Dart 15 TT and Inland Championship sponsored by Gill at Grafham Water Sailing Club

The top three boats during the Dart 15 TT and Inland Championship at Grafham Water © Dave Clarke

Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th October saw 16 Dart 15s prepare themselves for the last of the Summer Series and Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club, generously supported by Gill.

The wind however had other ideas and despite a valiant effort by the race management team of Nigel & Fiona Denchfield along with the GWSC mark layer volunteers, racing was abandoned mid afternoon due to a total lack of breeze. Afternoon walks around the reservoir, boat fiddling or just hanging about seemed to be the main activities until Lisa & her team served up a very generous two course dinner that kept us all going until Sunday morning.

Sunday morning arrived and a hint of wind was all it took for Nigel & Fiona to get their team promptly mobilised to then assess and lay the race course for what would turn out to be four races. The pressure was light and shifty maybe even as high as the odd 5 knot gust, nevertheless race 1 got under way 4 minutes after the handicap cat fleet start and it was clear straight away that David & John Ball's jib was going to prove useful in their expert hands (well John's hands anyhow..) as they were away up the first beat to the windward mark for the first time. Following on were Mark Aldridge, Jason Clarke, Stuart Snell, Andy Bunyan & Simon Farthing. End of lap 1 order was the same & Lap 2 saw the Ball duo extend their lead, Clarke overtook Aldridge on the run down to mark 4 pretty much as expected & Snell then made up the top 4 finishers for race 1.

Race 2 was quickly turned around by race management & again the Dart 15s were away after the handicap start with Clarke leading the charging pack off the line, followed by Snell, George Love, D&J Ball, Farthing & Jenny Ball having retired after race 1 which was very unlike Jenny. The top leg across to mark 2 saw the majority of the fleet converge where the pressure had dropped right off causing somewhat of a 'log jam' at the mark with then maybe 8+ boats wide on the run to mark 3. Water was called at mark 3 by a few sailors & Ray Gall was the main loser here as he had to give water for at least 5 boats that I recall from the inside. At the end of lap 1 the winners and losers of the slow speed carnage were through the line and the order was Snell, D&J Ball, J Ball & Clarke. Lap 2 saw Snell remaining calm to extend his lead at the finish with some tactical sailing meaning places were changing behind & the finishing order was then J.Ball, D&J Ball, Aldridge & Clarke.

What little pressure there was dropped right off after race 2 and a few of us went ashore for a comfort break. It seemed quite likely racing was to be abandoned when some of the Dart 15's thought better of it going ashore for good, so Jacob Aldridge after an awesome showing at the rear of the fleet & not being a fan of the weather conditions called it a day along with Andy Bunyan & Martin Smith. The committee boat moved West on the water and all the marks were re-positioned quickly by the race team, with just about enough breeze to push the boats along race 3 was under way. D&J Ball led for the first beat being closely followed by Clarke, Snell, Charles Watson (making an appearance at the sharp end but had to do a turn for some infringement & dropped back down the fleet in such light conditions), Jon Pearse then J.Ball. Lap 2 saw some trading places with the usual boats at the front & over the finish line it was D&J Ball, J.Ball, Clarke & Snell.

Race 4 again was quickly under way & Clarke was first off the line which was a position he'd keep for the duration. Trying in vain to catch with little impact were J.Ball, Aldridge, D&J Ball with the rest of the fleet also in close pursuit. Fortunately the day's proceedings were then curtailed so with 4 races run there was a discard to consider thankfully for some!

Overall winners on the day were D&J Ball who won a £75.00 Gill voucher each. Second place was J Ball with a steady set of 2nd place finishes to count winning a nice Gill kit bag. Third was Jason Clarke winning a Gill cap. Fourth place and winner of the first placed GWSC Dart 15 trophy was Stuart Snell.

John and David Ball win the Dart 15 TT and Inland Championship at Grafham Water - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

Jenny Ball finishes 2nd in the Dart 15 TT and Inland Championship at Grafham Water - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

Jason Clarke finishes 3rd in the Dart 15 TT and Inland Championship at Grafham Water - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

As the event was the final Summer TT for the year, the prize-giving also included presentations for the overall Summer Series. This comprised five TTs starting at Marconi in April which was much colder, but also much windier than the final event. Shanklin SC, Draycote and Carsington had hosted the intervening TTs and the Dart 15 Association are grateful for all the clubs' support.

Overall Results: