The second Dart 15 Summer TT of 2025 took place as part of the Cat Open at Rutland. Twelve Dart 15s took part alongside colleagues from the Catapult, Dart 18, A Class, F16, F18, Nacra 15, Nacra 20 and Spitfire Classes.
The classes were split into four fleet starts and at the briefing, the Race Officer explained the different courses to be sailed.
The fleet headed out in a fairly cold northerly breeze around the 7-8 knot mark which was forecast to be between 6 and 12 knots all day. The start line was set up off Normanton Church with the windward mark off into the distance by the northwest shore.
The Dart 15s were the first start and had been set a triangle sausage course. They duly set off in search of the windward mark which was tricky to see in the distance with the overcast light but eventually a couple of RIBs were spotted showing where the mark was.
Unfortunately the sun had come out and the wind had become very light and fickle, with holes across the course. This meant some delay whilst the other three fleets completed their races in the difficult racing conditions. Eventually, the Race Officer was able to set up the second start for the Dart 15s - but postponed it part way through the sequence due to a significant windshift.
After waiting a bit longer in the sunshine to see if the wind would settle in either direction and/or strength - the Race Officer called time on racing for the day and the fleet headed home. A correct decision as a few Dart 15s went for a pleasure sail round the lake in the sunshine and the wind did not properly materialize for the rest of the afternoon.
Sunday morning dawned with very similar conditions to Saturday - overcast and with a cold northerly breeze of around 7 - 8 knots. Again, the forecast was for 6 - 12 knots all day but everyone was more wary of this given it had proved to be so incorrect the previous day.
Nevertheless, the four fleets headed out in the hope of completing four races during the day. The Dart 15s were again the first fleet to start with a triangle sausage course. The wind had already dropped and turned fickle and shifty across the course by the time racing started. Those who started at the Committee Boat end of the line got a nice lift as a line of gentle breeze filled in across the course.
The fleet were concerned that waiting another hour for the other fleets to finish might mean the wind disappearing and losing further races for the day. So, with the permission of the Race Officer, the fleet set themselves off on their next race, using the established 3, 2, 1 countdown but without flags or hooters so as not to cause confusion with the other fleets in their races.
It had been a regatta of mixed results for all competitors, including those at the top the table. Just one point separated first, second and third places. However, home sailor Steve Sawford (Rutland) had done enough to take the overall win with Jason Clarke (Marconi) in second and Jenny Ball (Marconi) in third on countback. And "nil points" to the wind forecast which proved to be completely wrong on both days!
Overall Results:
Pos Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts
1st 2033 Steven Sawford 5 1 1 2 ‑7 9
2nd 2037 Jason Clarke 1 ‑8 3 3 3 10
3rd 2025 Jenny Ball 3 3 2 ‑9 2 10
4th 2036 Angus Cook 4 ‑7 4 5 1 14
5th 2023 Edward Tuite Dalton 2 5 ‑6 6 5 18
6th 2019 George Love ‑8 2 7 8 4 21
7th 2040 Paul Tanner 6 4 5 7 ‑8 22
8th 1942 Charles Watson 7 ‑9 8 1 9 25
9th 1521 David Clarke ‑10 6 9 4 6 25
10th 1842 Steven Tunnacliffe 9 (DNC) 10 11 DNC 43
11th 2016 Keith Chidwick 12 (DNC) 11 10 10 43
12th 2028 Ray Gall 11 10 (DNC) DNC DNC 47
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