Dart 15 Chris Black Icicle TT at Grafham Water Sailing Club

Dart 15 Chris Black Icicle TT at Grafham © Emma Garton

Gill once again supported the latest Dart 15 TT at Grafham on Sunday 9th March. This was the annual Chris Black Icicle TT and the final event in our Winter Series. Having had to reschedule or cancel four fixture dates during this Winter Series due to light winds or storms - the fleet were delighted to still have completed four events in the series. And particularly delighted to arrive at the final event with sunshine and a F2-3 breeze.

The superb weather resulted in a strong turnout of 17 entries, racing alongside club racing. It also brought out a stellar number of club racers and with around 60 boats on the course, it was going to be an interesting day.

The first start got under way cleanly and the fleet set off on their usual trapezoid course. The easterly wind was fairly genteel with some shifts and lulls across the course. On the first lap, going up the middle paid off with Jenny Ball (Marconi) leading round the windward mark closely pursued by Liam Thom (Shanklin), Jason Clarke (Marconi) and Steve Sawford (Rutland) and the bulk of the fleet close behind.

After a short reach to Mark 2, the fleet settled into the downwind leg which was tricky to read given some of the pressure fluctuations across the course. Jenny, Steve and Mark Aldridge (Grafham) picked a low course whilst Liam and Jason opted to sail further right. The former paid off fractionally allowing Steve to edge in front of Liam and Jason as they set off to mark four.

On the second beat, Steve tacked off to the middle of the course and Jenny followed suit to cover. Jason also picked the middle route and it appeared the wind was building slightly from the left of the course. Liam chose to carry on to the right, followed by a number of the fleet behind, which proved to be a very successful move. Liam reached the windward mark first, followed by Jenny, Steve and Jason.

Meanwhile, George Love (Carsington), Jon Pearse (Marconi), Simon Farthing (Grafham) and Paul Tanner (Shanklin) also made great gains by following Liam. By now, the course was full of different boats on upwind and downwind legs, so there was a lot of "threading the needle" and keeping a sharp eye out as the other fleets were following different courses.

On the final beat of the race, Liam again headed right followed by a number of the fleet, not least to find a stretch of the lake with fewer other boats on it. Jason broke from the pack and headed back up the middle of the course. This time, this proved to be the winning strategy and Jason reached the windward mark first. The chasing pack were unable to reign him back in on the downwind leg and Jason went on to take the win. Jenny and Liam finished second and third with about a second between them. George, Simon, Paul, Steve and Jon all finished in quick succession behind.

After a short pause for the various races to finish, the second race was got under way promptly.

Dart 15 Chris Black Icicle TT at Grafham - photo © Emma Garton

The wind had freshened slightly and the majority of the fleet headed out on starboard tack. Paul headed off to the right hand corner and for a while, this seemed to have paid off but the pressure up the middle was slightly stronger and when everyone converged on mark 1, Jason led with Liam, Jenny, George, Steve, Yvonne Pike (Shanklin), Ray Gall (Carsington) and Charles Watson (Halifax) close behind. The downwind leg saw several changes of position among the main fleet as they tried to spot, and catch, the different patches of pressure coming down the course.

The course was again very congested by the second lap and the subsequent upwind legs, in particular, required careful consideration of boats from the other fleets. Jason continued to lead the way and Jenny just managed to edge in front of Liam at the windward mark as he was slightly held up by local traffic, and again just held him off on the downwind leg, although neither of them were making a dent on Jason's lead.

Having come through the start/finish line at the end of the second lap, Jenny was broadsided by a fast cat headed for its leeward gate with the kite up which put her boat out of the race. Jason went on to consolidate his race win, with Liam in second, followed by George, Yvonne, Steve, Ray and Charles.

The wind had shifted slightly and strengthened which resulted in a short postponement whilst the windward marks were adjusted. During this pause, Jason, who had already won the event with two bullets, sailed ashore and very kindly loaned his boat to Jenny so she could complete the final race of the day. The third start duly got under way and there was a bit of a header in the final seconds which spread much of the fleet down towards the pin end of the line.

Steve, however, tacked off early onto port and headed right. This proved to be a great tactical move and he came into the windward mark with a convincing lead. The rest of the fleet rounded the windward mark in a tight bunch enjoying the much pacier reaches now a bit more breeze had filled in. In a bid to keep her borrowed boat well clear of everyone else, Jenny gybed off early whilst Liam stood on. Jacob Aldridge (Grafham) and Simon also gybed off early but Mark stood on. Mark was back in the game for race 3 having eventually realised he had incorrectly shackled his mainsheet to the fairlead over the traveller.

After two races of wondering why the boat was not sailing so well and why his traveller was bending further upwards, Mark rigged it correctly and was back up the front again. The group came round mark 3 and 4 together and set off up the second beat. Jenny, Simon and Jacob headed back across to the left hand side of the beat whilst Liam tacked off to the right a little earlier.

In the distance, Steve had an entanglement with a local boat at the windward mark. He duly completed a penalty turn but impressively continued to maintain a healthy lead. Jenny, Simon and Jacob were next round with Liam just behind and a close duel ensued down the downwind leg. On the final beat, Jenny got back in front of the pack and although again held up by traffic on the upwind leg, Liam managed to regain his third place on the final run.

Steve took a convincing win followed by Jenny, Liam, Jacob, Mark, Simon and Charles. The fleet headed in after a busy and interesting day on the water.

The event prize-giving was run by Race Officer Nigel Denchfield and we were delighted to again welcome Judith Black to present the prizes. Jason took a well deserved event win, with Jenny in second, Liam third, Steve fourth and George fifth. Charles Watson had also kindly made wind indicators from a sacrificed 420 spinnaker which were duly distributed to all attendees.

Jenny then presented the Winter Series prize-giving which, as always, was extremely close and came down to the final event. Just one point separated the top three positions and the winner was selected on countback.

Thank you to everyone at Grafham for hosting us alongside such a busy weekend. And particular thanks to our Winter Series host clubs and competitors who, despite all the disruptions to dates, ensured that a successful series was held over four great events.

Jason Clarke wins the Dart 15 Chris Black Icicle TT at Grafham - photo © Bob Carter

Winter Series Overall results:

4th - Steve Sawford, Rutland
3rd - Jason Clarke, Marconi
2nd - Jenny Ball, Marconi
1st - Liam Thom, Shanklin

Grafham TT Results: