Comet Open at Burghfield Sailing Club

 

Thirteen competitors entered the Comet Open at Burghfield Sailing Club on Saturday 20th April. There was a strong breeze with squalls followed by calm patches which were very shifty. Consequently, there were a few capsizes throughout the fleet during the day.

After completing three races in the final race there was no clear leader all the way up the first beat. Eddie was first around the first mark followed by Peter. On the run the lead group elected to take the two islands to windward despite everyone taking them to leeward the previous three races. This proved to be slower and the lead group were caught, but not overtaken by the chasing pack of boats. However, the fastest route turned out to be between the two islands and this route was only taken by Jacky and it allowed her to take the lead. During the course of the second beat and run the leading group were caught and by the start of the second lap the order was Eddie, Alistair and Chris. The fleet spread out and no further changes in position looked likely. However, approaching the finish the wind dropped and became fickle allowing Chris to get behind Alistair who was trying to break cover with Eddie to get the top position. Eddie finished first, and a tacking duel ensued between Alistair and Chris, with Alistair just holding on to second place.

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts

1 377 Eddie Pope Ogston SC 3 3 1 1 5

2 579 Alistair Stagg Bowmoor SC 6 1 4 2 7

3 323 Michael Ettershank Up River YC 4 2 3 8 9

4 63 Chris Robinson Burghfield SC 2 7 5 3 10

5 864 Peter Mountford Staunton Harold SC 5 6 2 4 11

6 597 Ben Palmer Baltic Wharf SC 1 5 6 6 12

7 894 Jacky Stagg Bowmoor SC 7 4 11 5 16

8 694 Alun Bevan Merthyr Tydfil SC 9 9 7 7 23

9 765 Roger Harrison Redditch SC 8 8 9 10 25

10 849 Tim Higgs Burghfield SC 10 10 8 9 27

11 174 Meg Warren Chipstead SC RTD 11 10 11 32

12 868 Helen Evans Silver Wing SC 11 12 12 12 35

13 800 Henry Jaggers Beer SC DNC DNC DNC DNC 54