Sam Mason just remarked that 'this global warming is turning out a big disappointment', and it isn't
easy to disagree! Having been postponed because of all the snow at Easter, the Easter Egg races got
underway in a biting Easterly 4-5, with the sort of turn-out you'd expect in that weather! Mad enough, but too keen,
Alex Scoles was over the line at the start of Race 1, which gave Dave Cooper the chance to lead Sam Mason down
to the first mark. It didn't last: Alex soon surged past, leaving Dave and Sam to tussle for second place.
However the Albacore dropped out at the end of the first lap: a failed inhaul was making the beats too much of a struggle.
Meanwhile the Andersons were putting up a sterling performance in the other Albacore: despite getting seriously aground at F buoy,
(E/Norton isn't laid at the moment) and finding it next to impossible to keep their rudder down, they soldiered on round to
take a well deserved third place. The easterly gave an excellent long beat from F back to D/Houseboats and an exhilarating reach from there up to C:
not quite so welcome was the fact that about 5 of the marks were gybes. Certainly led to a few wobbly moments!
Race two, with a seven a.m. start and slightly less wind, was just as cold and grey. The Andersons ('thought the start time was eight!')
were absent, and the remaining trio crossed the start line within a second of each other. This time Sam Mason's Albacore was tussling with Alex Scole's OK, with Alex
getting ahead on the odd planing spurt. Alex finished ahead of Sam, but Dave Cooper was close enough to pick up second place on handicap.
Happily the small fleet meant the committee had overcatered magnificently on the Easter egg front: everyone who sailed got an egg, and very well deserved too!
Paul and Gemma Goakes drove the rescue boat: Jerry Clark was the Race Officer, with Jane Heath juggling the flags and Adam Mills blasting away on the horn.
Results:
| Boat | Helm | Race 1 | Race 2 | Points | Final Position |
|---|
| OK2117 | Alex Scoles | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| OK2031 | Dave Cooper | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Albacore 1749 | Sam Mason | RET | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Albacore 696 | Rob Anderson | 3 | DNC | 8 | 4 |
Plenty of sailors, nice big tide, not much wind! Sam Mason made a neat start
towards the seawall side and fetched the first mark with (inevitably) Alex Scoles in hot pursuit.
Nina Plumbe was the first laser to show, while Ashley Deakin put in a couple of turns
(windward boat!)
A good start paid off as the leaders found more breeze as they got away from the
line and as a result the fleet stretched out enormously (which makes writing this account a bit tricky!). After Alex and Sam there was a big gap to
Paul Goakes (Sharpie) and Dave Cooper (OK), who bantered round for 3rd place. The Lasers of Ash Deakin, Ben
Goakes (nice new boat!) and Colin Hargreaves stayed pretty close, but they never managed to reel in Nina Plumbe.
Instead they all lost out on handicap to Jane Heath (Lightning). Alex Smith and family were sportingly sailing three-up aboard
Capella, maybe anticipating squalls, but if so they certainly didn't materialise. Instead, with an eye on the tail enders, Owen Bentley
shortened course after one lap. 
Aboard the Twinkle Arion, one lap was enough: Peter Smith and Grandson
got round with the sort of determination that indicated they were going to finish even if it took all night!
It was raining and the light was starting to fade when they finally made the finish
and Grandson took up the oars and pulled for the slipway.
Owen Bentley was Race Officer and hailed the OCS among us in stentorian tones: Rob Archer drove the resue
boat with panache and verve and stuff.
