8 local boats were joined by 6 visitors for the Streaker open meeting at Waveney & Oulton Broad Y.C. on Saturday 15th June. This event counts towards the HD Sails Southern Paddle series.
True to the forecast, there was a gusty breeze in the morning for the first 2 races which meant plenty of shifts on the upwind legs and some good planing opportunities downwind.
There was then a lunch break (food supplied mostly by Pete Matthews from his allotment!) during which we could see the sky darkening and the wind was picking up. Most boats had been left moored on the club pontoons and when sails were hoisted it was obvious that it was getting seriously windy. Several boats decided not to bother with race 3 but 7 or 8 got to the startline and off they set.
The first two legs of the course were coped with OK, with Chris Foster taking the lead but it was when the fleet got to the far end of the broad that the squall came through. The broad was soon littered with upturned boats, not just Streakers but others hoping for club racing, and driving rain reduced visibility to not very far!
Race officer Ben Falat abandoned the race and the safety boats were busy checking everyone was OK. Fortunately we all were, but rather muddy from getting our masts stuck in the bottom of Oulton Broad! Eventually conditions improved and everyone got back to the slipway. It was then nice and sunny while we tidied up and packed away, before a heavy rain shower came in.
So, overall, with just 2 of the scheduled 3 races sailed, Nathan Clark was the winner, 2 points ahead of Ian Bradley and Veronica Falat. Nathan is more commonly seen sailing his Topper or ILCA 4 but borrows a Streaker for club racing at WOBYC whenever he gets the chance and his practice certainly paid off on a day when good boat handling was called for.
The next event in the HD Sails Southern Paddle Streaker Series will be at Staunton Harold on July 6th, which also counts towards the North Sails Northern Paddle.
Overall Results:
Pos Sail No Boat Name Helm Club R1 R2 Pts
1st 1965 Barnaby Nathan Clark WOBYC 3 1 4
2nd 2121 Phantom Pharmacist Ian Bradley Ouse Amateur SC 4 2 6
3rd 1972 Pickle Veronica Falat WOBYC 2 4 6
4th 2175 Brian Smith Bowmoor SC 5 3 8
5th 2135 Renegade Mark Langston WOBYC / Beccles ASC 6 5 11
6th 1943 Little Egret Chris Foster Rollesby Broad SC 7 6 13
7th 2100 Dabchick Jonathan Blankley WOBYC / Beccles ASC 8 7 15
8th 2147 Blue Balou Pete Matthews WOBYC 1 DNF 16
9th 2127 Pingu Kyle Beamish WOBYC 9 8 17
10th 1588 Henry Jamie Dobson WOBYC 10 9 19
11th 1817 Binky Paul Burman‑Smith Ouse Amateur SC 13 10 23
12th 2160 Chris Godwin Rutland SC 12 11 23
13th 1911 Only Etty Charmaine Ryland Ouse Amateur SC 11 12 23
14th 1013 Starkers Philip Delf WOBYC DNS DNF 30
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