Tideway Challenge at Wimbleball Sailing Club

15 Tideways gathered at Wimbleball Sailing Club in Somerset on Saturday 16th June for the 34th Tideway Challenge. A variable northerly breeze of about force 2-3, gusting 4 plus plenty of shifts and holes promised an interesting day's racing.

The first race began with Tideway no. 1, 'Andante', helmed by the defending champion, Robyn Phillips, leading off the start line, closely followed by no. 377, 'Whisper', helmed by Richard Lee. Phillips reached the windward mark first, just before Lee, with no. 114 'Ramble', helmed by John Donnelly and no. 299 'Gwylan', helmed by Mary Davies hot on their heels. The remainder of the first lap saw Phillips increase her lead, with Donnelly and Davies both overtaking Lee. On the final lap of the first race, Frank Ball in no. 42 'Breeze II' made up four places to finish tenth, while at the front of the fleet, Phillips finished well ahead, but Davies managed to get past Donnelly in order to finish second.

The first beat of the second race saw Phillips take the lead with Lee close behind once more while Davies followed in third. No. 55 'Chiffchaff', helmed by Peter Greenway made an appearance in fourth place, Donnelly, who had finished third in the previous race, settled into fifth. The second lap saw Phillips once more increase her lead while Davies managed to overtake Lee to take second place. Greenway and Donnelly stayed in fourth and fifth respectively, whilst the only single-handed Tideway sailing, no. 375 'Jenny', with Bob Moon at the helm claimed a respectable sixth place.

The final race of the day started with Davies and Lee getting good starts. Phillips, the champion of the previous two races, made an unimpressive start and came off the line in about seventh position. The first lap saw a very close fight between Davies and Lee, with much swapping of positions going on throughout the race. Further down the fleet Phillips made a determined effort to catch up and battled against such rivals as Greenway, Moon and Donnelly as well as Graham Windsor in no. 320, 'Moondrifter'. By the end of the first lap, Phillips had pulled up to third and triumphantly sailed past both Davies and Lee, who had found themselves in one of the many holes in the wind. Phillips then led for the rest of the race, ever increasing her lead, while Davies and Lee fought a very hard battle for second place, with Davies just getting across the line first. Greenway managed to finish fourth, and although finishing fifth, Moon was disqualified for being over the line at the start. This then allowed Windsor and Donnelly to claim fifth and sixth respectively.

Overall Results:

More Information:

• Wimbleball Sailing Club