18 Skiffs at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy - Day 1
by Peter Danby 21 Apr 2002 02:17 BST
Photo © Peter Danby |
The 18 foot Skiff season got under way in the northern hemisphere this afternoon (Saturday) when a fleet of 15 boats contested three races on the first day of Round 1 of the UK Skiff Grand Prix in Portland Harbour.
The sailing conditions were pleasant, with a southerly breeze of 7 to 10 knots - not quite as much as some of the Skiff sailors would ideally have liked, but enough to give some excellent close racing.
Race 1 saw the reigning champions Rob Greenhalgh, Dan Johnson and Jonny
Meers carry on where they left off last season, and they soon had 'RMW
Marine' in its customary leading position. Behind them, there was plenty
of action, with 'White Stuff' sailed as usual by Victor Brellisford,
James Fawcett and Dave Smith having a close tussle with 'Specialized
Marine' sailed by Chris Turner, Pete Bagwell and Jon McKenna, but the
mast of 'Specialized Marine' came down on the second reach of the
triangular course. Dominic Bowns, Rich Edwards and Tom Edward on
'Bristol Panel Formers' came third behind "White Stuff' after getting
the better of a battling group of boats.
The second race again saw 'RMW Marine' establish a lead, but not before
they had been given a fairly hard time by Rob Dulson, Paul Constable and
Alex McKinlay on 'Base 1'. Jon Bennett's 'GoFish' finished third.
Dan Johnson had to leave 'RMW Marine' in a hurry after Race 2, already
late for the wedding of a friend, and owner/manager Richard Woof stepped
in to deputise admirably as the team went on to take their third victory
of the day, again followed by the on-form 'Base 1' crew. 'Total Recall'
sailed by Ollie Holden, Ben Clothier and Will clothier continued their
rapidly improving form in the class by taking third place.
At the end of the first day, the 'RMW Marine' team are well in the lead
with three bullets, followed by 'Base 1' and 'White Stuff'. A feature of
the day's racing was the obviously improved standard of sailing among
some of the newer teams, who have been taking their preparation
seriously and will be aiming to keep up their progress tomorrow.
Points standings after three races:
| Pos | Boat Name | Helm | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | RMW Marine | Rob Greenhalgh | 0 |
| 2 | Base 1 | Rob Dulson | 16 |
| 3 | White Stuff | Victor Brellisford | 23 |
| 4 | GoFish | Jon Bennett | 25.4 |
| 5 | Total Recall | Ollie Holden | 26.7 |
| 6 | Helly Hansen | Toby Collyer | 38.4 |
| 7 | Bristol Panel Formers | Dominic Bowns | 39.7 |
| 8 | Gul/Harken | Andy Richards | 47 |
| 9 | West Mersea Trailers | Andy Peake | 47 |
| 10 | Onica | Gareth Robinson | 47 |