Event 1
North Lincs Sailing Club, Barton upon Humber
Saturday 11 June 2005

A cracking start to the season & new teams...
For the past couple of years the North Zone has traditionally kicked off its inter-club series at North Lincs Sailing Club, and a quick check of the calendar revealed it was exactly one year to the day since the last North Lincs event. Had T15 activity grown in the Zone since then? Would we have more or less competitors taking part? Would the refreshments match the standards of previous years? The resounding answer to all those questions was YES!

A total of 24 competitors made the trip, and in addition to the home Club North Lincs Invaders, Surfstore Allstars (sponsored by Neilson), Halifax Hurricanes and Covenham Cyclones were all represented. Covenham Cyclones which was a “developing” T15 club last year attended their first inter-club event with a strong team of 11 sailors which is a great compliment to Lucy and her team for all their hard work in promoting T15 so positively.

Competitors were split into 2 fleets with the 3.5m and 4.5m classes combining and the 5.5m and 6.6m doing likewise. With a light westerly breeze blowing straight down the lake it was the 3.5 / 4.5m fleet which took to the water first. Tackling a crosswind course across the lake and back it was Russell Marrows (Covenham) who set the early pace in the 4.5m class followed closely by Jessica Cooke (North Lincs). Craig Smith (North Lincs) in the 3.5m class sailed well to take first place from team-mate Daniel Empson. 

A more demanding "box" course was set for the 5.5 /6.6m fleet and all credit must be given to those sailors in the 5.5m class who were tackling this type of course for probably the first time. Max Anderson (Surfstore Allstars) made his experience count to take his first “bullet” in the 5.5m while the competition in the 6.6m fleet gave the watching spectators a taste of what was to come with some very close exciting racing. Matt Stevens (North Lincs) took first place but was pushed all the way by Connor Bainbridge (Halifax Hurricanes).

With one more race in each fleet before lunch, Jessica Cooke (North Lincs) took first place from Russell Marrows (Covenham) in the 4.5m class, reversing their respective positions from race 1, while in the 3.5m class Daniel Empson and Craig Smith (North Lincs) did likewise. Ben Foxon sailed well to take his second third placing and gave a hint that he would be a strong contender in the remaining races.

In the 5.5m class Max Anderson (Surfstore) took another first with "rookie" Josh Brown-Bolton (Surfstore) taking second. In the 6.6m class Connor Bainbridge (Halifax) took first place by keeping Matt Stevens (North Lincs) at bay. To add to the demands of the box course, competitors had to cope with a sudden change in wind direction, which saw the wind swing from the west to the north in a matter of seconds making the last leg a beat to the finish line.

With the wind now blowing directly offshore the racing after lunch saw a change of course for the 3.5 & 4.5m fleets.

With competitors lined up on the water beside the jetty, willing helpers held the back of the boards which then “flagged” out on to open water before turning across the wind to sail up to the top of the lake and back. In the 3.5m class there was no stopping Craig Smith and Daniel Empson (North Linsc) who once again took the first two placings with Ben Foxon (Covenham) taking another third place. Elsewhere in the 3.5m class, Bethany Plasket (Covenham) and Oliver Clegg (North Lincs) were changing 4th and 5th places with almost the same regularity. Jessica Cooke (North Lincs) took another first place in the 4.5m class ahead of Isaac Cooper (Covenham).

Max Anderson (Surfstore) maintained his early consistency by taking first in the 5.5m class ahead of Luke Tasker (Covenham), who sailed a good third race to finish second. Competition in the 6.6m class was "simmering" nicely. Matt Stevens (North Lincs) took another first, while Scott Anderson (Surfstore) got his tactics right to come through and take second place ahead of team-mate Jack Tait in third.

The final two races in the 4.5m class saw Jessica Cooke (North Lincs) maintain her consistency ahead of Russell Marrows and Isaac Cooper (Covenham), while in the 3.5m class Ben Foxon (Covenham) took 2 firsts ahead of Craig Smith (North Lincs). A special mention goes to Emma Brown-Bolton (Surfstore) who as one of the youngest competitors sailing in her first event took an amazing third place in race four.

Max Anderson (Surfstore) took his fourth bullet in the final race of the 5.5m class, while in the 6.6m class the final placings would hinge on the outcome of the fourth and final race. Matt Stevens took an early lead, but it was George Bowles (North Lincs) who got the windward leg right to lead the fleet round the course in the second lap. With George being hotly pressed by Matt and Connor he needed to get his last beat right to take first place. With all three boards tacking at almost the same time it was going to anyone’s race. With a 100 yards to go Matt Stevens (North Lincs) and Connor Bainbridge (Halifax) began to close the gap on George and managed to pip him on the line to take first and second placings respectively. Jack Tait (Surfstore) made up ground on the last beat to take fourth place behind George.

With the final results calculated North Lincs Invaders took the Team prize ahead of Covenham Cyclones.

Thanks from all the competitors must go to Phil Twining and his team at North Lincs for their hospitality and for getting the 2005 series off to a cracking start. And finally a special mention to 2 of Phil’s “ex” T15 sailors, Richard Hamilton and Alex Griffiths both of whom are now very accomplished IMCO sailors at both home and abroad for their coaxing and coaching and for setting the courses which made my job much easier.

David Dobson,
T15 Competition Co-ordinator

Team winners
North Lincs Invaders

Photos courtesy of:
Lucy Dunnett (first & last images)
Kevin Griffiths (middle two images)

For further details contact
David Dobson
david.dobson@tvf-online.co.uk
 

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

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Mount Batten Centre - Plymouth
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