More pics
Results:
| Boat | Helm | Recorded | PY | Elapsed | Corrected | Place |
|---|
| OK 2117 |
Alex Scoles |
37.08 |
1110 |
2228 |
2007.207 |
1 |
| AL 1749 |
Sam Mason |
36.24 |
1068 |
2184 |
2044.944 |
2 |
| OK 2031 |
Dave Cooper |
38.44 |
1110 |
2324 |
2093.694 |
3 |
| Sharpie 71 |
Paul Goakes |
38.28 |
1025 |
2308 |
2251.707 |
4 |
| L162837 |
Nina Plumbe |
42.28 |
1078 |
2528 |
2345.083 |
5 |
| Lightning 291 |
Jane Heath |
45.29 |
1150 |
2729 |
2373.043 |
6 |
| L 174547 |
Ashley Deakin |
42.42 |
1078 |
2562 |
2376.623 |
7 |
| L189186 |
Ben Goakes |
43.07 |
1078 |
2587 |
2399.814 |
8 |
| Sharpie 128 |
Alex Smith |
41.4 |
1025 |
2500 |
2439.024 |
9 |
| L 174874 |
Colin Hargreaves |
44.04 |
1078 |
2644 |
2452.69 |
10 |
| L rad 16651 |
Adam Mills |
50.01 |
1101 |
3001 |
2725.704 |
11 |
| L2k 21492 |
Claire Wathes |
56.05 |
1092 |
3365 |
3081.502 |
12 |
| TT Arion |
Peter Smith |
81.26 |
1288 |
4886 |
3793.478 |
13 |
| L rad 150500 |
Gemma Goakes |
DNF |
1101 |
|
|
|
| L rad 19277 |
Andrew Green |
DNF |
1101 |
|
|
|
| FF |
Bethel Jones |
DNF |
|
|
|
|
(These results aren't official! Owen hadn't worked them out (too wet!) so they're concocted from the
raw data and may get corrected when the official version trickles in.)
Day One
More Pics
The first race of the Scoles Trophy weekend enjoyed a sparkling north-easterly breeze and an elite (if not very numerous) line-up.
Claire and Chris Wathes stormed off the startline and up the beat, and as the first lap unfolded it was clear that the Wathes and
the Sharpie Capella (Alex Smith and Paul Beachell) were very evenly matched, with the Wathes hanging on up the beat and
getting good speed from their assymetric off wind to stay on terms. Meanwhile Nina Plumbe (Laser Radial) was struggling a bit
upwind (more pies needed!) but blazing downwind, so that these three finished the first lap within 30 seconds of each other.
In Lap 2 the Wathes showed even better speed and looked to have the race sewn up when (tragically) they tipped in gybing at B mark.
Nina Plumbe and the Sharpie finished within seconds of each other, giving the race to Nina on handicap. For the Wathes,
a knotted spinaker halyard made the capsize a protracted affair and Peter Smith (Twinkle 'Arion') and grandson Sam who had steamed round in a
steady and unflamboyant manner were easily close enough to save their time for third place and relegate the Wathes to fourth.
Day Two
The second race had a touch more north and a scad less wind: first mark was D (Houseboats), which meant a nice long
beat from the start line. Alex Smith opted for a conservative course down the channel, while Nina and the Wathes went
on a rotovating expedition to the right. Paul Goakes and William Scoles (Sharpie 71, who'd joined the fray) found a
really high spot near the Bank Hole, and had to get out and push which left them with quite a bit of ground to make up!
The race settled down into a tussle between Nina's laser radial and Alex and Paul in the Sharpie Capella, while Paul and
William whittled their lead down: Capella got home by 45 seconds from Nina who was just ahead of Paul, but on handicap Nina
scored an easy win to take the trophy for the weekend's racing. The Capella crew were second, Claire and Chris Wathes,
who weren't going so fast today (maybe because they were still bickering about who was to blame for the previous day's
débacle!) came 3rd on corrected time. Paul and William 4th and Peter Smith and Sam in the Twinkle 'Arion', who lost
out a long way on the long initial beat against the tide, fifth.
More pics
Dave Cooper was race officer: Joshua and Charlie managed the flags.
Jerry Clark manned the rescue boat and considered snipping the Wathes' jammed halyard with his penknife.
