Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth

Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth © Peter Mackin / www.pdmphoto.co.uk

2021 saw the Supernova Dinghy Association celebrate its 25th anniversary and what better way to mark the milestone than have its biggest national championship to date. The event was hosted by Plymouth Youth Sailing and the Mount Batten Centre and generously support by Hartley Boats and Allen.

A record 135 boats registered was a fantastic achievement by the class given the challenges of the last 18 months, inevitably not all could make it, but 116 helms competed in the three-day event. Despite the lack of the normal social activities, we were able to keep the class camaraderie in the dinghy park and through social media share lots of hints and tips in advance of the event.

The plan was for 10 races, and thanks to the hard work of Keith Kendall at PYS we managed to get all 10 in despite the wind not always behaving. And with this being the first National Championships and the first time on the sea for several helms, they were treated to a wide range of conditions over the weekend.

Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth - photo © Peter Mackin / www.pdmphoto.co.uk

Day 1

It was to be gate starts outside Plymouth South with 3 races planned. Winds were light but built steadily over the day.

R1 Mike Gibson led the fleet out as the nominated pathfinder, the fleet racked up on the starboard lay line letting Sam Knight get away and to race victory followed by Alistair Goodwin and Cliff Milliner. Overall, the fleet were a bit ginger around the gate start but this quickly improved throughout the day. One helm that was certainly not ginger out of the gate was Bartley's Gary Butterfield finishing an excellent 5th.

R2 Goodwin dominated and won by some distance, Blithfield's Colin Anderson has an excellent race coming home in for second followed by Mark Platt. Further down the pack, it was a great race for Scammonden SC with Steve Yates taking 31st and Phil Davies coming home in 19th.

R3 The wind came good and we were able to get into the toe straps, and it continued to build. Once again Sam Knight showed us the way, Matt Biggs was second and Cliff Milliner third. Cotswold's Matt Williams began to find his stride after a difficult morning crossing the line 6th.

Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth - photo © Peter Mackin / www.pdmphoto.co.uk

Day 2

More wind was forecast, and with 4 races planned it was going to be a long day. Some helms opted to use their smaller sail, which turned out to be a wise move as the winds and waves increased by race 7.

R4 The initial start was abandoned and before the restart the wind died however the swell remained, getting the boat going in these tricky conditions was key. The wind shifted during the restart catching out a large number of helms out OCS. A big section of fleet headed to the LHS of the beat and incorrectly headed to mark 2.

Sam Knight was impervious to these issues, found his rhythm in the waves and took the race win followed by Alex Horlock. Paul Jones, Chelmarsh SC, had a great race coming home in 11th.

R5 saw the wind begin to fill and the swell continued to build, Alex Horlock was clean away and held this through the race, Sam Pickering in the Class Association's Loan Boat showed excellent pace to come in for second followed by Iain Horlock.

R6 Alex was clearly on form and loving the waves knocking up another race win, however Goodwin was in hot pursuit as was Iain Horlock taking second and third respectively. Gary Butterfield continued his strong weekend with an 11th place finish. Further back, the mid-fleet pack was tighter than ever with gold fleet members struggling to recover from any mistakes.

R7 It was time for some big breeze and waves which was an eye opening experience for those doing their first sea event, and despite a few capsizes it will stick in peoples mind as being a race they can be proud to have sailed in. It was Alistair's turn to get back to the front with the Horlock brothers close behind. Fellow Haversham SC sailor Ian Howett revelled in the conditions taking his best result in 5th.

Alex Horlock had won the day with two firsts and two seconds to put the pressure on as we moved into day 3.

Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth - photo © Peter Mackin / www.pdmphoto.co.uk

Day 3

It rained! A lot. The wind was set to big even stronger, so the decision was made to bring racing inside the shelter of the Sound. With a flatter sea state, perhaps the lake sailors would come out on top. But this also meant a much strong tide which has a noticeable impact coming into the windward and wing marks, catching a few sailors out throughout the day.

With the race team expecting the wind to change there was a short postponement, but it didn't happen as expected, so the team got us going based on what we had.

R8 The fleet was ready to go with many helms getting wet and cold, so we were pleased to move into the middle of sound and get a course laid. Gavin Young was the pathfinder which set him up to be first to the windward mark with a good lead. He was reined in but managed to hold on to take the win with Goodwin second. Bough Beech's Martin Burgess and Chase's Dave Watkins both had an excellent race with 25th & 26th respectively.

R9. The breeze seemed steady at the start, but by the windward mark if was decreasing. By the time the fleet made the run the wind has all but gone. However, it filled in quickly benefiting those helms who went right. Sam Knight took full advantage followed by Cliff Milliner. Another shift on the following beat reshuffled the pack. The wind shift had seen the fleet mixed up with winners and losers making it all to play for going into race 10. Andrew Goodman Smith was one such winner, timing each shift well to take his best nationals result in 17th.

R10. The wind and waves built to exciting levels, and even the sun came out. Iain Horlock took advantage followed by Pickering and Alex Horlock, with condition building it was a 1 lap race. The screaming reach took the fleet over the line and a ride back to the launching area to put a smile on your face it was a great end to the day's racing.

The overall results show a hard-fought event with 5 different race winners, but there were battles going on across the fleet with helms fighting for the silver fleet, bronze fleet, first master, veteran, lady, youth and mark 1 boat.

Alistair Goodwin wins the Supernova 25th Anniversary Nationals at Plymouth - photo © Peter Mackin / www.pdmphoto.co.uk

The overall win went to Alistair Goodwin from Haversham Sailing Club who dedicated the win to former class chairman Paul Earnshaw. Alistair proved that constancy pays as he was never outside the top 10 all weekend as well as clocking up several race wins.

The class's attention now turns to a packed Travellers circuit sponsored by Noble Marine and the Inland Championships in September at Burton Sailing Club where you can be sure of another weekend of close racing throughout the fleet.

• Overall Winner - Alistair Goodwin, Haversham Sailing Club
• Runner Up - Alex Horlock, Exe Sailing Club
• Silver Fleet Winner - Will Willett, Llandegfedd Sailing Club
• Bronze Fleet Winner - John Human, Emberton Park Sailing Club
• First Lady - Ellen Clancy, Cotswold Sailing Club
• First Youth - Sean Ricketts, Bartley Sailing Club
• First Master - Mark Platt, Bolton Sailing Club
• First Veteran - Mike Gibson, Bartley Sailing Club
• First Mark 1 Boat - James Adams
• Team Prize - Cotswold Sailing Club
• Family Prize - The Horlock Family

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Supernova nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here