Classic Dinghy Open at Bristol Avon Sailing Club
by Rupert Whelan 22 Apr 2010 03:06 NZST
18 April 2010
Classics at Bristol Avon © Nigel Vause
There was no hint of ash in the air on a beautiful Spring Sunday on the Avon at Saltford, near Bath. Sadly, there was no hint of wind, either. Either the forecast or the lack of flights had put some people off travelling, so the five local boats were joined by just one visitor.
The fleet consisted of 2 Mercuries (a 14 foot boat designed and built in Somerset in the early 1960’s), a Mirror (which had been especially rebuilt for this event in the traditional Scrapheap Challenge way), an Enterprise, a British Moth and the visiting Firefly. With the club fleet starting after, and motor cruisers coming up and down, the river felt very busy despite the small fleet!
The 3 races followed a similar pattern. The current was still quite strong, so it was necessary to hug the bank going upstream, making a break for the mark when a puff would allow progress against the stream. The British Moth and Mirror were both victims of the bank, getting caught in the reeds when getting too close inshore. The current and lack of wind also became a problem when boats drifted together, with neither able to do anything about it. A relaxed attitude to such things kept the racing friendly, as did the acceptance that no one should push rule 42 too hard…
Big leads were built by various boats, when skill combined with luck to allow a zephyr of wind to carry them away from the pack. The leading boat would then have to watch in frustration as a change of fortune allowed the pack to sweep back up to them whilst they sat becalmed.
Both Mercuries suffered from this fate, while the Firefly got lucky on the timing of his breaks, had a variety of small enough crews and was manoeuvrable enough to hold onto the lead to the finish of each race.
Many thanks must go to the race team, who managed to put on 3 great races in conditions where many would have given up and gone home. The galley staff also needs congratulating on their bacon and egg rolls at lunchtime.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Class | Helm | Crew | USPN | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2324 | Firefly | R Whelan | C Whelan/S Howard | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2nd | 88 | Mercury | B Corfield | C Higham | 94 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 3rd | 101 | Mercury | A Eastbury | T Eastbury | 94 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 4th | 40959 | Mirror | S Wollen | | 123 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | 619 | Brit Moth | H Marks | | 107 | DNC | 5 | DNF | 18 |
| 6th | 9661 | Enterprise | R Court | S Hooper | 98 | 5 | DNF | DNC | 19 |