Overy Staithe SC

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The 2007 season got under way with some of the nicest Easter weather for years, or possibly ever. Friday saw a northerly 2-3 with just enough strength for planing. Alex Smith and Paul Beachell in Sharpie 128 got a sharp start and led pretty much all the way, but although they stretched out a promising lead, they didn't save their time from the pursuing pack, which was led by eventual race winner Andy Turner (OK). Ashley Deakin (laser) mixed it with the OKs to take 3rd spot on corrected time and Claire and Chris Wathes (laser 2000) demonstrated impressive teamwork as they worked their assymetric-genniker-thingy to advantage for fourth place. Colin Hargreave (laser) found a sharpish gust down by the beach and rolled in with an enormous splash, which was the sum total swimming for the weekend. Ben Goakes was the race officer and Paul Goakes cut a dash in the rescue boat.

Day two had the same northerly breeze, but only at half speed: tougher conditions for the long handicap boats at the back. At the front, Ash Deakin and Andy Turner were battling it out for the lead, and Andrew Green (laser) who zipped through the fleet with a very well judged leeward course to the houseboats buoy finishing 3rd. Jane Heath (lightning) looked extremely well placed at the end of the first lap, but faded a bit in the second to wind up 4th. Jamie Mulholland, (laser) who'd missed the previous day, probably would have liked the windier weather better, finished 5th on corrected time.

By day three the wind had gone round to south westerly. With the pressure high, the not very big tide was even smaller, and there were plenty of groundings: prominently by Jamie Mulholland who planted his boat on a shingle bank. (Actually, have I got the right race there?). Andrew Storer (laser) (who says it's too early in the year for him) decided to risk it after all, and had a good tussle with the other lasers. Pete Turner (OK) put in a first appearance and made it look really easy: led from the start to win, and Mark Beck (laser) turned out with a nice new sail to take fourth place behind Andy Turner (who already had his egg in the bag with two wins). As the day before, Jerry Clark was Race Officer, and Paul Goakes drove the rescue boat.

Results:

Boat	Helm	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Points	Final Position
Albacore 696	R. Anderson	DNS	10	15	25	16
L135405	J. Mulholland	DNS	5	7	12	5
Lightning 291	J. Heath	10	4	11	14	8
Sharpie 126	A Smith	5	7	7=	12	4
OK2045	A. Turner	1	1	3	2	1
OK2059	D. Cooper	2	6	5	7	3
L2000 21492	C. Wathes	4	9	9	13	6
L174547	A. Deakin	3	2	2	4	2
L174599	C. Hargreaves	6	8	10	14	7
GP12545	A. Vandeleur	8	ret	14	21	12
Mirror 27533	K. Gathercole	DNS	ret	16	29	17
Twinkle Twelve	P. Smith	7	11	13	18	9
L169197	A. Green	DNS	3	ret	20	11
Enterprise 3241	C. Dunstone	9	DNS	12	21	12=
L ..	M. Beck	DNS	DNS	4	21	12=
L171682	A. Storer	DNS	DNS	6	23	15
OK2059	P. Turner	DNS	DNS	1	18	10

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Once the tide had finally flowed (it's the high pressure, y'know) Racing got underway with a southerley start. Paul Goakes (Sharpie) and Claire Wathes (Laser 2000) tussled briefly at the first mark and the Sharpie led the fleet away with Nina Plumbe (laser radial and Alex Smith (laser, surprisingly, whose traveller had bust before the start but which he'd jury-rigged in seamanlike fashion,) in hot pursuit. With enough breeze for the lasers to plane it never looked as though the Sharpie crew were likely to save their time and a few dredging operations on the tops of the sandbanks probably didn't help much! Colin (I didn't know there was a race!) Hargreaves started a minute after the rest, but he's obviously a guy who rises to a challenge, because he was soon up with the bunch. Claire and Chris Wathes looked quick on the reaches as they used their genniker to good effect and finished 3rd on corrected time, behind Colin Hargreaves, who'd pulled an amazing recovery for second. Nina Plumbe demonstrated that this kind of breeze is just her thing with a win to kick-start her season and a complete absence of wheelies. (She spent the winter motorbiking the length of Africa!). Paul Goakes and William Scoles took line honours, but came out 4th on handicap. Even with his jury rigged mainsheet, Alex Smith had the legs of Jane Heath (Lightning) and Peter Holt (Solo) who had a spirited tussle for the honour of (not being) 8th place.

