Chris and Sam win a light-airs Inlands

14 intrepid crews set forth on 18/19 November, on the coldest weekend so far this winter. Class stalwart Ben Iliffe unfortunately was unable to attend. Although having pre-entered, he and Paddy Lewis received a full-result on the score card. Maximum points – a perfect score! (we thought they’d appreciate the mention).
Other teams of interest on the scorecard included:
• Light-wind specialists – Ian Pinnell & Tim Needham;
• Yoof representation – Tom Gillard, & Harry Briddon;
• Charlie Walters and Dougal Cram – breaking their vows and actually race during the winter
• Capsize Kings – Toby Barsley-Dale and Rich Nurse, (mainly while ashore); and
• The Saltire King (Jim Blyth) ably crewed by Darrel Samonjoul. Darrel so keen to crew that he actually turned up a fortnight early for the event – he says it was to test the fried breakfast….we (Jim included) are stunned by this level of commitment.
Shock news on day 1, saw Team Ovington “bench” superstar 505 helm Nathan Batchelor before a sail was hoisted in-anger. Apparently he had accidentally sold a colleague’s boat, and was duly condemned to spend the weekend talking to 29er parents. Crew (Sam Pascoe) looked positively concerned before the commencement of hostilities. In a move reminiscent of vintage David Moyes, Ovington were replacing this multi-class championship winning helm with a bloke called Chris (apparently he sailed a 505 once about 15 years ago).
Saturday saw 4 races back-to-back. 9-12 knots, with gusts a bit higher. The 505s raced on course Alpha, down towards the damn wall, with the wind coming straight down the lake. A good position for a windward/leeward racetrack given the wind direction.
All very tight racing, with 3 laps per race on Saturday (2 laps per race on Sunday). Saturday saw marginal trapeezing downwind (sailing deep on Sunday, in the lighter breezes). The south shore provided an interesting wind bend influence on both upwind and downwind legs on the Saturday – less so, on the Sunday (wind about 4-9 knots). So 2 main headlines from day 1.
Substitute Chris, turner-ed out to be a pretty useful helm (sorry couldn’t resist). 4 bullets straight off, with world champions (and the rest of us) left scrabbling for minor podium spots. Honestly, not really what the 505 fleet expects. Guests are expected to lose….gracefully…!
Behind the flying Turner/Pascoe, the racing was very tight. 4 crews tied on 9 points overnight – each team counting a 2,3,4 score. Graeme Willcox and James Spikesley in 8905 proving that you don’t need to sail a new 505 to get to the front of the fleet – right in the mix overnight.
Sunday dawned lighter, but still sailable. The flying Turner / Pascoe really put the result beyond doubt with another race win in race 5, but then others started to get their eye in, especially Pinnell and Needham who sailed a most consistent Sunday, with a 1,2,1,2 score-line to grab second from the increasingly consistent Gillard/Briddon.
Of the rest, Walters/Cram had a variable day 2, but grabbed a race win in race 7 (the windiest on Sunday) to cheer them up. Jim/Darrel grabbed a well-earned second place in the final race, having played good lanes upwind on the second beat to lead at the final windward mark.
Both Willcox/Spikesley and Gillard/Briddon sailed with consistency on day 2 – not easy to maintain, given the patchy wind, and the increasing performance of all other top 10 crews. A great event. We’ll all be back next year – see you there.