Cold start to the 2014 Circuit!

A compact B14 fleet arrived at Rutland to find much colder conditions than previous weekends and a depleted turnout with a range of excuses from buying new houses through to too cold to get out of bed.  For many it was the first sail since the Inlands in October following a winter of hibernation.

A brisk run down to the  start area at the dam end was pleasant enough though waiting for our start, second in the sequence after the  Mustos and before the Cherubs  we realised it was going to be a chilly day of endurance.

Unsurprisingly the two teams who’d got a bit of winter sailing in - Ullman Sails (Mark Watts and Chris Bishop ) and Suffolk Sails (local’s Josh Wilce and Will Hall ‘the breeze boys’)  led the fleet round with Marlow (Dan Cowin and Dan Hollands)  keeping chase in  third.  Behind them 772 ‘Trunky’  (Kathy Sherratt and ‘new crew’ John) , 766 (Barry and Al) and  775 (Rhys Triffitt  and Jon Dixon )  were all casualties of the first gybe.  Ullman Sails won comfortably from Suffolk Sails and then Marlow with James and Anne Gardner having a solid sail to fourth in 768.

In race 2 Ullman Sails again showed a clean pair of heels extending impressively down the run from the Suffolk Sails boys.  Trunky had a good battle with Marlow over the three laps to secure third.     

With the breeze leading to many teams swimming and the 25 min wait between races affecting the top teams a depleted fleet started race 3 , Suffolk sails recovered well through the fleet from a quick dip pre-start and came into Ullman Sails as they did their best to keep racing close with an elbow in the eye socket incident on lap 2 (leading the Wattsy spending part of the following week with doctors and the eye hospital) Lap 3 saw Ullman sails lead comfortably round the top mark only to sail on to the usual layline as the Suffolk sails boys gybed early and nailed a huge squall. A frantic drop by Ullman sails saw them just pip Suffolk Sails on the line in a photo finish and close the day with a hat-trick of wins , Suffolk sails second, Kathy and John in Trunky had a consistent day with another third to round out the day third overall.

With the belief from the briefing that the goal was 3 races for the day and as the first fleet to finish the remainder of B14 fleet headed home. Sadly there was a 4^th race but the line squall that decimated the few Mustos and Cherubs that stayed out and the fact that another 20 min wait around would have been uncomfortable to say the least it was perhaps a happy misunderstanding!

The fleet all made it ashore to try and defrost and take on much needed food and beer in the warmth of the clubhouse.  It felt just a cold as the infamous snowy Tiger Trophy of a couple of years ago!

For the evening thankfully Wattsy had found a decent substitute pub with microbrewery  within staggering distance of the Travelodge to replace the White Horse Inn which we previously frequented for a warm evening of food and beer!

Sunday dawned with the breeze still up but a touch warmer..  Race 5 saw 775 Rhys/John make a strong start, and lead out to the left. Chased by Ullman Sails and Suffolk Sails. 775 tacked back with a Ullman Sails waving them across on port.. or at least that’s how it would have been if Rhys hadn’t parked the boat. The ensuing crash avoidance by Ullman Sails left all 3 boats close. Suffolk Sails then went into match racing mode, realizing they didn’t have the straight line speed to challenge Ullman Sails they tacked in the face of Ullman Sails who managed to duck underneath and accelerate round and out the front. The drag back to the top mark saw Ullman Sails stretch away only for a (now very rare!) failure to their port wing resulting in a soggy crew and a return to shore in limp home mode.

In the meantime Rhys Triffitt in 775 had rediscovered his form to stay ahead of Suffolk Sails who were continuing to relish the big breeze.  By the windward mark Suffolk Sails just nipped inside 775  and stormed off down the run.   775 unfortunately went down the mine next to the water tower but Marlow and Trunky were in close pursuit to take the challenge to Suffolk Sails.   Marlow were able to get a nice lift hallway up the second beat to take the lead and gybe set at the start of the next run in good pressure to build a gap. Suffolk Sails were not done though and came back at Marlow up the final beat and took the win. Trunky was ever present in third.

For the final race the breeze increased further and Suffolk Sails did a horizon job with Marlow unfortunately binning second on the final run. A tardy recovery letting Trunky take second and 775 third.   

So local lads and big breeze specialists Josh and Will in their Suffolk Sails clad Rondar ship took the first TT of the season with Kathy and ‘new crew’ John sailing consistently better in the fresh conditions than the remaining heavier teams to net second.  Due to the attrition on Sunday Ullman Sails had done enough to hang on to third in the end despite only finishing half of the races sailed.  

Thanks to Rutland for hosting a great event as usual despite the tricky conditions and for the new teams for braving the conditions and making the effort. The fleet now head to the salty stuff for round two of the 2014 TT series at Stokes Bay on the  12^th / 13^th April. Here’s hoping it’s a bit warmer and with the South Coast fleet promising to come out of hibernation in bigger numbers it is shaping up to be a superb event with the usual “interesting” social with the Musto fleet!

Images Copyright Tim Olin

Overall results