Dave Cooper did the bit with the hooter, Peter Beck and Maggie May made sure that everyone got home.

Helm	Sail No	Corr. Time	Position
Nina Plumbe	LR162837	2890	1
Colin Hargreaves	L174899	2935	2
Claire & Chris Wathes	L2K 21492	2986	3
Paul Goakes & William Scoles	12m 71	3037	4
Alex Smith	L91391	3053	5
Jane Heath	Lightning 291	3101	6
Peter Holt	Solo 1490	3121	7

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With pretty much the same weather as the Shipwrecked Mariners the day before, plus some new faces, The King George was another Sharpie-Laser tussle at the front. This time it was Mike Weston making the running for the lasers and turning out just too strong for Nina Plumbe (Laser radial), who beat Paul and Ben Goakes into third place. Colin (knew there was a race this morning) Hargreaves lacked the stimulus of a late start and came back fourth. The real action was developing further back in the fleet: Peter Holt (solo) and Jane Heath (lightning) were locked in battle again, this time for the middle of the fleet, and a fascinating contest was playing out at the back, where Adam Mills was having his first race in his new Laser Radial, and was on a pretty steep learning curve, including the odd dip. Even the odd double dip. He was in competition with the Nichol's Miracle, who are a familiar sight at Overy Staithe and were taking the plunge racing for the first time, and with David Shannon (Mirror) who's obviously pretty expert and didn't make many errors as he stayed with the Miracle and Laser Radial for the first lap. As it panned out, the acumen of David Shannon wasn't enough to save his time from the Nichols, and Adam Mills spent too much time using his boat as a swimming platform to stay with either of them. When he was upright and hiking though he was travelling really fast: just needs a bit more of this and a bit less of the watersports!

Jerry Clark was Race Officer, and declared it did him good!     Dave Cooper prowled and pounced in the rescue boat.

Helm	Sail No	Corr. Time	Position
Mike Weston	L153573	2873	1
Nina Plumbe	LR162837	2943	2
Paul & Ben Goakes	12m 71	2967	3
Colin Hargreaves	L174899	3002	4
Claire & Chris Wathes	L2k 21492	3140	5
Peter Holt	Solo 1490	3220	6
Jane Heath	Lightning 291	3247	7
Malcolm Nichol	Miracle 2597	3391	8
David Shannon	Mirror 65197	3468	9
Adam Mills	LR166591	3794	10
Owen Bentley	L85112		DNS

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Due to some quirks in the fixture list no-one quite knew what trophies they were competing for but the sun was shining and the gentle northerly posed quite a challenge to the 12 entries. Paul Goakes in his sharpie took and early lead, only to be overhauled by Gerry Clarke, also in a sharpie. Ashley Deakin in his Laser sailed away from Andy Turner in his OK and proceeded to harass Paul Goakes for most of the way round. Others in the hunt were Mike Weston and Nina Maufe in their Lasers and Jane Heath in her Lightning.

Overall Ashley finished first on corrected time, Gerry second and Paul Goakes third.

Day 2 dawned a bit windier. Gerry Clark stormed out of the start and round the windward mark first, closely followed by Andy Turner, Andrew Green in his Laser and Alex Scoles in his OK. The sharpies found it hard going on the fetches with the Lasers and OKs planning past. My memory of the race from houseboats buoy onwards is a bit sketchy as I broke my centreboard cannoning into a sandbank but suffice it to say that Ashley again sailed another excellent race to finish first, closely followed by Alex Scoles and Nina Plumbe. Kevin and son Ben Gathercole in the first season of racing their Mirror finished an excellent 10th.
report: Andy Turner

Overall for the two days and for whatever trophy:

Position	Helm	Sail No	Corr. Time
1st	Ashley Deakin	Laser
2nd	Jerry Clarke	Sharpie
3rd	Nina Plumbe	Laser Radial
4th	Paul Goakes	Sharpie
5th	Mike Weston	Laser
6th	Colin Hargreaves	Laser
7th	Andy Turner	OK
8th	Kevin Gathercole	Mirror
9th	R.Anderson	Albacore
10th	Peter Smith	Twinkle Twelve

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No sailing possible on the Saturday as a vicious gusty force 6 dampened the resolve. Sunday dawned the complete opposite with no wind at all. However more in hope than in anticipation OOD and AOD Andy and Mecky Turner launched Sandyman with its smart new halliards and set of flags and parked at Worple waiting for some wind.

