The Grafham Open meeting machine swung into action for the Flying Fifteen event on Saturday 17th April. Thirty six Fifteens signed on of which half were travellers to this popular event in the FF calendar.

A steady south westerly F3 settled in allowing Race Officer Steve Carson to produce three well set race tracks for Saturday.

Race one gave Mike Hart and Tim Hall a convincing race win, all the more impressive as the boat was straight ‘out of the box’. The racing was fairly tight further back with Bax 2nd Apthorp 3rd and local boats fighting it out for 4th,5th and 6th on the last beat ; the action getting fast and furious as a final shift came in close to the finish.

Race 2 and the fleet got away cleanly with Alan Bax and Paul Busby storming away for their first win of the weekend ; picking up on some breeze off the windward mark gave them a pretty unassailable lead which never really looked threatened.
Local team Simon Kneller and Dave Lucas got sent left at the bottom mark having been on the outside of a raft of boats. Going left hadn’t been paying but this time it did in a big way and the pair catapulted from a dodgy looking 15th up into 3rd behind another local team on the move Andrew Palmer and Graham Wadeley. Kneller edged into an overlap at the spacer mark and just managed to hold off the unwelcome attentions of Palmer down the run into 2nd place.

Race 3 allowed Kneller and Lucas to break free from the pack on the first beat with Bax and Busby closing in on the reach. Paul Busby’s shouted comments on the leading boat’s lack of speed undoubtedly spurred Lucas onto greater spinnaker trimming as the lead opened up from then on!
Eventually Bax got swallowed up by Patterson and Thompson from Draycote and Brett and Ben Dingwall stealing 3rd.

Overnight there were a number of teams still in contention for the overall win with Bax having a two point advantage over Kneller.

Sunday turned out damp and grey leaden looking skies did not give much hope for sun and breeze.

Race four in the steadily failing breeze gave those on the left of the course a final lift in to the mark allowing Bax around in the lead followed by Kneller and then Apthorp .
To get the best breeze you had to stay high which Apthorp did well and surged into second spot , Mike Hart’s stay low strategy in fourth did not bear fruit and it was Patterson and Thompson who were knocking on the door of Kneller’s transom in third.
Things stayed fairly static until the run when Kneller/Lucas gybed inside Apthorp and just held on to the finish.

The rainy conditions at the start of Race 5 made the fleet a little over eager at the start and Race Officer Carson quite rightly instituted a black flag for the second try. This sent the fleet off cleanly and those trekking out hard left got some good lifts into the mark. The biggest winner from these was Brett Dingwall who went on to a comfortable win, followed closely by Neil Burrows and Pip Hudson. Nick Heath and Ted Legg were on a flyer in their classic boat lying in fifth after lap one.
Cave and Painter moved into 3rd on lap two as Bax , Kneller , Hart Apthorp and the Dukes struggled to hold onto the leading boats in the ever diminishing breeze.
The last run saw Pip Hudson hold onto a well sailed third place with Apthorp and Bax holding off Hart into 6th.

Race 6 was abandoned as a combination of shifting breeze which refused to settle and then faded completely left no meaningful beat possible.
This gave Bax and Busby overall victory having sailed a very consistent series with two 1st and never lower than 4th.

3786	Alan Bax	Paul Busby	Northampton SC	8pts
3699	Simon Kneller	Dave Lucas	Grafham Water SC	11
3591	Charles and	David Apthorp	Hayling Island	13
3817	Mike Hart	Tim Hall	Port Dinorwic	15
3603	Brett and	Ben Dingwall	Grafham Water SC	18
3727	Andy Palmer	Graham Wadeley	Grafham Water SC	21

Classics

2520	Nick Heath	Ted Legg	Grafham Water SC
2744	Scott Train	Graham Lamond	Hunts SC

Report from Peter Waghorn

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
Open Fleet  -  Sailed: 4  Discards: 1
1	3805	David Mckee	Andy Mckee	Dovestone	1	2	1	1	3.0
2	3539	John Eaton	Margaret Eaton	Bala	3	3	2	9	8.0
3	3750	Andy Goddard	Colin Pierce	Dovestone	2	4	4	3	9.0
4	3437	Rod Rowlands	George Jones	Dovestone	7	1	DNF	2	10.0
5	3439	Graham Winterbottom	Barbara Miles	Dovestone	4	5	3	5	12.0
6	3734	Howard Green			DNC	8	5	4	17.0
7	3479	John Saunders	Bernie Saunders	Bala	6	9	7	6	19.0
8	3380	Ian Dyson	Anne Webb	Dovestone	8	6	6	7	19.0
9	3222	John Clark	Rich Goddard	Dovestone	5	7	8	8	20.0
Classics Fleet  -  Sailed: 4  Discards: 1
1	2520	Nick Heath	Sam Need	Dovestone	4	1	1	1	3.0
2	1117	Keith Jamieson	Maff Smith	Bass	1	4	2	4	7.0
3	2620	Norman Cristie	Dave Naylor	Dovestone	2	6	3	2	7.0
4	798	John Washington	Simon	Chew Valley	3	2	5	DNF	10.0
5	2658	Roger Finch	Jim Need	Middle Nene	5	3	4	3	10.0
6	2331	Brian Foster	?	Dovestone	7	5	6	5	16.0
7	2729	John Halliwell	George Powell	Dovestone	6	7	7	6	19.0

Fifteen Flying Fifteens fought furiously for fame at Parkstone Yacht Club's Open Meeting over the weekend of 24 / 25 April 2004.

An early taste of summer was provided by a strong high pressure system that brought beautiful sunshine, but little wind. However, after a slight delay to allow the wind to settle Race Officer, John Lacey was able to make the most of the slight sea breeze on Day 1 by laying an Olympic course in Poole Bay. From the start the battle was between Simon Kneller sailing with Dave Lucas, and his Grafham Water Sailing Club mate Brett Dingwall sailing with his son Ben. Both boats soon pulled clear of the fleet while behind them Parkstone's Phil Owen fought it out with Ian Cadwallader and David Sweet from Chew Valley. On the downwind leg Cadwallader luffed Owen out to the port side while Charles Apthorp sailing with David Rickard from Hayling Island Sailing Club took a flyer on the starboard side of the run and pulled through into third place behind Simon Kneller who crossed the line ahead of Brett and Ben Dingwall.

The wind moved more southerly for Race 2 and Johnathon & Gillian Hill from Bewl Valley Sailing Club starting from the starboard end of the line were soon ahead of the fleet closely pursued by Simon Kneller & Dave Lucas. On the second windward leg Kneller & Lucas split tacks with Johnathon & Gillian and by the windward mark had gained the lead. Behind the Hills, Parkstone's Bob Hoare crewed by Nick Cornish skillfully sailed through a group of boats running downwind and being luffed to windward by Ian Cadwallader & Dave Sweet from Chew Valley. Bob & Nick came in third behind Johnathon & Gillian Hill in second place from race winner Simon Kneller. Brett & Ben Dingwall finished forth marginally ahead of Phil Owen from Parkstone with Ian Cadwallader next.

The wind was starting to fade for Race 3. Charles Apthorp & David Rickard starting from the port end were quick off the line and looked good up the first beat. From the same end both Simon Kneller and the Hills were soon crossing tacks while Brett & Ben Dingwall seemed to have lost it by going wide from the port end. At the windward mark Charles Apthorp rounded just ahead of Simon Kneller with Phil Owen crewed by Peter McKenna third. Place changed on the reach with the Hills moving into third place and Brett Dingwall recovering from his poor start to pull through the fleet. On the final run the wind faded and with the fleet spread right across the course. Simon Kneller got the best of it to cross the line in first place. Behind him Charles Apthorp got second place with the Hills in third and Brett & Ben Dingwall in fourth place inches ahead of Phil Owen on the finishing line.

For Day 2 the Race Officer wisely shifted racing into Poole Harbour as wind conditions in the Bay looked bleak. The first race was rapidly abandoned after a reasonable southerly force 2 shifted to the south east as the start gun fired. The restart was also postponed, seconds before the start gun, as the wind veered another 20 degrees. However the wind then settled in the east and the fleet enjoyed two superb, flat water, tactical races. First at the first mark in Race 4 was Mike Kilbee crewed by Tony Cox, just ahead of Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam, both boats from the host club Parkstone. Also in the fray were the Hills, Ian Cadwallader and the Dingwalls. The overnight leader Simon Kneller was someway down the fleet as he was a premature starter at the outer distance mark. Brett & Ben Dingwall needed all their skills to take the finishing gun form Ian Cadwallader & Dave Sweet while Johnathon & Gillian Hill made it into third place; fourth was Mike Kilbee & Tony Cox, with Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam in fifth place.

There were still places to compete for at the start of the final race. Charles Apthorp led the fleet to the first mark and showed a determination to keep there as he fought off the challenge from the local boats of Phil Owen and Mike Kilbee. On the second beat the fleet split into two groups. Simon Kneller and the Hills chose the port side and lost the wind. Apthorp & Rickard covered the port side group, but quickly switched to the starboard side as they saw the wind fill in. At the finish Charles Apthorp crossed first from Phil Owen & Peter McKenna in second who was followed by Parkstone club mate Mike Kilbee & Tony Cox. Brett & Ben Dingwall finished forth and Ian Cadwallader fifth.

Overall the Parkstone Yacht Club Flying Fifteen Open Meeting was won on tie break by Simon Kneller & Dave Lucas, with Brett & Ben Dingwall in second place. Charles Apthorp & David Rickard were one point adrift and came in third. The first boat in the Silver Fleet was Graham & Sue Latham from Parkstone Yacht Club while the first local boat was Phil Owen & Peter McKenna.

3699	Simon Kneller	Dave Lucas	Grafham Water	11pts
3683	Brett Dingwall	Ben Dingwall	Grafham Water	11pts
3591	Charles Apthorp	David Rickard	Hayling Island	12pts
3518	Johnathon Hill	Gillian Hill	Bewl Valley	14pts
3679	Ian Cadwallader	Dave Sweet	Chew Valley	17pts

Report from Bary Rolfe

42 boats turned out for the Northern Championships at Kielder Water which were also a qualifier for the 2005 Worlds in New Zealand. They came from as far afield as Ireland, Hayling Island and Peterhead, with a good attendance from the Northern fleets of Derwent, Bassenthwiate and Royal Windermere.
Three races were sailed on the Saturday in bright sunshine and an Easterly wind of 10 knots that generally favoured the North side of the course but which fell away as the afternoon progressed. The wind backed as the first race was started and resulted in a general recall. The restart was ‘black flagged’ and everyone was well behaved in this and subsequent races. At the end of the day Steve Goacher was in the lead with three wins with John Hardisty and Scott Beattie equal at second and Tom Bayliss and David McKee in fourth and fifth places.

Sunday dawned with bright sunshine and a flat calm. However the wind filled in to about 15 knots from the West, to give good sailing and entertainment for the spectators, as the gybe mark was in front of the clubhouse. For the first race Simon Robinson put on his Kamma Kazi headband with the presumed aim of frightening off the opposition. It didn’t really improve his position but it seemed to have an effect on Steve Goacher who fell to twelfth place but retained the overall lead with John Hardisty still second and Scott Beattie third.
For the last race the wind backed to the South West. Steve resumed his winning ways to win the last race, with David McKee second, Glyn Morgan third and John Hardisty slipping to eighth which he discarded. Steve Goacher won overall, with only 2.4 points separating the next three boats.

Pos	Helm	Crew	Club	Boat	Points	R 1	R 2	R 3	R 4	R 5
1	S Goacher	P Evans	Royal Windermere	3721	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	18.0	0.0
2	J Hardisty	R Errington	Derwent Reservoir	3801	34.0	13.0	3.0	10.0	8.0	14.0
3	D McKee	C Hewkin	Dovestone	3805	34.4	11.7	11.7	8.0	15.0	3.0
4	S Beattie	J Somerville	Bassenthwaite	3673	36.4	3.0	10.0	11.7	16.0	11.7
5	D Giles	S Giles	Hartlepool	3612	49.0	10.0	18.0	14.0	17.0	8.0
6	T Bayliss	G Bayliss	Hayling Island	3777	51.0	16.0	14.0	3.0	21.0	18.0
7	P Kitchen	D Kitchen	Hartlepool	3595	58.0	18.0	27.0	49.0	0.0	13.0
8	P Hudson	G Ashburner	Broxbourne	3681	58.0	17.0	20.0	17.0	14.0	10.0
9	J Arnold	J Allan	Notts County	3685	58.7	30.0	5.7	27.0	10.0	16.0
10	R Hogben	D Wicks	Bewl Valley	3653	60.7	25.0	13.0	19.0	11.7	17.0
11	H Green	I Preston	Leigh & Lowton	3734	62.0	21.0	19.0	22.0	3.0	19.0
12	T Crumpton	J Mathie	Derwent Reservoir	3702	64.0	8.0	49.0	16.0	19.0	21.0
13	D Brockbank	R Parfitt	Dovestone	3787	64.7	5.7	23.0	49.0	13.0	23.0
14	S Robinson	D Vasey	Derwent Reservoir	3737	67.0	15.0	8.0	49.0	22.0	22.0
15	G Morgan	C Hough	Bewl Valley	3645	67.7	49.0	16.0	15.0	31.0	5.7
16	N Tullet	J Tullet	Royal Windermere	3816	68.0	20.0	49.0	13.0	20.0	15.0
17	B Willis	J McPeace	Co Antrim YC	3759	80.7	49.0	31.0	18.0	5.7	26.0
18	P Hogg	D Downs	Dovestone	3806	83.7	23.0	32.0	5.7	23.0	49.0
19	A Lee	D Christie	Derwent Reservoir	3695	91.0	22.0	24.0	21.0	24.0	25.0
20	E Masson	J Dick	Grafham Water	3802	97.0	40.0	15.0	28.0	30.0	24.0
21	I Laidlaw	D Gibb	Loch Lomond	3788	97.0	32.0	22.0	20.0	25.0	30.0
22	B Campbell-Bottoms	M Grady	Hayling Island	3175	97.0	27.0	21.0	23.0	26.0	32.0
23	D Brown	P Baldwin	Notts County	3724	100.0	14.0	25.0	32.0	34.0	29.0
24	A Goddard	C Pierce	Dovestone	3750	109.0	31.0	29.0	36.0	29.0	20.0
25	J Eaton	M Eaton	Bala	3539	112.0	49.0	17.0	24.0	32.0	39.0
26	R Donaldson	N Hedley	Derwent Reservoir	3587	117.0	24.0	26.0	30.0	37.0	38.0
27	M Priede	N Marshall	Peterhead	3628	120.0	19.0	39.0	41.0	28.0	34.0
28	G Lamond	S Train	South Windermere	617	123.0	37.0	28.0	33.0	35.0	27.0
29	G Passmore	S Graham	Kielder	3139	126.0	26.0	34.0	38.0	39.0	28.0
30	J Gerrard	J McKenzie		3666	126.0	29.0	30.0	40.0	27.0	40.0
31	T King	T Bell	Derwent Reservoir	3815	130.0	33.0	39.0	31.0	33.0	33.0
32	J Saunders	B Saunders	Bala	3479	131.0	39.0	36.0	26.0	38.0	31.0
33	R Jefferson	B Juffs	Derwent Reservoir	3636	136.0	34.0	35.0	25.0	43.0	42.0
34	B Armer	R Brown	Royal Windermere	3523	136.0	28.0	49.0	29.0	44.0	35.0
35	C K Jamieson	M Smith	Bassenthwaite	1117	142.0	38.0	33.0	34.0	41.0	37.0
36	B Turner	C Ashburner	Broxbourne	3031	145.0	36.0	37.0	37.0	36.0	36.0
37	T Tinn	C Wilkinson	Royal Windermere	3624	154.0	35.0	42.0	35.0	42.0	43.0
38	D Naylor	N Christie	Leigh & Lowton	2620	166.0	49.0	38.0	39.0	40.0	49.0
39	P Clark	C Thompson	Humber Yawl	671	172.0	42.0	41.0	44.0	47.0	45.0
40	D Rosser	G Rosser	Kielder	2129	172.0	43.0	43.0	42.0	48.0	44.0
41	S Gibbon	F Scott	Kielder	2329	178.0	41.0	49.0	43.0	45.0	49.0
42	J Sutherland	E Knowles	Peterhead	3000	180.0	44.0	49.0	49.0	46.0	41.0

Silver Fleet

3175	Brian Campbell – Bottoms	Martin Grady	Hayling Island	97pts
3139	Giles Passmore	Stephen Graham	Kielder Water	126pts

Classic Fleet

617	Graham Lamond	Scott Train	South Windermere	123pts
1117	Keith Jamieson	Maff Smith	Bassenthwaite	142pts

Report from Giles Passmore

Sunshine and not a lot of wind greeted the ten classic Flying Fifteens to the Broxburne open meeting. However by mid afternoon a strengthening breeze allowed both sheduled races to be completed. On Sunday, with a light northeasterly, everything looked set for some close tactical racing. Unfortunately just as the race started, the wind dropped and it became much more variable. Graham Lamond sailing the oldest boat in the fleet got off on a flyer and looked as if he was away. It was not to be, as the wind strengthened he was caught and much place changing took place with the race eventually being won by Bob Tait. The final race was sailed in even more variable conditions though this time Graham got it right jumping from the back to the front on one puff. At the final count, the new members of the classic fleet, Bob Tait and Jerry Rogers sailing Bob's recently renovated retirement project were the overall winners.

2606	'First Straw'	Bob Tait	Jerry Rodgers	(Broxbourne)
617	'Fettercairn'	Graham Lamond	Scott Train	(South Windermere)
2523		Bob Falconer	Rosie Winckle	(Broxbourne)

Picture by Pip Hudson

Report from Pip Hudson

A select gathering of FFs enjoyed a beautiful weekend of sunny skies and brisk northerly winds at the AYC Open – Aldeburgh at its best.  Four races were eventually sailed off both club and committee boat lines, with the “Home Reach” providing a good long beat on both days and the wide open spaces up river allowing some exhilarating reaches on Saturday. Jock Mawson in Hayffever was in the groove from the start, having returned hotfoot from the Europeans the weekend before, and secured a clean-sweep of wins for the Ratcliff Trophy. Having had to work a bit for his victories on Saturday he rather unsportingly tweaked overnight and romped away on Sunday. The remainder of the fleet saw some tight racing, with positions chopping and changing through the series – slick short tacking as always proving crucial. The Mawson Prize for Classics returned to Draycote again, this time with Richard Burton in Virginia Creeper who eventually got the better of Nick Heath in Fighting Fit. The social side was not neglected either with around forty of us from the FF and other visiting fleets joining forces for an excellent dinner on Saturday night.  

 

1	3772	“Hayffever”	Jock Mawson	Ben Robinson	Aldeburgh
2	2572	“Virginia Creeper”	Richard Burton	Tim Geater	Draycote
3	3160	“Ffortune”	Julian Roney	Tim Power	Aldeburgh

Report from Julian Roney

13 Fifteens competed for the Derwent Reservoir SC Open in bright sunshine and winds that varied from flat calm to 25 mph+

Race 1 started in a lightish force 2 from the north, and Tony Lee and Dave Christie lead from the start to finish. Dave & Sue Giles were second round the first mark, with Giles Passmore and Paul Graham impressively driving their silver fleet boat into third at that point. By the finish Simon Robinson & Alistair Boyd moved up to 2^nd, and on the final beat John Mathie & John Errington pulled up to third.

John Hardisty & Roger Errington leading race 5 - Picture by Brenda Lee

Race 2 was sailed in very light winds, and again it was Lee who lead off the start, but John Hardisty & Roger Errington sailed the dam side of the beat and took a commanding lead, with Mathie rounding next from Lee. On the run, the leading boats got becalmed, and Robinson sailed through the middle to close right down on Hardisty, and managed to overtake on the final beat to the shortened finish, only to fail to cover and let Hardisty back again. Saturday night the club put on an excellent Italian theme meal.

The wind had moved round on Sunday to the south west, and again Lee picked the right side for the first beat, and looked to have an unassailable lead over Hardisty, Athol King & Trevor Bellis. Hardisty hadn’t read the script, and slowly he reeled in Lee, and managed to get past on the final lap. Robinson overtook King right on the finish line.

The stronger winds of race 4 suited Giles (Dave & Sue), who lead from start to finish, with clubmates Peter & David Kitchen second till the final beat, where Hardisty just slipped through.

The final race was sailed in strong winds, with Hardisty sailing an excellent race to lead from start to finish and take the title. Giles was second with Mathie third.

Tony Lee was the unlucky man of the fleet, while Robin Jefferson showed us the finish on the bottom of his keel, and Athol King practiced his backward summersault to amuse those close to hand.

Overall Hardisty & Errington were convincing champions, only really challenged by Tony Lee, and Giles Passmore & Paul Graham impressed as winners of the silver fleet.

BOAT	HELM	CREW	RACE 1	RACE 2	RACE 3	RACE 4	RACE 5	TOTAL	Posn.
3801	John Hardisty	Roger Errington	5	1	1	2	1	5	1
3737	Simon Robinson	Alistair Boyd	2	2	3	4	4	11	2
3612	David Giles	Sue Giles	4	5	6	1	2	12	3
3695	Tony Lee	Dave Christie	1	7	2	5	5	13	4
3702	John Mathie	John Errington	3	3	5	8	3	14	5
3595	Peter Kitchen	David Kitchen	8	4	8	3	DNS	23	6
3815	Athol King	Trevor Bellis	6	8	4	6	7	23	7
3636	Robin Jefferson	David Dymond	9	9	9	7	6	31	8
3139	Giles Passmore	Paul Graham	7	6	10	9	DNF	32	9
3634	Chris Whinn	John Boyd	DNS	DNS	7	10	8	39	10
3484	Ray Coates	John Rippon	11	10	11	11	9	41	11
2881	Mike Cooper	Jim Carslake	10	11	DNF	12	10	43	12
2008	Jonaathon Alldis	Hilary Talbot	DNS	DNS	12	13	DNF	51	13

Report from Simon Robinson

The Draycote Open Meeting started on the Saturday morning with beautiful sunshine if not a bit chilly. Nine local boats were joined by six visitors, from as far as Broxbourne and Llangorse. The north-easterly wind was surprisingly brisk considering the forecast but wind shifts of thirty degrees plus was to be the order of the day. Race one got off to a clean start, but a sudden wind shift made on the first beat of the Olympic course split the fleet into two. Richard Hope & David Nutall sped into a surprising lead at the first mark closely followed by Simon Patterson & Simon Thompson and Tom Hall & Pete Connor. The top positions stayed in that order for the first two laps, but local boys Rupert Mander & Chris Hewkin showed their world class ability to scythe through the fleet, and after a bad start overtook everyone to take the lead where they were to stay until the finish. Hope/Nutall managed to hold onto second but Patterson/Thompson were overtaken on the last lap by Hall/Connor who took third place. John Washington & Simon Dangerfield in their beautiful varnished Vintage boat (798) ended up a very creditable sixth to open the account for the Classic boats.

Race two also saw some very wicked wind shifts, which were to challenge everyone’s health and temper. Another clean start, but on the gun the wind yet again swung to make it very difficult to clear the line on a starboard tack. Patterson/Thompson tacked onto port early from being second to last over the line, got into clear wind and reached the first mark well in the lead. The chasing pack consisted of Hall/Connor and Mander/Hewkin. On the third lap the wind filled in from behind and the Patterson/Thompson lead was slashed and Mander/Hewkin was able to snatch the lead. Again Hall/Connor overtook Patterson/Thompson on the last lap to gain second. Hope/Nutall sailed their socks off after a bad start and got fourth place. The overall lead was in Mander/Hewkin’s hands but the other placings were yet to be decided.

Sunday was to be another sunny day, and the wind was now a north-westerly but lighter than the previous day but the thirty-degree plus shifts were still there. Race three had yet another clean start and Mander/Hewkin were off into the lead closely followed by Washington/Dangerfield where they stayed to the finish. Some of these older boats are still very fast. Hall/Connor managed to stay in third. The cruel wind shifts and calm patches saw positions change resulting in Harry Sayers and Scott Smith finishing fourth and Hope/Nutall getting a fifth place.

Race four saw the lead change several times between Mander/Hewkin and Hope/Nutall but eventually Mander/Hewkin overcame the threat to gain another first to win overall. Sayers/Smith got back into third and Patterson/Thompson fourth. Washington/Dangerfield got sixth to win the classic open quite convincingly.

Race Officer Paul Goodwin and his team did a fantastic job in running the races in such difficult conditions.

3779	Rupert Mander	Chris Hewkin	Draycote Water	3pts
3642	Richard Hope	David Nutall	Draycote Water	8pts
3725	Tom Hall	Pete Connor	Northampton	8pts
3795	Simon Patterson	Simon Thompson	Draycote Water	11pts

Classic

798	John Washington	Simon Dangerfield	Chew Valley
2645	Mike Jones	Paul Tully	Llangorse
1035	John Dinnie	Richard Chaplin	Draycote Water

Falcon Cup (First boat under 3000)
798  John Washington   Simon Dangerfield   Chew Valley

Report by Simon Patterson

Thirty one Flying Fifteens travelled to Cowes, IOW to spend the late May Bank Holiday competing in the Southern Area Championships in the Solent. Such is the attraction of racing in the demanding conditions at Cowes that boats came from as far as Majorca and Ireland to compete under the Burgee of the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club. Five races were scheduled and sailed; two on Saturday and Sunday with one Monday.

The Principal Race Officer, Ian Lallow, elected to set the courses in the central Solent over and around the Brambles Bank with a committee boat start. The first race on Saturday started on time at 12:00 in light and variable breeze with relatively slack tide. Alan Bax and Paul Bushby were first to emerge from a scrum of Hayling Island Sailing Club boats who arrived together at the windward mark. The variable wind restricted tactical racing on the reaches and helped ensure bunching at the gybe mark with inevitable nautical verbal exchanges. The leading Haying pack was soon joined Mike Hart and Tim Hall in 3817 and Jonathan and Gill Hill in 3518. The fleet soon began to extend out as the race progressed. Greg Wells and David Tulloch in 3776 finally took line honours with the tail of the fleet just managing to finish within the 30 minute time limit. The Second race followed a similar pattern with Greg Wells and David Tulloch again taking line honours with by Sue and Barry Parkin in 3630 and Brett and Ben Dingwall in 3603 taking the next two places. All boats were keen to get ashore for several beers followed by supper in the CCYC marquee.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny with not a breath of wind. Undaunted, the Race Committee said the first race would start on time. As the fleet sailed out to the racing area a westerly breeze began to strengthen. Most of the fleet favoured the committee boat end of the line for the start. However, many under estimated the strong tide pushing them towards the Committee boat resulting in much bunching, barging and barracking in the final seconds to the gun. Despite this all boats got away without a general recall. The wind gradually strengthened on the beat to the windward mark. The tide favoured a port tack approach concentrating minds and tactics for rounding. Unfortunately, Greg Wells and David Tulloch in 3776 were holed in the bow at the mark sadly ending their weekends racing after two wins on the previous day. They were slowly towed back to the Cowes Corinthian for the boat to be drained and lifted out. Barry and Sue Parkin took line honours closely followed by Adrian Tattersall and Tim Smart in 3675 with 3796, Javier Chacartegui and Joaquín Cobarro from Club Pto De Pollensa, Mallorca, Spain taking third place. By the start of the next race the wind had picked up to Force 3/4 with the odd 20 knot or so gust. Another clean start followed by a lively beat in choppy seas provided for exciting sailing. The conditions claimed the mast of 3675 ending the racing for Tattersall/Smart team. Alan Bax and Paul Busby took line honours with 3817, Mike Hart and Tim Hall a close second with Simon Kneller and David Lucas in 3699 third. Once again the days racing was relaxingly analysed over the odd beer and supper in the Club Marquee.

Barry and Sue Parkin enjoying the conditions - Photo by Paul Wyeth Marine photography

Monday’s race was over the same course as previously in light but steady westerly breeze. Mike Hart and Tim Hall took line honours with Barry and Sue Parkin second and Mike Gilbee and Tim Cox from Parkstone in 3625 a close third.

The prize giving was held in the Club Marquee as soon as everyone was ashore, showered and watered. Barry and Sue Parkin from Hayling Island Sailing Club were the Southern Area Champions with Sue also wining the trophy for the highest placed lady. Mike Hart and Tim Hall from Port Dinorwic Sailing Club were second with Alan Bax and Paul Busby, also from Hayling, third. Brian Campbell-Bottoms and Martin Grady in 3175 were highest paced ‘Silver Fleet’ boat and Andrew Rutherford and Shelia Duffy from the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club won the ‘Classic Fleet’ prize in 1857.

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	3630	Barry Parkin	Sue Parkin	HISC	5.7	3	0	8	3	11.7
2	3817	Mike Hart	Tim Hall	PDSC	10	8	11.7	3	0	21.0
3	3786	Alan Bax	Paul Busby	HISC	3	11.7	8	0	DNF	22.7
4	3591	Charles Apthorp	Dave Ricards	HISC	8	10	14	11.7	8	37.7
5	3699	Simon Kneller	David Lucas	GWSC	16	15	20	5.7	14	50.7
6	3518	Jonathan Hill	Gill Hill	BVSC	11.7	14	15	23	11.7	52.4
7	IRL 3803	Morgan Sheehy	Jan Van Der Puil	KYC	15	19	10	10	DNS	54.0
8	3603	Brett Dingwall	Ben Dingwall	GWSC	20	5.7	16	14	DNS	55.7
9	3727	Andrew Palmer	Graham Wadeley	GWSC	25	13	18	13	19	63.0
10	3175	Brian Campbell-Bottoms	Martin Grady	HISC	13	18	21	19	16	66.0
11	3777	Geoff Bayliss	Adrian Simpson	HISC	19	16	25	16	17	68.0
12	3818	Gill Browning	Sue Bannister	HISC	21	20	13	18	18	69.0
13	ESP 3796	J Chacartegui	J Cobarro	RNCPP	18	DSQ	5.7	DSQ	10	71.7
14	3653	Robert Hogben	Dean Wicks	BVSC	14	DNF	28	15	15	72.0
15	3625	Mike Kilbee	Tim Cox	PYC	35	21	26	20	5.7	72.7
16	3776	Greg Wells	David Tullooch	HISC	0	0	DNF	DNS	DNS	76.0
17	3675	Adrian Tattersall	Tim Smart	Bala SC	22	17	3	DNF	DNS	80.0
18	3645	Glynn Morgan	Chris Hough	BVSC	26	24	22	21	13	80.0
19	3806	Peter Hogg	David Downs	DSC	17	22	19	22	23	80.0
20	3724	Mike Brown	Peter Baldwin	NCSC	28	23	23	17	25	88.0
21	3808	Noel West	Amanda Conrad	BVSC	23	30	24	24	20	91.0
22	3819	Colin Ward	Mark Winkles	CCYC	29	29	17	25	DNS	100.0
23	3288	Nick Clarke	John Washington	RSC	27	27	29	DNF	21	104.0
24	3632	Jo West	Richard Vail	BVSC	24	26	30	27	27	104.0
25	3379	Mike Boll	Gill McCutcheon	CCYC	31	28	31	26	24	109.0
26	3768	John Wardrop	Neil Cunliffe	BVSC	DNC	25	27	OCS	26	116.0
27	3513	Tony Bedingfield	Paul Wills	CCYC	30	31	DNF	DNS	22	121.0
28	3778	Geoff Povey	Robert Cather	BVSC	33	33	32	DNF	28	126.0
29	3118	Dave Peters	Heather Rutherford	CCYC	36	34	35	DNF	29	134.0
30	3322	Dick Case	Linda Case	BVSC	32	32	33	DNF	DNS	135.0
31	1857	Andrew Rutherford	Shelia Duffy	CCYC	34	35	34	DNF	DNS	141.0

Provisional Results

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	3603	Brett Dingwall	Ben Dingwall	Grafham	10	3	0	5.7	0	8.7
2	3817	Mike Hart	Tim Hall	Port Dinorwic	0	3	24	3	5.7	11.7
3	3721	Steve Goacher	Phil Evans	RWYC	8	10	5.7	0	3	16.7
4	3805	David McKee	Chris Hewkin	Dovestone	3	0	15	8	DNF	26.0
5	3770	Neil Platt	Andy Weatherspoon	Bassenthwaite	5.7	13	8	11.7	13	38.4
6	3615	Roger Palmer	Barbara Palmer	Hayling Island	24	8	3	16	17	44.0
7	3612	David Giles	Susan Giles	Tees & Hartlepool	11.7	14	21	10	21	56.7
8	3777	Tom Bayliss	Geoff Bayliss	Hayling Island	16	OCS	10	27	8	61.0
9	3645	Glyn Morgan	Chris Hough	Bewl Valley	14	11.7	25	24	15	64.7
10	3725	Tom Hall	Pete Connor	Northampton SC	20	21	14	18	18	70.0
11	3727	Andrew Palmer	Graham Wadeley	Grafham	21	17	22	21	11.7	70.7
12	3803	Morgan Sheehy	Jan van der Puil	Kinsale	18	29	30	15	10	72.0
13	3681	Pip Hudson	Nigel Warren	Broxbourne	23	16	36	17	16	72.0
14	3642	Richard Hope	David Nuttall	Draycote	15	18	38	13	27	73.0
15	3518	Jonathan Hill	Gillian Hill	Bewl Valley	27	19	17	25	14	75.0
16	3653	Robert Hogben	Dene Wicks	Bewl Valley	30	15	16	19	DNC	80.0
17	3787	David Brockbank	Rob Parfitt	Royal Windermere	25	23	28	14	19	81.0
18	3818	Gill Browning	Simon Hunt	Hayling Island	DNF	31	20	22	23	96.0
19	3595	Peter Kitchen	David Kitchen	Tees & Hartlepool	17	34	27	20	DNF	98.0
20	3734	Howard Green	Ian Preston	Leigh & Lowton	13	25	13	DNF	OCS	101.0
21	3288	Nick Clarke	Karen Wilkins	Rutland SC	28	33	11.7	31	32	102.7
22	617	Graham Lamond	Scott Train	S Windermere	29	22	32	36	20	103.0
23	3806	Peter Hogg	David Downs	Dovestone	33	24	19	28	OCS	104.0
24	3815	Athol King	Trevor Bellis	Derwent Res	40	35	23	29	24	111.0
25	3175	Brian Campbell-Bottoms	Adrian Simpson	Hayling Island	35	20	29	32	31	112.0
26	3808	Noel West	Amanda Conrad	Bewl Valley	34	30	26	37	22	112.0
27	1117	Keith Jamieson	Maf Smith	Bassenthwaite	26	38	37	26	26	115.0
28	3685	Jeremy Arnold	John Allen	Notts County	32	26	31	30	35	119.0
29	3802	Ewan Masson	Jim Dick	Grafham	31	36	34	23	DNC	124.0
30	3768	John Wardrop	Neil Cunliffe	Bewl Valley	43	27	33	39	25	124.0
31	3724	Paul Brown	Peter Baldwin	Notts County	19	28	35	DNC	DNC	132.0
32	3789	Allen Cave	Ashley Painter	Northampton	22	OCS	DNC	35	29	136.0
33	2658	R Finch	J Reid	Middle Nene	39	37	41	34	30	140.0
34	3372	Martin Pride	Joan Pride	Queen Mary	37	39	18	DNC	DNC	144.0
35	3539	John Eaton	Margaret Eaton	Bala	36	42	39	41	28	144.0
36	2620	David Naylor	Norman Christie	Dovestone	38	32	DNC	33	DNC	153.0
37	798	John Washington	Anita Morris	RNCPP	41	40	42	DNC	33	156.0
38	671	Peter Clark	Chris Thompson	Humber Yawl	44	41	40	42	34	157.0
39	2700	Neil Bartholomew	John Ward	Middle Nene	45	43	43	38	36	160.0
40	2785	Kate Sanders	Victoria Sanders	Rutland	46	44	DNC	40	DNC	180.0
41	3479	John Saunders	Berni Saunders	Bala	42	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	192.0
42	3813	Richard Estaugh	Tim Harper	Chase	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	200.0
42	3760	Jeremy Davy	John Mildred	Northampton	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	200.0

Greg Wells and David Tullock were convincing winners of the 2004 Bulwark Trophy for flying fifteens held at Hayling Island S C over the weekend 12/13 June.

Twenty-two boats contested the four race series. Saturday featured a F 3 northwesterly airstreams, which provided a tricky examination of sailing skills.

In race one, Charles Apthorp, crewed by Mike Newcombe, set off on a long port tack towards the beach. Above the lay line he was rewarded by a stronger freeing wind on starboard tack, which gave him good advantage over boats that had pursued a more conservative course up the middle. Second around the weather mark was Greg Wells/ David Tulloch closely followed by Alan Bax/Paul Busby.This pair later later lost out by tacking to the left.

The wind became stronger making spinnaker handling more difficult. The wind shifted a bit more and Race Officer, Peter Wareham shortened after three laps. First was Charles Apthorp/Mike Newcombe with Greg Wells/David Tulloch in second.

The Grafham combination of Simon Kneller/ David Lucas pulled up through the fleet to take third place ahead of Pip Hudson/Adrian Simpson from Broxbourne. 

In race 2 many boats tried the same tactic of working the right hand side of the course. Charles Apthorp/ Mike Newcombe were looking to repeat their first race success and on the second round had a good lead with Andrew Jameson/James Grant in second.

At this stage Greg Wells/ David Tulloch were lying third. This pair broke away into the middle of the course and with Andrew Palmer/Steve Carson and Alan Bax/Paul Busby and, using the shifts, reeled in the early leaders.

At the finish Greg Wells/Tulloch lead with Andrew Palmer/Steve Carson second and Alan Bax/Paul Busby third. Charles Apthorp/Mike Newcombe pulled back places to  finish fifth.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny with a light northerly which was deemed unsuitable for racing so after a hold ashore the fleet set out into a F 3 to 4 sea breeze. With little tidal stream Greg Wells/ Dave Tulloch rounded the weather mark well up and by using a gybe-set gained on those ahead.  They soon had the lead followed by Mark Wood and Ian Gorringe who found the steadier stronger winds more to their liking. Third was Alan Bax/Paul Busby with Charles Apthorp in fourth.

In the last race with the wind a little stronger, it was Simon Kneller/ Dave Lucas who pulled out a good lead over Wells/David Tulloch. Unfortunately they misread a signal and ‘finished’ a lap early. By the time they had realised their error Wells / Tulloch were through to take a third first place and the title. Second was Apthorp/ Newcombe with Wood/Gorringe in third.

When the results were announced after a wonderful tea of scones, sandwiches and cake, it was Greg Wells/Dave Tulloch first, Charles Apthorp/Mike Newcombe second and Alan Bax/Paul Busby in third.

Sailed: 4  Discards: 1

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
					12 June	12 June	13 June	13 June
1	3776	Greg Wells	Dave Tulloch	HISC	2	1	1	1	3.0
2	3591	Charles Apthorp	Mike Newcombe	HISC	1	5	4	2	7.0
3	3786	Alan Bax	Paul Busby	HISC	6	3	3	4	10.0
4	3764	Mark Wood	Ian Gorringe	HISC	7	7	2	3	12.0
4	3727	Andrew Palmer	Steve Carson	GWSC	10	2	5	5	12.0
6	3699	Simon Kneller	Dave Lucas	GWSC	3	6	8	7	16.0
6	3681	Pip Hudson	Adrian Simpson	Broxbourne	4	10	6	6	16.0
8	3563	Mike McIntyre	Caroline McIntyre	HISC	8	4	7	8	19.0
9	3615	Roger Palmer	Helen Palmer	HISC	5	12	16	10	27.0
10	3818	Gill Browning	Simon Hunt	HISC	14	10	12	9	31.0
11	3537	David Nicholls	David Watson	HISC	15	13	9	14	36.0
12	3377	Tessa Lancaster	Nick Lancaster	HISC	12	9	17	18	38.0
12	3625	Mike Kilbee	Tony Cox	Parkstone SC	13	14	21	11	38.0
14	3516	Andy Jameson	James Grant	HISC	9	8	DNC	DNC	40.0
15	3271	David Apthorp	Kirsty Apthorp	HISC	11	19	14	16	41.0
15	3777	Geoff Bayliss	Dave Pennant	HISC	19	15	11	15	41.0
17	3736	Ian Gray	Sue Bannister	HISC	DNC	DNC	10	12	45.0
18	3175	Brian Cambell-Bottoms	Bev Moss	HISC	16	18	13	17	46.0
19	3808	Noel West	Amanda Conrad	BVSC	17	17	15	19	49.0
20	3672	Chris Gordon	Chris Meckiffe	HISC	18	20	19	13	50.0
21	3622	Raymond Flanagan	Graham	DWSC	20	16	18	20	54.0
22	3720	Richard King	Apelles Econs	HISC	DNC	DNC	20	DNF	66.0

Report from Roger Palmer

The British Isles Flying Fifteen Association returned to Loch Ard for their Scottish Championships having held the same event there in 2002. Twenty nine boats, of which twenty one were visitors, enjoyed a pleasant weekend of sailing with winds varying from force 0 to short spells of force 4. The wind was generally from the north west, but the direction varied greatly throughout the weekend.

There were two races both days, with the Silver and Classics racing together separately from the main fleet.

The first race had an eventful start with two general recalls in the main fleet, resulting in the Silver/Classics leading round the course. Subsequent races had more orderly starts with close competition between the leading boats.

Steve Goacher and Phil Evans from Royal Windermere gave a copybook demonstration of how to sail, winning all four races and consequently all the trophies, followed by Scott Beattie and John Somerville from Bassenthwaite who were second in three races. David and Susan Giles were second in the remaining race.

The winners of the Silver series were Giles Passmore and Stephen Gibbon from Keilder Water, while the Classic was won by Graham Lamond and Scott Train from S Windermere both boats winning all four races.

The full results were as follows:-

Main Fleet (22 entries)

Steve Goacher	Phil Evans	3721	Royal Windermere YC
Scott Beattie	John Sommerville	3673	Bassenthwaite SC
Terry Crumpton	John Mathie	3737	Derwent Reservoir SC

Silver Fleet (5 entries)

Giles Passmore	Stephen Gibbon	3139	Keilder Water SC
Colin Boyd	Ann Boyd	2849	Loch Ard SC
Murray McKenzie	Jim Reape	3080	Loch Ard SC

Classic Fleet ( 2 entries)

Graham Lamond	Scott Train	617	South Windermere SC
Keith Jamieson	Maf Smith	1117	Bassenthwaite SC

Report from Colin Boyd

This was the 18^th Flying 15 Open held at Llangorse and another excellent event with challenging winds, tight racing and a good turnout. Additionally for the Classics, this was the first year that Llangorse was included as a qualifying event for the Arrowred Trophy.

The wind strength was between force 4 to 5 on the Saturday with a 3 to 4 on the Sunday but as is often the case at Llangorse there were some serious wind shifts as the weather fronts came through.

In all 21 boats entered, with a total of 18 qualifying at the end. Of the 18 there were 6 Open boats, 11 Classics and 1 Silver. We were very pleased to welcome 6 visiting boats, from: Broxbourne (Geoff & Hazel Town), Grafham (David & Carole Duke), South Cerney (Richard Taylor & Rosie Wiltshire), Chew (Simon Dangerfield & John Washington), Royal Torbay (George Rock-Evans & Martine McPherson) and Cardiff (Stuart Jones & Stuart Budden).

In the Open fleet David and Carole Duke won the first race but were beaten in the 2^nd race by Eddie & Alistair Ramsden (new to the F15 fleet). This had the result of making David & Carole even more determined – going on to win the next two races. Colin Fletcher & Ruth Betterton (first time crewing in a F15) had 2 seconds and 2 thirds.

In the Classic fleet Simon Dangerfield & John Washington renewed their battle with Stuart Jones and Stuart Budden. Simon & John won the first two races and the two Stuarts won the third race. However in the last race Simon & John covered the two Stuarts so closely that it allowed Dave Flint and Dave Hemingway to get through and win the last race.

The Silver Trophy: This was won by Keith & Mary Morgan (3114 Llangorse) – True veteren sailors of Llangorse who endured the high winds of the weekend – much stronger than their favoured level (they are real contenders in light airs).

The other memorable event was the presentation of the Arrowred Trophy to the 2003 winner – Mike Jones (2645) of Llangorse & Cardiff.

Sail Number	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Points
3794	David Duke	Carole Duke	1	2	1	1	3
3623	Eddie Ramsden	Alistair Ramsden	6	1	2	3	6
3429	Colin Fletcher	Ruth Betterton	2	3	3	2	7
3605	Chris Holt	Lynne Travis	4	4	5	4	12
3751	John Ticehurst	Russell Jones	3	6	4	5	12
3339	Hank Jackson	Mick Saunders	7	5	6	6	17
Silver Fleet
3114	Keith Morgan	Mary Morgan	5	7	7	7	19
Classic Fleet
798	Simon Dangerfield	John Washington	1	1	2	2	4
1155	Stuart Jones	Stuart Budden	2	2	1	3	5
2663	David Flint	David Hemingway	3	5	6	1	9
2562	George Rock-Evans	Martine Mcpherson	6	4	3	4	11
2645	Mike Jones	Simon Thomas	4	3	7	6	13
2468	Geoff Town	Hazel Town	7	8	4	8	19
2626	Richard Taylor	Rosie Wiltshire	10	7	5	7	19
2481	Ian Howie	David Travis	5	6	9	9	20
55	Jeremy Soulsby	Katherine Soulsby	8	9	8	5	21
2234	Trevor Jones	Andy Tulk	9	10	11	10	29
1960	Brian Cook	Mike Glover	11	11	10	11	32

Report from Dave Flint

Stormy conditions on Saturday afternoon proved to be too much for champions Steve Goacher and Phil Evans to contemplate, so they sat back and watched the rest of the fleet battle around the course. With the wind coming down the lake, the waves had plenty of chance to build up and wash down several spinnaker chutes! Those that did opt to fly kites gained no real advantage. Howard Green, and FF Association Vice President Ian Preston, made best use of their skills and 'weight advantage' to win the first race. With no sign of the winds abating, the second race was postponed until Sunday morning.

By the time the racing started on Sunday morning, the blue skies had been blown away! Yes, there was still a good breeze, however, not too much to frighten off those not so spring chickens Goacher and Evans. They did spend some time at the start of the race running around like headless chickens after hitting a mark - that was not going to be enough prevent them winning the race with Scott Beattie and John Somerville second. Despite all the toing and froing, there was a lot of consistent results throughout the day, and in the last race, fed up of playing second fiddle Scott retired and left the fleet to it. Confusion over the shorten course signal was taken in good spirit, perhaps because the race did not have a significant effect on the overall result.

Becoming a bit of a habit for Keith Jamieson, but he and Toggle Cowan secured yet another prize for their classic boat.

3721	S GOACHER	P EVANS	ROYAL WINDERMERE	DNS	1	1	1	3
3673	S BEATTIE	J SOMERVILLE	BASS	2	2	2	RTD	6
3734	H GREEN	I PRESTON	LEIGH & LOWTON	1	4	4	3	8
3801	J HARDISTY	R ERRINGTON	DRSC	3	5	5	2	10
3787	D BROCKBANK	R RIGG	ROYAL WINDERMERE	4	3	3	4	10
3473	M MOORE	L BRADDOCK	BASS	5	6	7	6	17
3521	P BURNELL	D WOODHEAD	BASS	RTD	7	6	5	18
3784	J HULL	S HULL	TEES & HARTLEPOOL	6	8	8	7	21
1117	K JAMIESON	M COWAN	BASS	DNS	9	9	8	26
1901	J CROSBIE	I CROSBIE	BASS	RTD	10	10	DNS	29

Eleven Flying 15s competed at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club's Classic event on 26th/27th June. Fortunately the forecast gales did not arrive, and the F 3-5 winds provided excellent conditions for the 6 local boats and 5 visitors, for all 4 races. On Saturday the first race started in the middle of a heavy downpour and Stuart Jones and Nathan Cummins in FF 1155 had a great tussle with Simon Dangerfield and John Washington in FF 798, only winning by a couple of seconds. This battle continued throughout the weekend with both crews scoring two firsts and two seconds in the 4 races, but Dangerfield victorious overall with the win in the last race. However these two boats had to work hard in each race with stiff competition from the rest of the fleet. In races one and two, Dave Flint and Dave Hemmingway pulled through to third place in FF 2663. On Sunday Paul and Tom Simes, the Cardiff GP14 sailors pulled through in their borrowed FF2525, to get third in race three and Neil and Stuart Bartholomey in FF 2700 were third in the last race.

Another notable performance came from Bill Turton and Brian Pingel sailing FF 2492, with over 150 years experience between them.

	Boat	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	798	S Dangerfield	J Washington	2	1	2	1
2	1155	S Jones	N Cummins	1	2	1	2
3	2663	D Flint	D Hemmingway	3	3	5	4
4	2700	N Bartholomey	S Bartholomey	4	4	7	3
5	2525	P Simes	B Marchant	6	5	3	5
6	2562	G Rock-Evans	M McPherson	7	8	4	6
7	2645	M Jones	R Denning	5	6	6	7
8	2492	B Turton	R Grafton	8	7	10	9
9	630	S Clark	P Clark	9	9	9	8
10	1295	D Baird	T Bowen	10	10	8	10
11	2162	I Horton	A Horton	DNF	DNS	11	11

Report from Stuart Jones

Poole bared its teeth with breezy conditions testing helm and crew, particularly on the off-wind legs. Saturday saw race officer Bryan Drake set a harbour course of three rounds in the morning, but in the afternoon a long journey around the harbour ensued with an exciting 2-mile broad reach down the harbour ending with a beat to the finishing line.

On Sunday the racing was switched to Poole Bay with Olympic style courses in a blustery north-westerly wind with steep seas and large gust when the fronts moved across the bay. This made for exhilarating sailing, particularly on the down-wind legs.

Rupert Mander and Chris Hawkins had things much their own way in the open event with four firsts, but in the silver under 3000 fleet the racing was very close, with Phil Owen and Peter McKenna sailing well to clinch the result. In the classic under 2700 fleet, Nick Heath and Ted Legg stitched it up with four winds.

The weekend racing and prizes were generously sponsored by Royal Haskoning.

Open

3779	Men Behaving Badly	Rupert Mander	Chris Hewkins	Draycote Water S.C.
3791	Flow	Keith Aldridge	Chris Jermyn	Parkstone Y.C.
3794	Flo	David Duke	Carol Duke	Grafham Water S.C
3654	Fi Fi.	Andy Maskell	Carol Maskell	Parkstone Y.C.

2700-3000

2948	Midnight Cocktail	Phil Owen	Peter McKenna	RMYC.
2999	Slipstream	Wizz Ashton	Natasha Ashton	RMYC
2876	Gripple Nipper	Graham Latham		RMYC.
2921	Thriller	Nigel Yeoman	Tessa Yeoman	RMYC

Classic

2520	Fighting Fit	Nick Heath	Ted Legg	Grafham Water S.C.
2562	Sandbagger	George Rock-Evans	Bill Butcher	R.Torbay Y.C.
2845		G.Fowler	M Fowler	Grafham Water S.C.
2626		Richard Taylor		South Cerney S.C.

G.Wilkins Trophy for Helm over 50
2921 Thriller. Nigel Yeoman

report from Tessa Yeoman

Although being a week later than usual this year’s Cowes Week attracted a record overall entry. Eight days of long courses ‘round the Solent cans’ provided the Flying Fifteens with their most demanding racing of the season. The week commenced with light variable airs and a delayed start from the barge line on first Saturday with Barry Rolfe in 3783 taking line honours. The next six races were won by Rupert and John Mander in 3779 which resulted in Rupert winning both the Flying Fifteen trophy as well as being overall ‘White Group’ winner. Despite this the next five places were hotly contested with only a single point separating Barry Rolfe second, Colin Ward 3819 third, Nick Clarke 3288 forth, Keith Aldridge 3791 fifth and Gil McCutcheon 3379 sixth. Nick Clarke won the last race. The Bravest man in the fleet to cope with Friday’s Force 7 winds was Andrew Millband 3827. His new boat was launched just in time for the first race and had been specially fitted out by Ivan Coryn to cope with Andrew’s severely restricted mobility. As usual. excellent daily racing was followed by a nightly round of parties which makes Cowes Week a unique event.

Picture by Polly Durrant/CCC - Heading for the first mark on Day 6, Dave Peters 3118, Andrew Millband 3827 and Keith Aldridge 3791

Report from Tony Bedingfield

After 2 or 3 years of relatively light airs, this year's Aldeburgh Regatta Week enjoyed strong SW winds on all but the first day.  We were delighted to welcome four visitors - two from Derwent & two from Broxbourne - which made up for the fact that a number of AYC FFs were indisposed this year with young children and other commitments.  A flood tide each morning ensured that the FF fleet burned off a lot of calories during the week and also became very familiar with the Home Reach, which afforded long beats against the tide from the start-line.

Race 1 on Sunday saw Jock Mawson in Hayffever use his local experience to good effect as he held off John Hardisty in Why Aye Man and Simon Robinson in Eleni, who worked his way up to third after a slow start. Further back Ffortune and Fantasy had a long battle, with the former just scraping home ahead.  Monday was Carnival Day, with no racing for the FFs and the participants enjoyed a variety of "R & R" as the wind  increased.  Race 2 on Tuesday saw the first casualty - Geoffrey Ashburner struck down by a rogue oyster from the night before, so no Slarty Bartffast on the startline.  This time Why Aye Man came out on top with Bob Tait in Fast Forward steadily working through the fleet after a poor start. Jock with his young son as crew hoped for a rapid lull that never came - but well done to Sebastian for getting the old man into third anyway. 

The wind continued to blow on Wednesday and another surprise crew appeared in Hayffever, this time dragged off the beach 10 minutes before the off with kit hastily borrowed from the Commodore - third place again behind Why Aye Man, with Eleni now bedded into the no. 2 slot, but the mystery crew enjoyed it so much he vowed never to sail an RS400 again.  Elsewhere conditions (& the rogue oyster still) took their toll, including a broken boom on Its Magic.  By Thursday the wind had picked up even more - gusting up to Force 7 - for the race "Round the Island" finishing at Orford SC.  After much debate and a postponed start the majority decided discretion was the better part of valour, leaving the top 3 boats in the points to enjoy the 7 mile beat to the top of the Island.  Jock teamed up this time with Simon Fulford, who has won a race or two in his time, and Hayffever duly romped home with Eleni eventually pipping Why Aye Man having recovered quicker from a joint broach.  A number of the "resting" fleet sportingly cheered the 3 protagonists from the end of Orford Quay as they passed before retiring to the various local watering-holes to talk tactics and sample the Adnams.  The party mood was continued that  night with the usual lively dinner with the RS 400 fleet in the Club-house.   

  The last race on Friday saw the wind down a bit to Force 4-5.  It was all still to play for amongst the  top 3 boats and Slarty Bartffast was also welcomed back into the fray.  Hayffever (with yet another former FF crew on board) was well behind at the start but again found good speed upwind to Pigpail/Blackstakes and got back into the mix.  However, after a long run back and some exhilarating reaching to and from Stanny,  Why Aye Man secured their 3rd victory and Eleni squeezed 2nd place by one second from Hayffever.  Behind these, Fast Forward remained the model of consistency in 4th again ahead of Saffron who finally found their rhythm on the beat to record their best result of the week having improved in every race sailed.

Overall then Why Aye Man secured victory for the week and in fact also secured what can tactfully be referred to as the "older person's trophy" for the highest number of wins in any class by a helmsman over a certain age during Regatta Week - congratulations to John and Roger.  Julian Roney in Ffortune (also adopting the now familiar AYC multi-crew strategy)  retained the Toft Trophy for older boats with the help of a new mast although more power was not what was really required in the conditions.  In what was a good week for the visitors, congratulations are also due to Bob Tait in Fast Forward who won the Keel Boat Handicap trophy sailed in the afternoons, against a mixture of FFs, dragons, K6s etc. 

1	3801	Why Aye Man	John Hardisty	Derwent	5 pts
2	3772	Hayffever	Jock Mawson	Aldeburgh	8 pts
3	3737	Eleni	Simon Robinson	Derwent	8 pts
4	3449	Fast Forward	Bob Tait	Broxbourne	16 pts
5	3160	Ffortune	Julian Roney	Aldeburgh	21 pts

Report from Julian Roney

Fleet Entry 19 boats two vistors.

Race One started in a moderate south-westerly near Ellanore with a beat to a black mark over the Winner but well out near the entrance on the Wittering side. At the start the leeward boats were favoured with Barry & Sue Parkin on the pin.
However Gill Browning crewed by Simon Weatherall left the start with better speed and height and soon was level with Barry/Sue and lee-bowing "Saffina". There followed the tacking through the crowded moorings at Easthead with each fifteen trying to choose the best line to the point of Easthead whilst avoiding Laser fleets and other assorted boats from the 450 boat entry. "Saffina" found a clear line up the Wittering shore and closed on Gill who with Barry/Sue were farther out into the flood tide.
At the weather mark Gill was clear ahead and, in a rising wind, surged away on the close reach to Channel buoy.
Saffina and Parkins followed but were soon under pressure from "Fastidiots" with Mark Woods crewed by Andrew Streeter. This team were generating amazing power on the reach and by half way had overtaken Palmers and Parkins.
Gill held her nerve and carried on to record a fine win. Woods /Streeter closed and Parkins passed Palmers on third beat to take third place. Fifth place in the race went to Graham Lillingston from Royal Freshwater Bay YC of Perth, Australia ahead of Bovis/Cave who retired with a main halliard problem.

Race two was sailed in a more southerly wind of about F3.
Flying Fifteens were very anxious at the start and with Mike and Claire Durrant storming through the line some seconds early followed by the usual suspects, a general recall was called by Race Officer Greg Wells. After the other fleets had gone, Greg tried again with a black flag. This time the fleet stayed behind the line and a good start followed. The pin end paid and "Saffina" was away followed by Geoff Bayliss/Dave Pennant and Lillingston/Rumfitt. In the middle of the line Gill tacked first with Mark Woods to leeward.
There followed a long port tack out over the channel on to the Winner Bank. Gill pulled through to leeward of "Saffina" and at the weather mark the order was Gill, Palmers, Lillingston and Woods.
Down to Easthead on a broad reach the order stayed the same. Then over the Pilsey sands on a close spinnaker to Mill Rythe where Gill had a three boat length lead.
Over the Mengham flats Gill kept inshore and Woods made gains to overhaul "Saffina". A run from Sandy to Mill Rythe followed by a beat to the finish at Treloar with no change of order to give Gill her second win and Mark Woods his second second.

Wednesday was spectacular with sunny skies and a a rough white horse flecked harbour with winds gusting 45kts.
The race committee wisely decided to cancel the days racing.

Thursday was little better with grey skies and only 25kts gusting 35.
Only the fifteens and the Elites were allowed to race and an epic sail followed.
Parkins had also returned to the fray having missed Tuesdays race. Gill roared off the start line near Thorney buoy and was soon ahead.
At the weather mark in seriously testing conditions Gill led on a special course at Dunes followed by Woods and the Parkins.
A run followed and Parkins managed to slip by the Woods who broached. However Woods was not to be denied and aided by a damaged jib track on Gills boat he regained control and overtook Parkins and Gill on the upwind leg to lead. Bayliss/Pennant were fourth with "Saffina" (no broaches but two knockdowns!) was fifth. A fantastic roar around the harbour demonstrating the weatherliness of our small boats (an Elite broke a mast)
At the start Durrants had come together with Chris Gordon causing a hole in his rear tank which slowed him considerably.

Friday was showdown day with Gill and Mark on similar points and with Gill needing to prevent Mark from winning.
The race was delayed to allow the 30kt wind to ease and near high water the fifteens joined battle.
Starting near Pilsey the fleet set off for a buoy over the Winner. A wind bend favoured those who had started on the Committee boat end. both Gill and Mark tacked on to port tack over the Pilsey sands. Gill led at the mark with Mark Woods and also 3516 Jameson/Grant in attendance, then Durrants, Bayliss Pennant and Nichols/Watson On the long spinnaker leg to Channel the wind freshened and eased. Spinnakers were hoisted and lowered and near the Mark Woods suddenly produced his spinnaker again to gain first place at the mark.
Gill tried hard to catch but was hampered by a damaged gooseneck. At the finish Mark had first place giving him the salver for the week's racing and the Cornflake Trophy for Fiday's race with Gill second followed by Jameson/Grant and Bayliss/Pennant.

Overall

1	Woods	Streeter
2	Browning	Weatherall
3	Palmer	Palmer
4	Lillingston	Rumfitt

A very enjoyable, if tiring, weeks racing very well run by Mr Wells. Social events were great fun in spite of the heavy showers which tried, without success, to disrupt them.

©Saffina Press Service (AKA Roger Palmer)

With seventeen Flying Fifteens competing, this years Poole Week, hosted by Parkstone Yacht Club from 22 – 27 August 2004, proved itself to be one of the premier regattas on the calendar

Racing in Poole Harbour the courses were long, varied and testing, making full use of the size and scope of the harbour and challenging competitors on all points of sail. One day was lost because of strong winds, but throughout the week the winds were excellent ranging from force 3 – 5.

Racing was close and fought all the way to the final gun. Phil Owen & Peter McKenna, sailing Fifteen Love, stamped their authority on the fleet from the outset winning the first two races, but going into the final race the series was still undecided. Their main rival were Keith Aldridge & Chris Jermyn in Flow, winners of the fourth race, and David & Carol Duke in Flo, who won the third race

As competitors assembled for the final race the winds were blowing south west force 7 and it looked as if racing would be abandoned. However the forecast was for the wind to drop and the Race Officer wisely postponed. After an hour the sky had cleared and the race started in a force 5 and dropping. John Forsdike & Alan Ward led, after a two mile beat to the windward mark with Owen & McKenna close behind. After a screaming two sail reach, the fleet were able to pop their kites for a long run down the harbour. Those who choose the left in the tide did better and by the next mark Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam in Friendly Fire, had moved into third place with Jim Hibbert & Pip Noon fourth. On another long beat across the harbour entrance Owen moved into the lead and Rolfe closed the gap on second. Behind, the Dukes were battling to catch up gradually moving through the fleet.

The battle hotted up as the fleet came to the final three sail reach to the final windward mark. Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam overtook Forsdike & Ward, and closed onto the tail of Phil Owen. David Duke battled with Eric Scoble & Russell Hammerton in Bullrush, for fourth place, but Eric & Russell were not going to give in easily.

At the line Phil Owen & Peter McKenna, ensured their overall win by crossing just ahead of Rolfe & Southam whose overall position of third was determined by what happened behind them. The Dukes took Scoble & Hammerton at the finish to get forth place in the race and fourth overall. Second overall were Keith Aldridge & Chris Jermyn.

Eric Scoble & Russell Hammerton also took the Classic Trophy by beating last years winners Richard Warbey & Charlie Askew sailing Hunky Dory.

1	3711	Fifteen Love	Phil Owen	Peter McKenna	Parkstone YC
2	3791	Flow	Keith Aldridge	Chris Jermyn	Parkstone YC
3	3783	Friendly Fire	Barry Rolfe	Matt Southam	Parkstone YC
4	3794	Flo	David Duke	Carol Duke	Grafham Water SC
5	3627	Raving Mad	Brian Thake	Richard Ledger	Grafham Water SC
6	3683	If Only	John Forsdike	Alan Ward	Grafham Water SC
Classic	2922 Bullrush	Eric Scoble	Russell Hammerton	Parkstone YC

Report from Barry Rolfe

Eight Silver and Three Classic Flying Fifteens competed in a lively Open Meeting ,as part of 191^st Torbay Royal Regatta. Prevailing conditions were tough during the three day , six race series – with winds in the force 4 to 5 range and sea conditions in the bay to match.

The series was dominated by the young local team of Mark and Paul Ellis, sailing Miffy, GBR3040, who won the overall prize with five first places. They mastered the conditions extremely well , having never sailed competitively in a Flying Fifteen before. In second place was David Ramsden and Eddie Ritson in Copy Cat, GBR2932. Third and the first Classic was George Rock-Evans sailing Sandbagger, GBR2562.

Our only visitor was Neil Bartholomey from Middle Nene,sailing Ffrolich,GBR2700, who finished 5^th overall and second Classic. We hope more visitors will consider joining us next year for some superlative sailing on one of the best open sailing venues in the country.

Results:

Overall:

Miffy	GBR 3040	Mark Ellis	Paul Ellis	RTYC
Copy Cat	GBR 2932	David Ramsden	Eddie Ritson	RTYC
Sandbagger	GBR 2562	George Rock –Evans	Steve	RTYC
Mynewz.com	GBR 3121	Julian Cook	Ian Walters	RTYC
Ffrolich	GBR2700	Neil Bartholomey	Stan Bartholomey	Middle Nene
Her Outdoors	GBR 2949	Chris Cullen	Sam	RTYC
Shadow	GBR 2982	Ted Ritson	Chris	RTYC
Fire Fox	GBR 2952	Viv Creese	Barry	RTYC
White Mischief	GBR 2797	Martin Scobie	Fran Diemel	RTYC
Fantastic Mr Fox	GBR 3219	Alan Brooks		RTYC
Effycacious	GBR 2844	David MacFarlane	John Luxton	RTYC

report from David MacFarlane

Sixteen classic fifteens took part in five races over a blustery weekend which tested the fitness and durability of helms and crews ! Wind strengths only slowed to a ‘where is it’ briefly once and most of the time it was a case of tighten, flatten and hang on! With constant variations in wind direction providing yet more uncertainty using a spinnaker was definitely a gamble that did not always pay off! Roger Finch and Jim Reid 2658, Middle Nene started the way they meant to go on winning the first, third and fourth race battling it out with Peter Hogg/David Downs 759, Dovestone, Dave Flint/Dave Hemmingway 2663 Llangorse ( they won the fifth race) , and Bob Tate/Robin Fletcher 2606 Broxbourne ( they won the second race ).

It was very much in the spirit of the event that David and Carole Duke ( Grafham ) sportingly borrowed a boat from the boat park and sorted it as much as possible the night before ( a Wyche and Coppock complete with wasps nest and trapeze fittings ! ) and finished a very creditable fourth in the first race and were sixth overall. Mike Jones ( Llangorse ) ‘borrowed’ a crew, Dan Coates, a South Cerney junior Cadet sailor who had an ear to ear grin at the end having experienced bigger boat and senior sailing for the first time ( sorry Mike no pun intended ! ) It was not a weekend for light crews though and those that could throw more weight (muscle?) over the windward side clearly had an advantage.

A dinner on Saturday evening, now a tradition of the event but this time in the surroundings of our new clubhouse, was attended by virtually all competitors and went on very loudly way past sensible bed times, considering the physical efforts made on the water that day! Altogether a great weekend of sailing conducted mostly in sunshine and for the most part in a truly sporting fashion. People must have enjoyed themselves, they were reluctant to go and good byes were qualified with see you next year! Thanks to all who competed and contributed in running the event.

2658	Roger Finch	Jim Reid	Middle Nene
759	Peter Hogg	David Downs	Dovestone
2663	Dave Flint	Dave Hemmingway	Llangorse
2606	Bob Tait	Robin Fletcher	Broxbourne
2562	George Rock-Evans	Martine McPherson	Royal Torbay
2489	David Duke	Carole Duke	Grafham Water

First South Cerney boat - 2626 Richard Taylor and Rosie Wiltshire

Report from Derek Harrison

A magnificent south westerly 3-4 breeze welcomed 3 visitors and ten club boats to the F15 Open Meeting at Burton Sailing Club on Saturday 18th September. Overcast and laced with fine rain, race 1 was dominated from start to finish by Dave Mckee and Chris Hewkin from Dovestone SC in 3805, who pulled away from the start and made the most of the gusting winds. David and Susan Giles from Tees and Hartlepool YC battled to second place in 3612 with David and Caroline Duke in 3794 hard on their heels for third.  

The last race of the day and the first on Sunday followed the same pattern, team David leading the way with no changes of position. Alan Stone and Arthur George were leading the challenge from the club sailors in 2976, their improving performance ensuring a third place ahead of David Dukes in the fourth race, behind David Mckee's first and David Giles in second again. Sunshine and good, windy conditions on Sunday provided more fine sailing conditions.  

Overall victory secured, David Mckee DNS the final race. David Giles started to pull out a convincing lead only to sail the wrong course. They retired allowing 2976 to secure a win in a keenly fought dual with 3794, with Derek and Sybil Toller in 3183 rounding off a very effective sailing performance with a deserved 3rd place.  

Some good beat and exciting reach courses by OOD Ross Kenney made the most of Foremark Reservoir and the beautiful sailing weather, ensuring crews and race officials retired to the clubhouse for the awards ceremony slightly longer of limb and more than ready for a hot shower.  

    

Final Results

David McKee	Chris Hewkin	3805	Dovestone SC	4
David Giles	Susan Giles	3612	Hartlepool SC	8
David Duke	Carol Duke	3794	Grafham Water SC	11
Silver Fleet
Alan Stone	Arthur George	2976	Burton SC	12
Derek Toller	Sybil Toller	3183	Burton SC
Dino Heaps	Keith Bonner	3112	Burton SC
Classic Fleet
John Howlett	Pete Ward	2209	Burton SC

Report from Mark Meadows

A healthy turnout of nineteen boats arrived at Notts County Sailing club for the annual Flying Fifteen open, including visitors from Dovestone, Tees & Hartlepool, Burton, Middle Nene, Bala and Carsington. The weekend saw fine weather and a light to moderate breeze (albeit gusty at times), which made for excellent close racing right down the fleet of 13 modern, 4 silver and 2 classic boats.

Only one boat, sailed by Martin Stott and Penny Jeffcoate from the home club, managed to win more than one race during the weekend, and they were overnight leaders on the Saturday. Consistency proved to be key, however and the two races on the Sunday however saw defending champions David and Sally McKee from Dovestone SC score a 2nd and a 4th, which allowed them to win the event once again by a narrow margin. In third place were David and Susan Giles from Tees and Hartlepool YC, who had repeatedly led races around the windward mark before losing out on the downwind legs.

First Silver boat this year was once again the local boat of Alex Piggott and John Rowell, and first Classic was again Roger Finch and Jim Reid from Middle Nene SC.

A friendly atmosphere, excellent sailing and the famous Notts County evening hospitality make this event one that visitors come to year after year – Make sure you’re there in 2005!

Posn	Sail	Helm	Crew	Club	Pts
1	3805	David McKee	Sally McKee	Dovestone SC	7.0
2	3613	Martin Stott	Penny Jeffcoate	Notts County SC	10.0
3	3612	David Giles	Susan Giles	Tees and Hartlepool YC	10.0
4	3595	Peter Kitchin	David Kitchin	Tees and Hartlepool YC	13.0
5	3655	Will Gardner	Sam Parker	Notts County SC	15.0
6	3685	Jeremy Arnold	John Allen	Notts County SC	17.0

Report from Jeremy Arnold

Battling Vikings

The Viking Trophy was up for grabs this weekend with the annual Flying 15 team racing event. This year a strong fleet of 21 boats took to the water in good, but testing, easterly winds.

The racing takes the form of a straightforward series, in which teams of three boats aggregate all their scores to give a team total. An adjustment for older boats (not older helms) has been introduced in recent years to help give teams sailing older boats a chance. This year it worked to the benefit of the idea's author, FF president Ian Preston, whereby his team benefited from a weighting of eight points to win overall by a single point.

One of the reasons why the event is popular is the opportunity to make a fool of yourself in some way, hoping that no-one else has noticed, and be rewarded with the grotty potty! One of the regular winners, John Hardisty was in the driving seat this year (having won the potty last year) and was able to nominate this year's recipient. Although John had a select list of nominees perhaps he had missed one key candidate who struggled to put on his drysuit due to not having removed the coat hanger - Mike Moore! However, obviously John was feeling in a benevolent mood when making his choice because it was at Loch Lomond last weekend that Steve Goacher had one half too many and let slip that he wondered what he had to do to win the coveted trophy - on this occasion, all he needed to do was get tipsy!

Team Name	Boat	Helm	Wtg	R1	R2	R3	R4	Tot Adj	Pts	Posn
All the President's Men	3770	N Platt	0	1	3	1	2	0	82	1
	3721	S Goacher	0	8	5	8	1	0	82
	3293 (3593)	I Preston	-2	11	15	16	19	-8	82
The Green Dots	3817	M Hart	0	2	1	9	3	0	83	2
	3612	D Giles	0	6	4	6	12	0	83
	3734	H Green	0	12	6	12	10	0	83
No to the Grotty Potty	3590	D Douglas	0	7	7	10	8	0	103	3
	3801	J Hardisty	0	17	13	7	6	0	103
	3829	T Crumpton	0	10	8	3	7	0	103
Baastaards	3673	S Beattie	0	3	2	14	4	0	140	4
	3560	I Campbell	0	9	12	11	14	0	140
	3473	M Moore	0	16	20	20	15	0	140
In No Particular Order	3815	A King	0	15	18	2	18	0	141	5
	3737	S Robinson	0	5	10	5	11	0	141
	3587	R Donaldson	0	13	14	17	13	0	141
The Blue Stars	3521	P Burnell	0	18	16	21	16	0	159	6
	3332	M Somerville	-2	4	9	13	9	-8	159
	1117	K Jamieson	-3	21	17	15	20	-12	159
Bala Marauders	3539	J Eaton	0	19	21	18	17	0	188	7
	3479	J Saunders	0	20	19	19	21	0	188
	3675	A Tattersall	0	14	11	4	5	0	188

A fleet of 25 classic fifteens took part including 8 visiting boats. The event was decided on the results from 3 out of 4 races, with an optional novelty “Crews Race” and also a prize for the highest placed wet boat.

On Saturday in the first race a steady force 4 NE wind gave marginal planning conditions in bright autumn sunshine. On a triangular course 2694 Jeremy Arnold/Dave Brown, 2433 Tim Tomlinson/Richard Jarvis and 2646 Mike Seville/Tony Watts finished in order, well in front of the rest of the fleet. A good result from the home club with a 123.

In the 2nd race, with the wind increasing to force 5 and a close reach on which only one leading boat carried a spinnaker. A close finish resulted with the Broxbourne pairing of Bob Tait/Robin Fletcher coming home in first place. Close on their heals was David Naylor/Norman Christie from DSC/LLSC, then the home pairing of Roger finch/ Jim Reid in third place.

The final race on Saturday provided the crews an opportunity to show their expertise at the back end of the boat and take the opportunity to treat the helm as he/she normally treats his crew and point out the obvious mistakes being made! Dave brown took and kept the lead from start to finish in 2684, followed by the Middle Nene Fleet Captain Tony Watts in 2646

On Sunday, with the promise of a strengthening NE wind, 2684 Arnold/Brown took an early lead and left the rest of the fleet competing hotly for the lower placings. 2658 Finch Reid and 2663 David’s Flint and Hemingway took 2nd & 3rd respectively. Naylor/ Christie always challenging a very close 4th.

In the final race, the wind had again strengthened to a 5/6 gusting 7 giving way to numerous knockdowns and swampings. 2684 sailed a textbook race into another first place followed by 2433 Tomlinson Jarvis and 2606 Tait/Fletcher. Finch and Reid following their early challenge settled for sixth place due to loosing their spinnaker.

Final placings were 2684 Arnold Brown, 2606 Tait/Fletcher, 2658 Finch/ Reid, and in 4th place was 2433 a newcomer to fifteens Tim Tomlinson and Richard Jarvis. The crews race was won by 2684 Dave Brown & Jeremy Arnold. The prize for the highest finishing wet sailed boat was awarded to 2745 (Wyche) Brian Lewis and Bob Frankham.

All present agreed that it had been an exhilarating, well-supported event with good winds, good courses and a very enjoyable off the water programme with an excellent meal.

John Washington although not able to sail due to his poorly crew, now on the mend made a special trip to be with us for the evening meal, such is the camaraderie within this fleet. The competition and size of the fleet made it almost feel like a Championship meeting. A great turn out and special thanks to all our visitors and club members that made it happen. See you all next year.

Report from Neil Bartholomey

The weekend got off to a good start, with dinner at the restaurant in Martinsart organised, as usual, by Veronique Hachez.

The sailing on Saturday started with a good but very cold south-westerly breeze. There were ten boats on the start line, seven from the home club and three from the UK. In the first race, Nick Heath and Ted Legg decided not to play with the rest of the fleet and sailed away, keeping their boat perfectly level, for a comfortable win. However, the wind dropped a little for the second and third races, giving the Lees the opportunity to take two wins.

The breeze on Sunday morning was good but colder than ever. I am ashamed to say that I, a born and bred Geordie, needed a woolly hat AND a balaclava. I don’t know how the softie Southerners coped! The racing was very close in all three races. The first race was won by Nick and Ted, the second by the Vincents, a Belgian father and son team, and the third by Crispin Farrant and Diana Hewitt. The Vincents were very unlucky to lose second place in the last race, having a problem with their spinnaker at the last mark. A second place would have given them third overall.

The hospitality at l’Eau d’Heure is second to none and, despite the cold weather, a very enjoyable weekend was had by all.

1	GBR 3692	Nick Heath	Ted Legg	8 points
2	GBR 3695	Tony Lee	Brenda Lee	9 points
3	GBR 3414	Crispin Farrant	Diana Hewitt	15 points
4	BEL 3230	M. Vincent	K. Vincent	16 points

report from Brenda Lee

The opportunity to take an early look at the venue for the 2007 Worlds was an attraction that many of our leading sailors could not afford to miss. The French contingent of 13 boats was swelled by an impressive overseas entry of five each from Spain and Ireland and ten from the U.K. La Rochelle is indeed an impressive venue; a large slipway with crane facilities for those who prefer the nail biting experience of seeing their boat disappear over a wall; masses of space for cars and trailers as well as campervans; a sailing area only half an hour from the slipway and not least a wonderful historic town with reputedly a restaurant for every day of the year. La Rochelle is six hours drive from Le Havre with motorways most of the way, which is about the same distance as us Southerners have to travel to Abersoch and Largs as well as to Falmouth and Torbay!! If you have the time to combine it with a few days holiday then the trip is even more worth while. The weather was superb and we were basking in Autumn sunshine and 23° whilst the U.K was battered by gales.

The Race Management was first class with starts always on time. The first day they set windward-leeward courses for each of the three races, which in the heavy swell and F5/5 avoided the need for gybing from reach to reach whilst surfing!! The Sunday when the wind and swell was a little less we had a windward-leeward for the first race followed by an Olympic course for the second race. Unfortunately the wind that had eased dramatically on the start line for the second race disappeared totally causing the final race to be abandoned before the start.

Steve Goacher and Phil Evans won the Championships emphatically winning every race. The only real competition for them was in Race 4 when it took them until the penultimate mark to overhaul the Spanish team of Javier Chacartegui and Joaquim Cobarro (ESP 3796). Simon Kneller and Andrew Palmer (GBR 3699) were second overall proving the advantage of consistency. Shane Statham and Chris Dourley ( IRL 3665) were third overall. First French boat and winner of the Classic prize was FRA 3163crewed by Arnaud Delamare and Antoine Liagre. Needless to say the French hospitality was a highlight with a club supper with as many oysters as you could dare manage supplemented by plenty of local wine. We understand that for the next two years the French Nationals are likely to be held in La Rochelle. Book your holiday now!!

Pos	Sail No	Competitors	Nett Pts	Gross Pts	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Club / Country
1	GBR 3721	?? