Eight sailors took to the water on Saturday 27th September, in search of glory and the coveted Start Racing Regatta title. Now in its fifth year, the regatta has become a popular finale to the RYA course which the competitors completed the previous week. The regatta gives all course graduates two opportunities to win the trophy, so anyone who has a bad day can try again the following year.
The forecast was for a gentle breeze and despite a 180° shift in direction either side of the break for lunch, remained light and patchy all day.
In the first race, the ILCA7s of Ian Burroughs and Steve Gregory got decent starts and built a sizable lead. Was their choice of larger sail size going to prove decisive? Not as far as Sarah Yuile was concerned as she piloted her ILCA6 to a very creditable third place. But the two out front maintained their gap, and Burroughs managed to keep Gregory at arms length to take the first race.
In the second race, Dave Mahon (ILCA6) got a good start and remained at the sharp end of the fleet throughout, eventually taking second place behind an increasingly assured Burroughs. Gregory edged out an impressively fast finishing Teah Sloan (ILCA6) for third place.
The wind remained light and patchy, but as the forecast was for even less breeze in the afternoon, Race Officers Richard Lambert and Nigel Priestley decided to slot one more race in before the lunch break.
In the third race, one of the pre-race favourites with Burroughs Bookmakers, Anne-Marie George (ILCA6) finally found her mojo, nailed the start and led the fleet around the windward mark. Reigning and defending champion Oli Facques (ILCA7) also got away well and despite being dogged with persistent gear failure all day, was well in the mix. But it was Gregory who kept his title aspirations alive with a win, with George and Facques rounding out the top three.
During the break for lunch, the sailors kept a watchful eye on the lake to see if a fourth and final race was going to be possible. Happily, a modest breeze came in from the south, turning the leeward mark into the new windward mark, and vice versa.
Emily Fletcher (ILCA6) found form late in the day and got a good start, which she maintained throughout to lead the ILCA6s to the finish. But the 7s of Burroughs and Gregory would eventually battle it out for the title, and it was birthday boy Burroughs who expertly maintained momentum in the patchy airs to finally break free and take his third race win from Gregory in second, and Fletcher a very creditable third. So it was Ian Burroughs who took the title of Start Racing Regatta champion, with Steve Gregory runner-up and a consistent Anne-Marie George rounding out the podium - and first ILCA6.
Overall Results:
1st Ian Burroughs (ILCA7) 3pts
2nd Steve Gregory (ILCA7) 5pts
3rd Anne-Marie George (ILCA6) 11pts
4th Dave Mahon (ILCA6) 12pts
5th Teah Sloan (ILCA6) 13pts
6th Emily Fletcher (ILCA6) 16pts
7th Sarah Yuile (ILCA6) 17pts
8th Oli Facques (ILCA7) 19pts
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