southport sailing club...& ciaran mckettrick, ted, laura & lee, alan & gary, and paul and ben...
TRANSCRIPT
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Southport Sailing Club May 2014 Mainsheet
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Easter Tankard 2014
This was the first one day event on the clubs 2014 calendar
with the new addition of being the first race of the new
format Club Championship.
The wind wasn’t too bad as people were rigging boats
considering the forecast. It seems that the forecast scared
a few people off with the likelihood of strong breeze and
rain. It was good to see the up and coming junior stars of
Poppy James and Niamh McKettrick in the Topaz and
Ciaran McKettrick in his Byte not fazed by the
weather....which I’d like to say increased to “challenging”
but let’s be honest and go with just plain horrible.
The first race loomed and 11 boats took to the water. As
the first race begin the wind decided to kick it up a gear
with gusts of over 25 mph. Normally this would have
scared off most if not all challengers, but the recent spell
of big winds seems to have hardened the racers
somewhat. The race began with Greg and Sarah Allen in
their new GP14 and Paul Swanson in his Streaker setting
the early pace rounding the windward mark in the lead
with Ian Hopkins in his RS300 (multi-gym) flying close
behind. Race one saw Greg and Sarah take first with Paul
second and Paul Norton and Martin McKettrick taking a
very well deserved third in the GP14.
As people began rigging for race 2, it looked like the wind
had lightened so everyone was in high spirits, however
again with everyone launched the wind built.
Matt Harris OD on the day thought it would be good for a
change of course and laid a large ‘b’ shaped course around
the northern island. But unknown to us all the great
Sir Ben Ainsle( Mike Healy) decided to take to the water in
his Streaker (with his lucky tape), clearly knowing he only
needed to do 2 races to qualify. As the race started Greg
and Sarah were pressured by the other GP14s of Alan
Myers sailing with Gary Shaw, Nobby crewed by Martin
McKettrick. This was great to see - 3 GP’s with kites up
screaming down the reaches. After race 2 Greg and Sarah
held out for 1st with Alan and Gary 2nd and Mike Healy
3rd.
After a brilliant Lunch from Dorothy and Jane it was time
for race 3 and the wind was at its highest however again 9
boats took to the water with 4 boats all fighting for 2nd
and 3rd. Tensions were high and the banter began. I don’t
know what Dorothy and Jane put in Mike Healy’s dinner
but he was away with a massive lead half way up the first
upwind leg (Greg was not going to live this one down if
Mike won). As the wind built through the race there were
several victims including poor Ciaran snapping his mast.
After the carnage the race ended with Greg and Sarah
winning race 3 with Mike 2nd and our illustrious
Commodore and Martin 3rd. The overall standings were:
Easter Tankard 2014
1st Greg Thomas and Sarah Allen - GP14
2nd Mike Healy (sir Ben) - Streaker
3rd Paul Norton and Martin McKettrick – GP14
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The Double Dutch Cup 2014 (for first junior)
Poppy James and Niamh McKettrick – Topaz Race
A big well done to everyone who competed or aided with
supporting the race (even though the numbers were low),
what a great days sailing and for those of you who couldn’t
make it you missed out!
Greg Thomas
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As agreed at the recent sailing committee meeting we will
be holding several training sessions throughout the season
in order to prepare ourselves for the 24 hour race. These
sessions are to ensure everyone is competent with racing a
GP14 round a course and flying the spinnaker. In addition
we are hoping to get experienced sailors available to coach
sailors to try to get the most out of the boat and hopefully
maximise our chances in the race.
Out of the below sessions you must attend at least 5
sessions in order to qualify for the team. We will also use
these numbers to determine whether we have enough
sailors to enter one or two teams into the race.
• 12/05 Monday – 19:00-21:30
• 24/05 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
• 02/06 Monday – 19:00-21:30
• 14/06 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
• 12/07 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
• 14/07 Monday – 19:00-21:30
• 12/07 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
• 09/08 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
• 18/08 Monday – 19:00-21:30
• 02/09 Monday – 19:00-21:30
• 06/09 Saturday – 09:30-12:00
So if you fancy entering the race, want to improve your
skills in a GP14 or simply want to learn more about making
a boat go fast come down, everyone is welcome! As
always any questions please feel to ask any member of
management or email
Commodores Reception
May I extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who
attended on Saturday the 26th April. The evening was
enjoyed by over 70 - Commodores, members and guests.
The food and service supplied by Andrew Tate was
excellent value for money and after weeks of preparation
and practice the speech was delivered allowing me to relax
and proceed with the more enjoyable part of the evening -
Prize-giving. To name just a few the recipients were Martin
& Ciaran Mckettrick, Ted, Laura & Lee, Alan & Gary, and
Paul and Ben Swainson leaving with their arms full of
trophy’s.
A special thanks also to everyone for setting up the event
and of course Georgia and Lesley for running the bar, and
Andy for the music.
Don’t forget our next big event is the “push the Boat out”
and Open day which is on the Saturday 17th May. Please
bring all your family and friends and both myself and
Georgia will try our best to keep them in the boat this
year!
Many thanks, Paul Norton Commodore