The short start line and zero wind made it difficult to get across the line but Dave Cooper in his OK got it right in race 1 closely followed by Gerry Clark in his Sharpie. Alex Scoles testing his new New Zealand mast pulled through to lead, closely followed at the finish by Gerry and Dave (2nd on handicap). Jane Heath was fourth and Alex Smith in Capella fifth. Hats off to the Gathercoles (Mirror) and Warners in their Cockle for getting round in ghoster conditions: really difficult for boats with a low power-to-weight ratio!

Race 2 started in a bit more wind (force 1) but brilliant warm sunshine. This time Alex Scoles got away at the start, closely followed by Paul Goakes in Cassiopeia (is that the right spelling?). The wind was a bit more to the liking of some people confused in the first race, particularly Kevin and Ben in their Mirror and Gemma Goakes in her Laser who suddenly woke up and went really fast. After two laps and a beat Alex Scoles again came first on handicap, followed by Gerry Clark, Dave Cooper and Jane Heath.
report: Andy Turner

Counting both races with the last race counting when points are tied:

Helm	boat	race 1	race 2	points	Position
Alex Scoles	OK	1	1	2	1
Gerry Clarke	Sharpie	3	2	5	2
Dave Cooper	OK	2	3	5	3
Jane Heath	Lightning	4	4	8	4
Alex Smith	Sharpie	5	6	11	5
Gemma Goakes	Laser	8	5	13	6
Paul Goakes	Sharpie	6	7	13	7
Adam Mills	Laser Radial	7	8	15	8
Claire Wathes	Laser 2000	10	9	19	9
Kevin Gathercole	Mirror	12	10	22	10
Richard Warner	Cockle	11	dnc(13)	24	11

Report: Lasers (Ash Deakin)

It seems tradition that start times arise when there is no water and Saturday night was no exception - so we began the first race at 7.00pm!

It pays to read to read the instructions well and Ashley Deakin and Timmy Roy in the first race, which was in the harbour, both sailed inside groyne buoys and had to unwind. This allowed Barnes Guest to get clean away and he never relinquished his dominant position thereafter. Ashley and Andrew Green had a tussle for second place which Ashley just managed to secure.

In the second race Barnes tacked off to port immediately from the start line, gained clear air and left the rest of the fleet behind. So two firsts for him on day one!

We were out to sea on the Sunday morning with no sign of Barnes when the starting hooter sounded. Luckily for him the race was postponed and by the time of the restart Barnes cruised round the point and up to the line. Some match racing between Barnes and Ashley ensued but after swapping the lead several times Barnes took an inland course for the final tack and on re-crossing with Ashley again emerged 20 yards ahead where he stayed all the way home on the final downwind sausage leg.

The last race was for honour and Ashley was able to put a win under his belt but the series was by then in Barnes hand. Nina Plumbe and Colin Hargreaves enjoyed some close racing and it was nice to see Sophia Warner complete the series.

A good time was had by all and thanks to the officers who looked after us all so well.

Results: Lasers

Helm	Sail No	R1	R2	R3	R4	points	Position
Barnaby Guest	158158	1	1	1	(2)	3	1
Asley Deakin	174547	2	2	(3)	1	5	2
Tim Roy	162538	(6)	5	2	3	8	3
Nina Plumbe	162837	(5)	3	4	4	11	4
Colin Hargreaves	174899	(7)	6	6	5	17	5
Nigel Blake	185606	3	4	DNC	(DNC)	19	6
Sophie Warner	88943	9	(DNC)	5	7	21	7
	165222	DNC	(DNC)	7	6	25	8
Andrew Green	169197	4	RTD	DNC	(DNC)	28	9
	153593	8	RTD	DNC	(DNC)	32	10
Owen Bentley	85112	RTD	DNC	DNC	(DNC)	36	11

Report: OKs, (Robert Deaves)

Now in its 37th year, the Mason Cup for OK Dinghies was sailed at Overy Staithe Sailing Club overnight on the 16-17th June. As is traditional it was sailed on high spring tides, that in Norfolk occur in the evenings and mornings. Thus the first start at 7.00pm allowed for a leisurely Saturday. Light winds dominated the harbour courses with the first race going to Pete Turner after extending his lead throughout to win by a considerable margin. Alex Scoles just held off Terry Curtis for second. The second race followed a similar pattern with Robert Deaves finding more pressure on the left of the first beat to round first and gradually extend to win from Curtis and Scoles.

After curry, beer and five hours sleep, the next start at 7.30am was set out to sea in slightly more wind and an incredibly strong tide. Jon Fish made the best of the first race by sailing furthest inshore and leading throughout. Most of the fleet had helped repair his boat overnight after he found one of the many groynes in the harbour and ripped his rudder fittings off in the first race on Saturday. Deaves pulled through Curtis and Turner into second place, but after initially heading for the wrong downwind mark, allowed Scoles, who had moved up four places on the last beat, to take second place.

With any of four boats capable of taking the Cup, the final tense race brought Turner to the front again after an excellent start. He led throughout with Deaves overhauling Fish on the second beat to take second and second overall. On equal points with Deaves, Turner won the cup for the first time.

Results: OKs

Helm	Sail No	R1	R2	R3	R4	points	Position
Pete Turner	2059	1	(5)	4	1	6	1
Robert Deaves	2119	(7)	1	3	2	6	2
Alex Scoles	2117	2	3	2	(4)	7	3
Terry Curtis	2118	3	2	5	(5)	10	4
Jon Fish	2122	RTD	(DNS)	1	3	16	5
Andy Turner	2045	6	4	7	7	17	6
David Rollinson	1944	5	6	6	(6)	17	7
Simon Shaw	2065	4	8	9	(9)	21	8
Dave Cooper	2031	8	7	8	8	23	9
Pete Follen	2043	9	DNC	10	(DNC)	31	10

 
A cracking (?) force 4 breeze greeted eleven sharpies on the start line. It's not often you see the first six sharpies planing flat out down the reach together! James Case showed excellent upwind speed to take race 1, with Ben Cracknell just behind in second. In the second race an unfortunate collision on the start line resulted in two premature retirements, plus another one for gear failure and a series of capsizes (bailing out the boat was timed at twenty minutes!). Chris Gibbs and Ben Cracknell had an excellent battle, with Ben relinquishing his lead on hitting a mark. Richard Cracknell finished third through some canny sailing.

Sunday dawned sunny with a force 2 north westerly, so it was straight out to sea into a sluicing tide which caused a few navigational problems. Jerry Clark and Kiki Spink showed excellent light wind boat speed, taking a first and a second place each in the two races.

Overall, counting three races, Kiki Spink won on count back from Chris Gibbs, with Jerry Clark a point further back in third.

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Results:

Helm	Sail No	R1	R2	R3	R4	points	Position
James Case	12	1	dnf	5	3	9	4
Ben Cracknell	2	2	2	11	7	11	5
Chris Gibbs	77	3	1	3	dnf	7	2
Kiki Spink	132	4	dnf	2	1	7	1
Paul Goakes	71	5	dnf	6	dnf	22	9
Alex Smith	128	6	6	8	dnf	20	8
Jerry Clark	133	7	5	1	2	8	3
Tim Ashby	103	8	dnf	10	5	23	10
Richard Cracknell	129	dns	3	4	4	11	11
Johnny Johnson	76	dnf	4	9	6	19	7
Martin Read	135	dns	dns	7	dnf	29	11

  Bright sunshine warmed the competitors as they put away their bus passes and got started in force two northwesterly. Andrew Green (laser) was straight into the lead with Jane Heath in pursuit. Slower boats were having more of a struggle against a vigorous flood tide: Peter and Melba Beck in Wagtail leading a clinker trio. The actual position changing was limited to Owen Bentley (GP) and Peter Holt (solo), who slugged it out for a mid-fleet position. As the leaders started the second lap, the breeze, which had been pretty consistent started to get patchy: no problem for the leaders, who were back with half an hour to spare, but the Becks and the twinkle Zephyr found the breeze failing them within yards of the finish line as the last few minutes of the two hour time limit dribbled away, and they both got timed out.

