This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ===== Weston Open ===== {{ boats:2637-20060514a.jpg?300}} Report by Lucy Lee Pictures by Olly Straker A slightly more favourable forecast greeted the Cherub sailors at Weston Sailing Club this weekend (May 13th & 14th), compared to the Inlands! We were promised a Force 2-3 on Saturday with 1-2 on Sunday. With that in mind the OOD lost no time at all in getting all three fleets (National 12's, International Moths and Cherubs) started on three back to back races in the blazing sunshine and slightly shifty Force 2. In the first race Atum Bom (Will & Lucy Lee) and Norwegian Blue (Dave Ching & Lara Gonzales-Ruiz) enjoyed three sedate laps with occasional single wiring upwind and down. Up the first beat of the second race Norwegian and Therapy (Matt and Mark Grant) sensibly went right to avoid the tide and capitalize on the wind bends. Therapy rounded first, followed by Atum, with Norwegian close behind. In order to pass Therapy, Atum opted for a higher and hopefully faster track, which paid off after some exciting luffing in steep chop! {{boats:2656-20060514a.jpg?300 }} By the third race the breeze had filled in enough for occasional twinning. Atum and Therapy made it to the windward mark together, but Atum was able to pull out into the lead by soaking lower off wind. After the racing Therapy went for an exciting blast in the freshening breeze. Their brand new rig was clearly working well as they were seen making for the Isle of Wight at escape velocity. In the evening there was carbon work (forestay fitting on Lost in Space, reinforcement of lowers on Atum, spinnaker pole on Therapy, plus numerous tiller extensions), Fish 'n' Chips all round and beer etc at the club. Mat and Paula Burrows, new owners of Catanachne arrived in time for the food and drink. Sunday dawned warm and windless which led to rather optimistic gear choice (shorties all round) and less than total enthusiasm to hit the water. However, once out on the water it became quite clear that the forecast was all wrong, and we were in for a blow! Up the first beat of the fourth race Atum escaped. Therapy rounded second and set off in hot pursuit, closely followed by Lost in Space and Norwegian. Therapy put in some serious air time, followed by some serious swim time. Lost in Space gave no quarter and moved swiftly into second. Norwegian were loving the breeze and gradually gained ground on Lost, pulling ahead during the final leg. Tragically for Dave & Lara a broken kite halyard on the final drop let Lost back into second, and put an end to their racing. At the start of the fifth race it became quite clear that those sneaky boys on Therapy had been stocking up on water ballast during their dips (mostly in their stomachs!) as they made mincemeat of the first beat. Lost in Space were starting to struggle a little upwind in the stronger breeze as they were single wire, but were showing a far superior skill levels than Atum who appeared to have completely forgotten how to tack! By the windward mark Therapy were a pale blue dot in the distance but Atum had made back some ground on Lost. Atum managed to survive the downwind leg despite only having a small fraction of daggerboard in the water for long periods of time. Lost were less lucky with the waves on the other side of the run, and Atum rounded in second. On the second lap Therapy were forced to make a lightening quick pit-stop on the beach to sort a minor jib cunningham hitch, but the size of their lead saw them finish second! Therapy started the final race in fine form but retired at the windward mark the second time round, having noticed that Lost and Atum were heading in with yet more tiller extensions to mend. Back on the beach we caught up with Mat and Paula who had taken Catananche out for the first time. There were ear-to-ear grins all round, and they are looking forward to trying the kite once their trapezing muscles have recovered! Many, many thanks to Weston Sailing Club for a great event, with fantastically slick back to back races. We hope to be back in 2007. === Final positions (One Discard) === 1st Atum Bom: Will & Lucy Lee (1,1,1,1,1,<del>DNS</del>) 2nd Norwegian Blue: Dave Ching & Lara Gonzales-Ruiz (2,2,3,3,<del>DNS,DNS</del>) 3rd Therapy: Mat & Mark Grant (<del>DNS</del>,DNF,2,DNF,2,DNF) 4th Lost in Space: Tim Unerman & Jack Gifford (DNS,DNS,DNS,2,3,<del>DNS</del>) {{..:backlinks}} news/2006/0514.txt Last modified: 2023/03/02 00:29by 64.62.252.162 Log In