The Blithfield Barrel at Blithfield Sailing Club
by Tim Male 17 Feb 2005 05:34 NZDT
How many people does it take to rig an RS600? © Tim Male
Blithfield SC, Staffordshire hosted a winter handicap open meeting series over four Sundays from November to February. The series was created to allow boats based in the Midlands to enjoy the 300 acres at Blithfield during the winter winds in preparation for the upcoming open meeting season.
Forty sailors from a number of clubs competed in a wide variety of boats in varying conditions. Matt Biggs and Dave Crockett in their Merlin Rocket stamped their authority during the windy weather and also managed to stay in contention when the wind dropped to a light breeze, winning the event overall for Blithfield.
However, the racing was extremely close, with positions 1st to 4th in Race 2 were separated by less than 20 seconds! The first visitors, in 4th position were Chris Martin and Richard Dee from Midland SC.
The Phantoms proved quick enough to mix it at the front of the fleet, but were too overpowered when the wind built. Rocking the leaderboard was Tom Hayes from South Staffs in his Laser 4.7, who battled the wind to achieve an impressive 2nd position in both races 5 and 6. Gale force winds and snow (!) lead to the cancellation of races 7 and 8 after Andy Watterson ‘tested the water’ in his RS600.
Many thanks all the visitors who came to support this event, notably the large contingent of Brummy Merlins from Midland SC. Same place, same time, next year.
Top 4 Results:
| Pos | Class | Sail No | Helm/Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Merlin | 3617 | Matt Biggs / Dave Crockett | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Merlin | 3639 | Steve Leney / Gill Leney | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Phantom | 1138 | Peter White | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 16 |
| 4 | Merlin | 3442 | Chris Martin / Richard Dee | Ns | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Ns | 16 |
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