.

Whilst places were changing frequently throughout the fleet the leaders were establishing a comfortable gap between themselves and the chasing pack. At the finish Andrew took the win, Hilly second and Ian third.

That evening the fleet were treated to a supper laid on by the club which was a chance to discuss the day and socialise together, all keeping our fingers crossed for sunshine and wind the following day.

As luck would have it Sunday was wall to wall sunshine and winds of F3-F4, described by our President as champagne conditions!

We were joined by Christopher Cooney to complete the twenty boat fleet ready to enjoy a very special day.

The first race on Sunday was postponed to allow the wind to fill in and to be more constant in direction. Despite having to change the mark positions numerous times the race team got the fleet away to another clean start. Jeremy and Andrew both chose the port side of the course, however Geoff, Richard and Jason selected the starboard side and looked to be being lifted significantly. When the fleet came together at the windward mark Jeremy had a narrow lead over Andrew and Richard. Evan and Jason were leading the chasing pack with Phil King and David keeping them honest. As the race progressed Jeremy started to increase his lead whilst Andrew, Geoff and Richard swapped places. Starting the last beat Jeremy had a comfortable lead, whilst Andrew, Richard and Geoff seemed to have their own battle for the remainder of the podium places. However at the last leeward mark Jeremy headed straight for home missing out the designated finishing mark. By the time he recovered Andrew had secured another win followed by Richard and a recovered Jeremy in third.

Andrew was now in a very strong position to win the Open meeting and with two races still to be completed it would take a brave man to bet against him.

The start of the second race saw most of the fleet trying for a pin end start as clearly the wind was building on the starboard side of the course. Hilly nailed the start and had a clear path out to the starboard side of the course, however Ian, Jeremy and Andrew chose to play the lifts more centrally as the gusts seemed to fill areas without any significant patterns. Geoff, Evan and David meanwhile had opted for the port hand side of the racecourse so it would be extremely interesting to see who gained most when all the boats come together at the first windward mark. At the turn Andrew held a slender lead with Ian and Jeremy in close attendance.

The off wind leg saw both Hilly and Geoff joining the leading group so the gybe mark was very congested with none wanting to be on the outside of a raft of boats. The following beats were again tactical battles with the leaders all trying to achieve clear pathways without missing any of the lifts which were again filling on the starboard side of the course. At the last windward mark Ian and Andrew were still wrestling for first with Jeremy, Hilly and Geoff still believing the race was there to be won. At the finish Andrew took the win, Ian second and Jeremy third. Andrew's third win of the weekend guaranteed he would win the meeting but the rest of the podium places could be filled by a few boats, so all to play for.

With the sunshine still bathing the reservoir and the breeze still holding the K1 fleet looked forward to the last race of the series. Within seconds of the start the wind backed violently catching a number of the fleet out and certainly those on the pin end were sandwiched together with no clear pathways, however just as suddenly as the gust arrived so it returned to lift on starboard. At the windward mark Richard held a slender lead over Andrew, Hilly Jeremy and Ian. This group slowly extended the gap between themselves and the rest of the fleet. The chasing group included Phil, Geoff, Jason and John Webster all going well.

On the last windward leg Richard still held a slender lead over Andrew, Jeremy and Hilly. At the mark Jeremy unfortunately broke his tiller extension so his weekend was over and he headed back to the clubhouse. The first three had a comfortable lead over the remainder of the fleet and at the finish Richard took the win and with it moved into second overall for the meeting. He was followed by Andrew in second and Hilly in third.

Overall Andrew was the deserved winner never coming lower than second demonstrating great speed in all conditions, and clearly great decision making throughout the weekend.

Richard second, Jeremy third and Hilly fourth.

As a class we celebrate our demographic with age related prizes for those not in the top prizes. David Frary won the Masters prize, Evan Cairns won the Seniors prize (both at their first K1 Open Meeting), Ian Tinker won the Veterans prize and Alf Hawksworth the Octopus prize.

Likewise we give spot prizes sponsored by Ovington Boats for all participants attending their first Open Meeting and also for the most unusual humorous event that happens over the weekend. This was won by Chris Swallow who was keen to see if his boat could go faster without him!

Another fabulous and very successful K1 Open Meeting. We move to Bala next for our long distance race so please come and join us.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Sail No	Boat	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st	Andrew Wilson	97	Really	Datchet	‑2	1	1	1	‑2	3
2nd	Richard Sims	180		Carsington SC	3	‑9	2	‑7	1	6
3rd	Jeremy Hudson	120	K1ss	Frensham Pond	1	‑4	3	3	(DNC)	7
4th	Hilly King	161	Bearoo	Datchet	‑7	2	‑10	4	3	9
4th	Ian Tinker	151		Carsington SC	‑10	3	‑7	2	4	9
6th	Geoff King	157	Reflections	Barnt Green	4	‑7	4	‑5	5	13
7th	Evan Cairns	10		Carsington SC	5	‑12	5	6	‑8	16
8th	John Webster	147		Carsington SC	6	5	‑14	‑11	7	18
9th	David Frary	135		Oulton Broad	8	6	‑12	9	(DNC)	23
10th	Phil King	164		Barnt Green	‑11	‑10	9	10	6	25
11th	Chris Swallow	181	Rogue	Burton	‑13	‑14	8	8	9	25
12th	Jason King	148	Kinesis	Datchet	12	‑15	6	‑14	10	28
13th	Julian Leggett	163	iK1	Datchet	9	11	‑13	‑12	11	31
14th	Alfred Hawksworth	160	Nifty Twister	Carsington SC	‑14	‑13	11	13	12	36
15th	John Hayhurst	117		Carsington SC	16	8	15	(DNC)	(DNC)	39
16th	Cedric Jakobsen	98		Datchet	‑18	‑18	17	15	13	45
17th	Kim Dunstan	18		Carsington SC	15	16	16	(DNC)	(DNC)	47
18th	Peter Hogg	187	Xanadu	Chew Valley	17	‑19	‑18	16	15	48
19th	Derek Joyner	52	Catch the wind	Carsington SC	(DNC)	(DNC)	19	17	14	50
20th	Christofer Cooney	99		Carsington SC	19	17	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	58