Mirror Weekend at Hunts Sailing Club
by Hannah Rose 15 Jul 19:49 NZST
13-14 July 2024
Hannah Rose and Azam Hamidinekoo in the Mirror Weekend at Hunts © Nick Dillon / Adam Wright
On 6th/7th July Hunts SC welcomed the Mirrors again for the annual Mirror Weekend. Saturday saw five brave boats take to the (once again) windy water for some race coaching with Mirror sailor and builder Tom Lachlan-Cope.
Some spinnakers did fly though a downwind exercise saw most choose discretion over valour and some good upwind practice resulted.
After lunch, box starts kept us on our toes, and a combination of big gusts and a valiant spinnaker effort saw two capsizes, one of cold-water swimming enthusiasts and the other a precursor to a daggerboard bent at 90 degrees.
Sunday saw ten Mirrors on the start line including some unexpected travellers who showed us the way; but even with some superstars racing there was still a lot of changing places.
Race 1 saw very windy conditions but growing confidence in spinnaker use, with three spinnaker legs on the course thanks to race officer and ex-Mirror sailor Paul Jefferies, and a shout out to my new crew who learnt to gybe the kite on the spot!
Race 2 saw calmer conditions (to the chagrin of said crew) after a postponement to let potential lightning pass, followed by a breezier third race.
A shout out to youngest crew Silas (3), followed by winning and third place crews only a few years older - the Mirror securely in its place as the perfect boat to train up the next generation, as well as a stonking sail for grown-up pairs!
Huge thanks to everyone for coming (many year after year) and making the event such a success.
Overall Results:
| Result | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
|---|
| 1 | 70584 | Matt Burge | Pippa Burge | Poole YC | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 70972 | Jewels Vass | ‑ | Reading | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 54453 | Ian Dobson | Ted Dobson | HISC | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | 64799 | Hannah Rose | Jasmine Wright | Hunts | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 70513 | Ron Vass | ‑ | Reading | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 | 70033 | Tom Lachlan‑Cope | Silas Speariett | Hunts | DNC | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | 58804 | Andy Keyte | Katherine Keyte | Stony Stratford | 6 | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| 8 | (no number) | Tony | Diane | Red Wharf | 8 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| 9 | 59727 | Rachel Heesom | Beverley Howe | Tynemouth | 7 | 8 | 9 | 15 |
| 10 | 70436 | Clive Worthington | Helen Dale | ‑ | DNC | 9 | 10 | 19 |