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30 Sep
Two Tales from Highliffe
TEAM HUGH STYLES WIN HIGHCLIFFE F18 REGATTA
The team of Hugh Styles with Marcus Lynch crewing a Hobie Tiger Formula 18 catamaran proved that consistency is king with no result outside the top 3 at this weekends qualifier event at Highcliffe sailing club. The sailors experienced a whole variety sailing conditions over the course of the weekend making for some excellent racing.
The F18 catamaran fleet is enjoying healthy turn outs for its events and this weekend was no exception, with 25 boats, 3/4 of which had travelled to the event. Christchurch bay provided an excellent location in whichto test sailors wind and tidalawareness. This was certainly true on Saturday when all three races resulted in a battle with the fickle wind and strong tides.
Six races were sailed and began on Saturday afternoon after an hours postponement. Initially setting up a course in a South Easterly direction the fleet got away cleanly at the first attempt. Team Styles opted for a port tack start and once through the starboard tacker's they were out and clear. Sailing the pressure to great advantage they extended their lead all the way round the course to wind by a about 2 mins. The chasing pack were fighting hard all the way round the course and places 2 to 6 were up for grabs even into the last 100m to the finish line.
Race two saw the breeze at about 7 knots but more South South Easterly. The tactics were considerably different with a change in the tide and a sea breeze trying to come in from the South West,which was trying to drag the breeze right all the time. The lead changed a couple of times during the race with Hugh and Marcus leading for the first lap before Stuart Gummer gained up the second beat and took the lead just before the last windward mark and was never headed.
Race three and enough wind to trapeze at times ina Southerly breeze. The line was about square and the fleet got away at the second attempt. The top 5 were very close at the windward mark with Team Styles leading followed by Jonnie Hutchcroft and Robbie John Garka. This continued all the way until half way down the last run when Jonnie made a gain and past Hugh and Marcus, with Stuart Gummer third.
Over night positions were:
1st Hugh Styles and Marcus Lynch Team Hobie Tiger
2nd Stuart Gummer
3rd Jonnie Hutchcroft and Robbie John Garka
The evenings entertainments included the class AGM and then a disco provided by the Hobie Centre Poole which proved to be very popular.
Sunday was a whole different affair with wind from the West South West constantly all day, but with a gradual increase in the pressure through the day from 13 - 16 knots with gusts to 18 knots. A large swell had grown over night and provided for some amazing sailing.
Race four and good challenging conditions greeted the sailors out at the start. The fleet were away cleanly first time and Team Styles lead for the first lap before a few bits of gear breakage cost them distance and Andy Walsh and Ed Barney sailed through to take line honours, with Stuart Gummer in third after a good tussle with Hugh and Marcus down the last run.
Race five was much closer fought with Jonnie and Robbie John leading at the windward mark. Andy and Ed passed them on the first downwind, with Stuart Gummer in third and Hugh and Marcus in fourth. The next beat Jonnie made some big gains out to sea and lead again at the windward mark, only to be passed again as Andy and Ed put the hammer down and flew byon the downwind, taking their second win of the day. Stuart Gummer maintained a solid third and Hugh and Marcus fourth.
Between races Hugh and Marcus found they had water in their port hull and in an attempt to remove it lost their hatch cover. They make a temporary repair with a sticker and drink bottles just in time to make the start and were never headed out into the right hand side of the first beat. They had a commanding lead at the windward mark but were suffering from water coming into the hull from the makeshift repair.Hugh and Marcus lead the race all the way round until 25m from the finish where the extra water ballast was proving too much of a handicap and Andy Walsh and Ed Barney slipped past to take the gun, and again Stuart Gummer maintained his consistency coming in third.
The event was successfulfor both Hugh Styles, Marcus Lynch and from the organisational side and a big thanks to Highcliffe sailing club and Don Findlay for putting the event on.
The overall standings:
1st Hugh Styles and Marcus Lynch Team Hobie Tiger
2nd Stuart Gummer
3rd Andy Walsh and Ed Barney
4th Jonnie Hutchcroft and Robbie John Garka
Hugh and Marcus would like to say a big thanks to the Hobie Cat Centre Poole for help with the boat and to the following sponsors for their continued support. Fat Face Garmin Gill Gingerpix Holt Allen Performance Hardware Marlow Ropes Red Insurance Tacktick Mum and Dad
Alternative Report
TEAM DAVIDSON/CAIRNS DON'T WIN HIGHCLIFFE F18 REGATTA
The team of Alasdair Davidson with Ryan Cairns crewing a Nacra Formula 18 catamaran proved that consistency is king with no result outside the bottom 8 at this weekends qualifier event at Highcliffe sailing club.
Six races were sailed and began on Saturday afternoon after an hours postponement. Team Davidson/Cairns opted for a late start and once through the line they were clear behind. Sailing the pressure to no advantage they failed to extend the gap all the way round the course and lost last place on the final downwind leg.
Race two saw the breeze at about 7 knots but more South South Easterly with a change in the tide and a sea breeze trying to come in from the South West which was trying to drag the breeze right all the time. Last place changed a couple of times during the race with Davidson, Pickering, and Barker fighting furiously for the bottom spot.
Race three and enough wind to trapeze at times in a Southerly breeze. The bottom 5 were very close at the windward mark but an uncharacteristic performance from Davidson/Cairns saw them lose touch with the tail end pack and slip into the teens to eventually finish a disappointing 16th. It was obvious that some major de-tuning was required overnight if last place was to be rescued on Sunday.
Overnight positions were:
23rd Barker
22nd Pickering
21st Davidson
The evenings entertainments included the very popular class AGM and then a disco provided by the Hobie Centre Poole.
Sunday was a whole different affair with wind from the West South West constantly all day, but with a gradual increase in the pressure through the day from 13 - 16 knots with gusts to 18 knots. A large swell had grown over night and provided for some amazing sailing.
Race four and good challenging conditions greeted the sailors out at the start. The fleet were away cleanly first time and Team Davidson/Cairns again failed to live with the tail end pack. Another result in the teens surely spelt an end to last place overall.
Race five was much closer fought. Team Davidson/Cairns found themselves with space on the line for a clean start. Realising what this could mean in the overall standings Davidson managed to fail to hook on and promptly fell in. It's snap decisions like these that can make all the difference and is testament to the months of training that the average Club sailor fails to put in. For most sailors this would have been enough to guarantee last place but lying second to last on the final downwind leg Team Davidson needed to pull something out of the bag. Overstanding the finish line and pointing too high with the spi full resulted in the required swim. The first last place of the event was finally won to keep their hopes of an overall last alive.
It was of course too good to be true and Team Davidson/Cairns couldn't maintain their form in the final race. A 17th place was just far too good and they saw the bottom spot slip away.
The overall standings:
23rd Barker
22nd Pickering
21st Davidson
Disclaimer: any similarity to another Highcliffe SC F18 report on the same weekend is purely coincidental and is in no way meant to offend any person or persons connected with or participating in the event.
Alasdair Davidson
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