RACE REPORT DAY 2 AT
WALDRINGFIELD SAILING CLUB CADET WEEK – 30th August 2011
Day two of Waldringfield Sailing Club’s 2011 Cadet Week saw a dramatic change in conditions and some new names coming to the top of the fleet as the shifty west north westerly light winds, averaging only 8mph and massive spring tides gave the 38 teams of young sailors some new challenges to contend with.
The starboard hand triangle/sausage course set by the race officer down river at Gallions Point was postponed once as the wind died completely just two minutes before the start gun then shifted by some 140 degrees to take away the first beat. The race officer took the decision to leave the course as it was and keep trying – a decision which quickly paid off as the wind settled back to its original west north westerly direction.
Maddie Harris (WSC) in Mostly Harmless had a great start in the Gold Cadet fleet at the pin end but with the flukey conditions nobody was keen to start on port. The wind filled in on the beat and Annie Knott in Trident went round the windward mark first, followed by Charlie Linsell in State of the Art, Suzie Gosling in Roadrunner and Pip Dearlove in Muscadet who then rapidly overhauled Gosling on the run. After the gybe mark the lead boats started on a straight line run to the course, including Knott, only for those following to realise quickly that the better option, given the extraordinary flooding tide, was to head in shore and then gybe for the mark. As a result, Emma White (WSC) in Zest, made it ahead of Knott to the leeward mark, with Alice Dearlove (WSC) in Hippy Hippy Shake and Sam Yale (WSC) in Out of the Blue in third and fourth.
Making full use of the tide on the beat, White gained a huge lead with Faye Gosling (WSC) taking fourth place from Yale. The front four managed to maintain their positions to the finish. The rescue fleet saved special cheers for Angus Stone (WSC) in Great White Shark who overcame a severe reaction to a wasp sting on his eye and an early capsize to come.
Meanwhile the line-shy laser fleet started well after the gun with William Ogden being first over the line. By the windward mark, however, Emily Bland rounded first, followed by Emma Knott and then Patrick Young. Knott overhauled Bland at the leeward mark and then with the wind filling in on the beat extended her lead to take the gun, with Bland and Young in second and third.
For the second race, the race officers took the decision to set a round the island course much to the delight of the competitors. The west north westerly wind was still very shifty and very light, leading to capsizes by Sam Yale (WSC) in Out of the Blue and Lulu Knott (WSC) in Rough Justice in the Cadet fleet as they rather enthusiastically embraced the roll-tack. Linsell set off into the channel but found that this did not pay off as he then had to go across the shallow water at the top end of the island losing the tidal advantage the other boats were gaining by going on the leeward side of the island. Brother and sister Maddie Harris in Mostly Harmless and Ed Harris in Funky Monkey led the fleet on the beat followed by Josie Gummer (Fishers Green) in Challenger. As White rounded the windward mark in fourth place the wind came in and by the next mark, laid in front of the club, she had made it to the front of the fleet by going low on the run, swiftly followed by Maddie Harris, Gummer and Ed Harris.
White then went off on a flyer to the top of the island to get out of the tide but those who chose to straight line it to the leeward mark gained, with Challenger having a massive lead of over a minute as they approached the mark. Maddie Harris then took the inside track on White as they rounded. With the leading boats well away from the mark, the rest of the fleet approached en masse and with much shouting of rules and rights many boats changed position within the fleet.
As the fleet approached the final windward mark a massive lift put Ed Harris in front of his sister but a less then perfect tack followed by more wind shifts meant any celebrations were only momentary. Challenger crossed the line first as the wind died, and another massive lift suddenly propelled Gus Cooney (WSC) in Wild Thing into second place, with Henry Stone (WSC) in third and Maddie Harris in fourth. The first gold star fleet boat (first year in the gold fleet) was Suzie Gosling who achieved a very creditable sixth place.
In the laser fleet, Young was off the line first, gaining a huge lead over the rest of the fleet, most of whom were facing backwards on port five seconds before the gun went! Young made it round the windward mark first, closely followed by Bland and then Knott but once again Knott overhauled Bland by taking the inside track on the leeward mark to take a second after Young, with Bland coming in third place.
Race three, another triangle/sausage course took place up river at The Tips, Yale and Daisy Collingridge in Mistoffelees getting the best starts and Stone and Knott doing turns after a start-line collision. Knott then ignored the rest of the fleet who beat up the right hand side to sail up the middle of the course, a decision which clearly gave her less tide to contend with as she rounded the windward mark significantly ahead of the rest of the fleet – a lead she was to maintain for the rest of the race. Behind her were Collingridge, Stone who like Knott had made an impressive recovery after a bad start and Maddie Harris.
With much of the fleet ignoring the benefit Knott had gained in the middle of the course, she increased her lead to be followed by Maddie Harris, Linsell and Ali Goodhead (WSC) in Bashful. Goodhead was overhauled by Stone on the second run.
With the wind still shifting hugely, the fleet positions changed several times over the final triangle and sausage and five minutes behind Knott, who crossed the line first, Maddie Harris took second place, followed by Dearlove and Linsell.
Bland, Knott and Young enjoyed close racing right from the start of the laser third race with Bland off the line first but Knott close behind. At the first mark, Bland rounded first, followed by Youngand then Knott who overhauled Young on the second beat. These positions were then maintained until the end of the race with Bland taking the winning gun.
At the end of day two, White remained at the top of the Cadet leader board, despite having been protested out of the second race of the day. She is closely followed by Maddie Harris, Knott and Gummer. In the laser fleet, Knott retains her first position, followed by Bland and Mark Yale. Even though conditions were difficult and frustrating the fleet enjoyed some highly competitive racing. Meanwhile the silver fleet honed their racing skills with some more top-notch training, before they join in with the main fleet tomorrow for day three.