Jerry Clark was the Race Officer. Dave Cooper dozed and drifted in the rescue boat

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Results:

Helm	Sail No	Corr. Time	Position
Andrew Green	L 169196	4155	1
Jane Heath	Lightning 291	4490	2
Owen Bentley	GP 9729	4817	3
Peter Holt	Solo 1490	4838	4
Chris Geering	Bittern 50		RTD
Peter and Melba Beck	Wagtail		DNF
George and Ann Parry	TT Zephyr		DNF

Traditionally, Overy Staithe Regatta week kicks off with the Crossley Holland Cup, which was sailed on Saturday 11th. Run as a Pursuit Race, 32 entrants started from the bank at pre-determined intervals in light winds. Peter Beck's excellent handicaps as usual resulted in a mix of prize winners in terms of classes sailed. However, the notable result was that four of the first six places were taken by ladies.

Helm	Sail No	Position
1	Europe 240	Debs Turner
2	Honey Bun	Julie Carroll
3	L162837	Nina Plumbe
4	L169197	Andrew Green
5	L135405	J. Mulholland
6	Lightning	Jane Heath
7	L162938	Tim Roy
8	171682	A. Storer
9	F14 Jinny	Sarah Bethel-Jones
10	Firefly 522	M. Green
11	Sea Holly	M Hall Smith
12	Solo 1490	Peter Holt
13	L21492	Claire Wathes
14	Albacore 696	R. Anderson
15	Topper	I. Campbell Gray
16	GP9729	T. Campbell Gray
17	L166091	Adam Mills
18	Fireball 17785	T. Freemantle
19	GP9517	O. Bentley
20	FF14	Chris Geering
21	GP10335	J. Cameron
22	F14 Seagull	S. Dawes
23	Cockle 73	R. Warner
24	Laser 4,7	Catherine
25	Topper	I. Campbell Gray
26	Mirror 27533	Kevin Gathercole
27	Topper34586	Tom Newman

On Sunday 12th the race was for the Elizabeth Mowbray Trophy, which attracted 24 entries. The wind died rapidly after a blustery run down to the start, near the harbour entrance, and the race was then delayed by a 90 degree shift which necessitated a reset start line. Debs Turner in her Europe led the lasers round until the last beat of the shortened course, taking first on handicap by a good margin, with the L174547 (Ashley Deakin) second and L 171682 third.

None of the the later finishers featured on handicap, as they had problems reaching the finish as the wind died and the ebb set in.

Regatta Photos from Gemma & Ben Goakes

Helm	Sail No	Position
1	Europe 240	Debs Turner
2	L174547	Ash Deakin
3	L171682	?
4	L169197	Andrew Green
5	L164473	?
6	L135405	J. Mulholland
7	L162938	Tim Roy
8	Sharpie 128	Alex Smith
9	Sharpie 71	Paul Goakes
10	L?	O. Sadler
11	TT Honey Bun	Julie Carroll
12	E15033	R. Archer
13	GP 9728	T Campbell Gray
14	F14	S. Bethel-Jones
15	Solo 1490	Peter Holt
16	L2k 21492	Claire Wathes
17	Lightning 291	Jane Heath
18	L 4.7 132167	?
19	L 4.7 174029	?
rtd	L85112	O. Bentley
rtd	F14	Chris Geering
rtd	Mirror	K. Gathercole
rtd	Cockle 73	R. Warner
rtd	L 4.7	A. Miller

 

	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	Class	tot	R1	R2	R3
1	993	Andrews,Charlie	Bellamy,Dan	BSSC	RS200	2	1	1	4
2	174502	Harvey,Helen		BSSC	Laser 4.7	4	DNF	2	2
3	20525	Tyler,Charles		BSSC	Topper	6	DNF	5	1
4	42178	Johnson,Will		BSSC	Topper	6	3	3	5
5	177883	Hartley-Palmer,Joe		BSSC	Laser Rad	9	2	7	7
6	4810	Briggs,Angus	Crossley,James	OSSC	Topaz Tres	9	6	11	3
7	23759	Tyler,Harry		BSSC	Topper	10	DNF	4	6
8	16517	Makinson,Molly		BSSC	Topper	10	4	6	10
9	5942	Arrowsmith,Teddy		BSSC	Topper	14	5	9	9
10	40438	Mason,Harry		BSSC	Topper	14	DNF	8	8
11	10735	Tusa,Seb		BSSC	Topper	24	10	14	DNS
12	30212	Ransom,Craig		BSSC	Topper	26	DNS	12	DNF
13	53759	Tookey,Dan		BSSC	Topper	28	DNF	DNS	DNS

Discards 1.

