Event 2
Coquet SC, Amble
Sunday 24 July 2005 
 
Attack of the Cyclones.
The signs did not look good as I left Durham for the venue up in mid Northumberland. Not a breath of wind, overcast skies and dramatic drop in temperature from the baking heat of the preceding week to only 13 degrees!  
  
  

Nor did my enthusiasm increase as the journey progressed. Not a leaf moving, a momentary reduction in temperature to 11 degrees and to cap it all it had started to rain. Visions of compulsory paddling races with winter wet suits loomed large.

Coquet's inland water base is situated as close to the coast as you can get so maybe a chance of a sea breeze would at least to get the boards moving with sail rather than paddle power. As I entered the country park and turned off to the left I got my first view of the water and instead of the glassy smooth surface I was expecting there were actually ripples and even better some enthusiasts were out windsurfing. Things immediately started to look better.

An even greater surprise greeted me as I approached the car park with tents, camper vans, T15 flags even the aroma of late breakfasts - was this a national UKWA event I had got mixed up with T15? Not a bit of it, this was Covenham Cyclones on tour and out in force. With some arriving on Friday evening they had made a weekend of it and had taken the opportunity to acclimatise to the local conditions. As the morning progressed they were joined by the host club, the Invaders from North Lincs, the Allstars from Surfstore (Neilson) and the Hurricanes from Halifax (Bic) and even a lone sailor from Scotland who had stopped off on his way to the RYA Junior Summer Camp at Rutland - a grand total of 34 competitors! 

With registration taking a little longer than normal, racing got underway for 11.30am. The sailors were split into 3 fleets, 3.5m, 4.5m and a combined 5.5m and 6.6m fleet and it was the latter fleet, which took to the water first. With all but one of the 6.6m sailors on raceboards there was a competent air and a sense of some keen competition emanating from the shoreline. With a fresh breeze blowing it was Matt Stevens (North Lincs) and Connor Bainbridge (Halifax) who made the early running. By completion of the first lap Matt had developed a significant lead and looked to be heading for victory when a rush of blood to the head persuaded him to round the gybe mark the wrong way – would the “sheep syndrome” prevail or would the remainder of the fleet adhere to the race briefing? Connor in second place went the right way round as did the remainder of the fleet and Matt quickly had to reround the mark dropping a number of places as a consequence. As the second lap progressed Jack Tait (Surfstore Allstars) had moved into second place and was pressing Connor. Matt meanwhile had made up lost ground and was in third closing in on Jack but couldn’t quite atone for his early error. First race to Connor with Jack and Matt taking second and third.

In the 5.5m Josh Brown-Bolton (Surfstore Allstars) looked comfortable and took first place from Aaron Douglas (Coquet Crushers) in second and Simon Thompson (Covenham Cyclones) in third.

Next on the water was the 4.5m fleet which in number terms largely comprised the bulk of the Covenham team – would they dominate or would the experience of that wily campaigner Jessica Cooke (North Lincs Invaders) prevail? Jessica certainly set the early pace but was being pushed hard by Isaac Cooper and Daniel Hufton of (Covenham Cyclones). As the race progressed the gap between Jessica and Isaac got smaller but Jessica hung on to take first place with Isaac and Daniel in second and third place respectively.

T15 Coach John McAfee from Surfstore kindly agreed to look after the 12 sailors competing in the 3.5m class and with the wind dead on-shore and no option to sail from any other part of the lake, he was set a challenging task. Like any T15 Coach John rose to the challenge and set a course parallel to the shoreline. The experience from last years events proved invaluable to Joe Bennett (Rother Valley Renegades) as he stormed to victory in the first race followed by Naomi Harrison (Coquet Crushers) and Natalie (North Lincs Invaders).

Back to the combined 6.6m/5.5m fleet and Matt Stevens (North Lincs Invaders) made no errors in the second race to take first place from Connor Bainbridge (Halifax Hurricanes) and Jack Tait (Surfstore Allstars).

Josh Brown-Bolton (Surfstore Allstars) was on a winning streak and took another first in the 5.5m fleet with Aaron Douglas (Coquet Crushers) and Simon Thompson (Covenham Cyclones) each maintaining their positions from race 1.

The widely vocal and enthusiastic 3.5m fleet slipped in another race before the 4.5m fleet ventured out again. Joe Bennett (Rother Valley Renegades) took another first with Covenham sailors Jack Maw and Bethany Plasket taking second and third. Josh Higo (Surfstore Allstars) competing in his first event was finding things tough but was a visual model of pure grit and determination as he eventually crossed the finish line.

In the 4.5m fleet Jessica Cooke (North Lincs Invaders) and Isaac Cooper (Covenham Cyclones) continued from where they had left off in race one with Isaac tucked in behind Jessica ready to break for the finish line. However an inadvertent tumble into the water not only allowed Jessica to take another first, but also enabled the remainder of the fleet to pass Isaac who ended up ninth. Covenham sailors Daniel Hufton and Greg Baldock, while expressing sympathy with Isaac’s plight, gladly took second and third places.

A quick break for lunch and some minor amendments to the course gave the competitors a chance to relax before the combined 6.6m and 5.5m fleet ventured out again. Joined by Adam Crowcroft who had had difficulty finding the venue boosted North Lincs chances of honours in the 6.6m class. Jack Tait (Surfstore Allstars) was sailing well but dropped down the fleet due to his outhaul coming undone on the last lap. Despite this and with his boom at an amazing angle he managed to complete the race finishing 4th. Matt Stevens (North Lincs Invaders) took another first from Connor Bainbridge (Halifax Hurricanes) who looked to have a comfortable lead until the last gybe where he committed the cardinal sin of paying too much attention to the opposition and not enough on his own gybe thereby allowing Matt the opportunity to sneak by on the inside. Late comer Adam Crowcroft took third. In the 5.5m fleet, Josh Brown-Bolton took yet another first with Scotland’s lone representative Jordan O'Hara taking second from Arran Douglas (Coquet Crushers) in 3rd.

Race 3 in the 4.5m fleet saw Jessica Cooke (North Lincs Invaders) loose out on first place to Daniel Hufton (Covenham Cyclones), while Isaac Cooper (Covenham Cyclones) sailed well to take 3rd. Hannah Tasker got her best result of the afternoon finishing 6th ahead of brother Luke.

Joe Bennett (Renegades)

The remainder of the afternoon saw the 3.5m fleet complete a further 3 races with Joe Bennett (Rother Valley Renegades) taking another first and two seconds. Bethany Plasket and Jack Maw (both Covenham Cyclones) depriving Joe of first places in the other two races. The 4.5m fleet with Isaac Cooper (Covenham Cyclones) taking a deserved first place in one race and Daniel Hufton (Cyclones) taking first in the other completed two further races. With a third and fourth place would Jessica Cooke hang on to first overall?

Back to the combined 6.6m & 5.5m fleet and things were really beginning to smoulder. With 3 sailors capable of securing first overall, the next 3 races were to prove crucial. Adam Crowcroft (North Lincs Invaders) complicated matters by taking a first place in race 4 with Jack Tait (Surfstore Allstars) and Matt Stevens (North Lincs Invaders) taking second and third. With pressure mounting on Connor Bainbridge (Halifax Hurricanes) to maintain his challenge for the overall first place things weren’t looking good when he had his worst result of the afternoon finishing 5th in race 5 (thank goodness for discards!). But the pressure was also getting to Matt Stevens as he finished 3rd behind “cool-hand” Tait and Adam Crowcroft.

In the 5.5m fleet Josh Brown-Bolton took his fourth first in race 4 but thanks to probably the best start of the day Aaron Douglas (Coquet Crushers) cruised to victory in the fifth race before things returned to normal and Josh took first in race 6. James Tait (Coquet Crushers) who had not had the best of days sailed really well in the last race to take second place ahead of David Smith (Covenham Cyclones) in third.

Race 6 in the combined 6.6 m fleet was going to be the decider. "Cool-hand" Tait (Surfstore Allstars) took an early lead from Connor Bainbridge (Halifax Hurricanes) and Adam Crowcroft (North Lincs Invaders) and it was a lead he wasn't to relinquish despite increased pressure from Connor and Adam. A tiring Matt finished fifth while Lee Vasey (North Lincs Invaders) and Scott Anderson (the only sailor not on a raceboard) (Surfstore Allstars) maintained their 4th and 6th places respectively.

So to calculating the results and so exciting had the final races in the 6.6m class been, that yours truly omitted to include the result from race 5 and subsequently got the overall placings wrong, an error subsequently brought to light the following day and corrected (see results elsewhere on the web-site). Thankfully my error did not affect the Team scoring and it was the Cyclones from Covenham who in their first season took the overall Team prize with Surfstore Allstars in second and North Lincs Invaders in third. As always my thanks go to the host club and their coach Geoff for staging the event, John McAfee for running the 3.5m class, the 2 coaches from Covenham who epitomised the spirit of T15 and lastly to the parents of the competitors who supported the event by getting the competitors there in such numbers.

I look forward to seeing you all at Halifax Sailing Club on 14 August for inter-club event 3.

David Dobson,
T15 Competition Organiser, North Zone.

Team winners
Covenham Cyclones 

Above photo by Derrick Hall, all others courtesy of Helen Bennett

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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