Results:
| Boat | Helm | Race 1 | Race 2 | Points | Final Position |
|---|
| Laser Radial 162837 | Nina Plumbe | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Sharpie 128 | Alex Smith & Paul Beachell | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Twinkle 12 'Arion' | Peter Smith & Sam | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Laser 2000 21492 | Claire & Chris Wathes | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Sharpie 71 | Paul Goakes & William Scoles | DNC | 4 | 9 | 5 |
More Pics
Report: Jerry Clark
An evenly matched fleet of 9 lasers competed for the Deakin Trophy on 21/22 June.
Races 1 & 2 were held in a light and shifty easterly, with a long first beat from
Norton Creek to Houseboats. Ben Goakes led at the end of the first lap of race
one, only to drop two places by rounding the lee mark the wrong way. He hauled
one place back to finish second, behind Ashley Deakin. Veteran Andrew Green
slipped through to third, with visitor Jasper Barnham (Snettisham Beach SC)
fourth. The fleet proved remarkably even: Jasper Barnham won the second race
from Sophie Warner second, up from 8th in the first, and Lucy Deakin third.
Sunday morning saw a fleet of 7, depleted by failure to set an alarm and
contemplation of a weather forecast of a 4-5 Southerly, predicted to veer to
SW and increase to 5- 7, perhaps gale 8 by lunchtime. A clean start saw the
fleet beating into a rapidly increasing breeze, with several capsizes even
before the first mark. 
Even the leaders fell in at least once, with Ashley
Deakin finishing first, not far ahead of Jasper Barnham, to take first and
second overall, respectively. 15 year old Fergus Barnham revelled in the fresh
conditions, flying down the reaches in his laser radial and surviving all six
gybes to take third in the race.
Lucy Deakin was fourth, and the last finisher,
to take third overall on the discard. The scheduled fourth race was abandoned as
the wind strengthened. Jerry Clark and John Howlett officiated. Paul Goakes and
William Scoles in the safety boat had an easy time on Saturday, but were busy
on Sunday.
Another report(!): Ashley Deakin
A lack of wind on Saturday morning meant that the start was postponed by half an
hour and didn't allow time to venture out to sea.
Jerry (OOD) set a start near F buoy and being a harbour course the tide played a
big part in determining the places. In the first race Ben Goakes initially took
the best course and showed good speed in the Force 2 conditions to gain a healthy
lead but he rounded the wing mark the wrong way and allowed Ashley Deakin to sneak
past him to take honours at the line.
In the second race Jasper Barnham (visitor from Snettisham Beach SC) picked the
best course and he was closely by the two ladies Sophia Warner and Lucy Deakin.
Sunday morning was rather more windy and a number of radial sails and 4.7s made
an appearance. Another harbour course was set and we started in a good Force 5.
Ashley and Jasper managed to hold their standard rig sails down (just) and took
a healthy lead. A neck and neck tussle ensued and after each capsizing once Ashley
just managed to come out ahead. Fergus Barnham (son of Jasper) and Lucy were the
only other boats to finish the race. The wind was by now gusting Force 6 and the
race officer signalled the abandonment of the series giving overall honours to
Ashley.
The weekend was a great success and special thanks must go to the race officers.
It's a special location and those wanting a pleasant and different weekend away
are encouraged to come along next year.
Results:
| Boat | Helm | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Points | Final Position |
|---|
| 174547 | Ashley Deakin | 1 | (6) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 189084 | Jasper Barnham | (4) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 161854 | Lucy Deakin | (5) | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 189186 | Ben Goakes | 2 | 5 | (dnf) | 7 | 4 |
| 192771 | Andrew Green | 3 | 4 | (dnf) | 7 | 5 |
| 88943 | Sophie Warner | 8 | 2 | (dnf) | 10 | 6 |
| 183231 | Fergus Barnham | (8) | 7 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
| 158158 | Barnaby Guest | 6 | 7 | (dnc) | 13 | 8 |
| 150500 | Gemma Goakes | 9 | 9 | (dnc) | 18 | 9 |
(I've re-arranged these results to comply with ISAF rule A8.1 (tied scores). Hope this doesn't upset anyone. Dave Cooper)