Race Officer: Steve Arrowsmith

Overy Staithe Regatta week continued with the `Ladies Race` , on the evening tide at 7pm on Monday 13th August. The eight starters experienced light winds and fine weather. Winner was Debs Turner, making three wins in a row, with Nina Plumbe second and Jane Heath third.

Helm	Sail No	Position
1	Europe 240	Debs Turner
2	L162837	Nina Plumbe
3	Lightning 291	Jane Heath
4	Twinkle	J. Carroll
5	F14	S. Bethel-Jones
6	L rad 174629	S. Warner
7	L rad 59828	C. Mathes
rtd	Mirror	C. Warner
rtd	Topper	M. Jackson

After a day off due to unsuitable tide times, the start of the Nod Race was due at 0730, but the committee boat dragging its anchor caused a delay until 0800. The course through the creeks to Brancaster Staithe Harbour and back, usually poses problems due to the adverse current where the creeks narrow.

This year a brisk force 5 southerly made for fast times and easy progress against the tide west-bound, but also caused half a dozen capsizes at the gybe mark during the initial circuit of Overy Harbour. Andy Turner (OK 2123) beat a gaggle of Lasers and a Fireball on the water as well as on handicap, with Ashley Deakin (Laser 174547) second and veteran Andrew Green (Laser 4.7) third. First lady was Lucy Deakin (6th) and first (and only) traditional clinker boat to finish was the Twinkle Twelve of Richard Warner, at 21st of 29 starters.

Regatta Photos from Gemma & Ben Goakes

Helm	Sail No	Position
1	OK2123	Andy Turner
2	L174547	Ash Deakin
3	L 4,7	Andrew Green
4	L162938	Tim Roy
5	L135405	J. Mulholland
6	L171682	Andrew Storer
7	L161854	Lucy Deakin
8	OK2117	Alex Scoles
9	L2K 21492	Claire Wathes
10	L162837	Nina Plumbe
11	Fireball 13785	T. Freemantle
12	L174899	C. Hargreaves
13	L85112	F. Clark
14	L174629	?
15	Firefly 622	M. Green
16	GP 6728	T. Campbell Gray
17	E 15033	R. Archer
18	Albacore 696	R. Anderson
19	L125362	?
20	Wayfarer 6277	D. Jacobs
21
22	GP 9517	O. Bentley
23	Sharpie 128	A. Smith

(Missing a few results for the Nod - apologies! I'll fill then in when I have them)

Helm	Sail No	Position
1	OK2123	Andy Turner
2	Sharpie 133	Jerry Clark
3	OK2117	Alex Scoles
4	Europe 240	Debs Turner
5	Sharpie 128	Alex Smith
6	Sharpie 71	Paul Goakes
7	Graduate	Hugh Ambry
8	Lightning 291	Jane Heath
9	OK 2031	Dave Cooper
10	L162938	Tim Roy
11	E15333	Rob Archer
12	F14	Sarah Bethel-Jones
13	L rad 162837	Nina Plumbe
14	L171682	Andrew Storer
15	Wayfarer 9818	Lucy Deakin
16	L rad 165222	R. Foster
17	Mirror 65197	D. Shannon
18	L rad	Sophie Warner
19	L rad 166591	Adam Mills
20	GP 9517	Owen Bentley
21	T12 'Honey Bun'	Julie Carroll
22	Moth 284	Polly Ionides

Helm	Sail No	Elapsed Time	Position
C. Martin & M. Deakin	Pico	27.31	1
L. Olsen	Topper	27.48	2
F. Edwards	Pico	29.05	3

Helm	Sail No	Corr. Time	Position
Mark Beck	Laser	1.451	1
Ash Deakin	Topper	1.569	2
Paul Beachell	Mirror 55401	1.580	3
Kevin Gathercole	Mirror 27533	1.792	4