Scorpion End of Season Championships at Staunton Harold Sailing Club
by Simon Forbes 7 Nov 2023 10:20 NZDT
Scorpion End of Season Championships at Staunton Harold © Richard Bowers
Despite a continually changing forecast, 27 Scorpions skirted the Midlands wide flood water, descending upon Staunton Harold Sailing Club for the 2023 End of Season Championships. The fleet were met with hot beverages and pastries whilst they waited for the breeze to settle in.
The Staunton tradition of sprint races was continued, with two 2-hour sessions on Saturday resulting in seven races completed in light and testing conditions. With the sprint format there is one discard for every five races completed, this meant that those who had picked up a dodgy result or black flag on Saturday afternoon had a nervous wait overnight.
Saturday evening saw Rach Gray/Tom Gillard, Rich Pepperdine/Pete Gray and Ellie Devereux/Lawrence Creaser sitting pretty in the top three spots.
Meanwhile, the fleet were treated to a full three course meal at the club, followed by cheese and biscuits in the bar. Unfortunately, England weren't quite able to top the evening off with a win in the Rugby World Cup.
Sunday dawned, with a 'Pepperdine Special' cooked breakfast for the fleet, funded by the Scorpion Class Association. After a brief postponement, the fleet made their way out to the start line for a 3-hour race session.
A further seven sprint races were completed in moderate breeze, adding a second discard into the mix (finishing with 14 races in total... disappointing for those who had picked up their third black flag of the weekend, Fraser Hemmings and Jack Lewis!).
Prize giving for the end of season champs and the silver scorpion series took place in the bar with thanks to our sponsors CraftInsure and Dewalt for the prizes.
Silver Scorpion overall series results:
1st helm - Tom Gillard
2nd helm - Pete Gray
3rd helm - Chris Martin
1st crew - Rach Gray
2nd crew - Rich Pepperdine
3rd crew - Simon Forbes
Bronze scorpion (first youth) - John Tailby
End of Season event results:
| Pos | BoatName | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | The Essence of Wetness | 2057 | Tom Gillard | Rach Gray | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 2nd | Just the Tip | 2058 | Peter Gray | Richard Pepperdine | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ‑11 | 6 | ‑9 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 39 |
| 3rd | Mrs Bears Boat | 2051 | Alan Krailing | Simon Forbes | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 5 | (BFD) | 1 | (BFD) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 56 |
| 4th | Sneaky Ninja | 2026 | Lawrence Creaser | Ellie Devereux | 5 | ‑8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ‑11 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 5th | L'espirit de Turnip | 1929 | Jack Lewis | Fraser Hemmings | 2 | 6 | (BFD) | 3 | (BFD) | 9 | 2 | 4 | 2 | BFD | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 69 |
| 6th | Grey Mullet | 2061 | Dave Wade | Ben Rayner | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | (BFD) | 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | (BFD) | 85 |
| 7th | Up Yours 2 | 2031 | Crowther Peter | Dave Thompson | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | (BFD) | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | ‑18 | 7 | 90 |
| 8th | Barbarians for breakfast | 1958 | Matt Potter | Kev hope | 6 | 11 | 9 | 7 | ‑15 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 8 | (BFD) | 10 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 101 |
| 9th | Shock Wave | 1880 | Graeme Bristow | Chris Muxworthy | 7 | 9 | 4 | ‑17 | 5 | 12 | ‑16 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 122 |
| 10th | Water Please | 1969 | Chris Martin | John Tailby | 9 | ‑15 | 10 | 9 | ‑19 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 122 |
| 11th | Tallulah | 2044 | Nigel Potter | Jerry Hannabuss | ‑23 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 9 | ‑20 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 127 |
| 12th | Zephyr | 2001 | Malcolm James | Monty Hampton | 10 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 7 | (BFD) | 13 | ‑17 | 13 | 135 |
| 13th | Sidewinder | 1951 | Fiona Taylor | Gordon Taylor | (BFD) | 18 | 6 | 22 | 13 | 18 | (DNC) | 13 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 136 |
| 14th | | 2054 | Tom Lonsdale | Emily Cole Evans | 13 | 14 | 18 | ‑21 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 16 | ‑19 | 146 |
| 15th | The Bee's Knees | 1937 | Myles Jackson | Bill Jackson | 17 | ‑20 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 15 | ‑18 | 12 | 15 | 158 |
| 16th | Pigs on the wing | 1912 | Will Winter | LJ Winter | 20 | ‑23 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 19 | ‑22 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 170 |
| 17th | Shandy | 1052 | Jake Willars | Alison Sheldrick | (BFD) | 21 | 23 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 10 | (BFD) | 8 | 8 | BFD | 177 |
| 18th | Dolly | 1983 | Cillian Dyne | Ben Wallis | 14 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 18 | ‑21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 19 | ‑21 | 20 | 8 | 199 |
| 19th | Guinevere | 2049 | Dave Snutch | Georgia Riddell | 18 | 12 | 22 | ‑24 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 16 | ‑25 | 19 | 18 | 214 |
| 20th | Touching the Void | 2015 | Joanne Mahy | Richard Bowers | ‑24 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 16 | ‑24 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 20 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 14 | 227 |
| 21st | Quackers! | 2022 | Stephen Graham | Charlotte Graham | 11 | 10 | (BFD) | 18 | 6 | 5 | 10 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 228 |
| 22nd | Perdita | 2009 | Neil Peters | Jess Plail | 21 | ‑27 | 25 | (BFD) | 26 | 23 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 234 |
| 23rd | JAMMY DODGER | 1902 | Phillip Dyne | Jo Riddell | 22 | ‑25 | 14 | 12 | 22 | ‑25 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 24 | 22 | 235 |
| 24th | Liquid Spirit | 2048 | Chris Yates | Dave Barker | 16 | 19 | 20 | ‑26 | 20 | (BFD) | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 240 |
| 25th | Up Yours (maybe?) | 2017 | Jon Willars | Nicola Willars | 15 | ‑26 | 24 | 14 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 26 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 25 | (DNC) | 244 |
| 26th | | 2023 | Kevin Nicholls | Steve Gill | ‑25 | 17 | 13 | 20 | 25 | 22 | ‑26 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 21 | 253 |
| 27th | In the Bas | 1962 | Alex Woods | Tarnia Woods | 19 | 24 | 16 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 25 | 19 | 21 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 256 |
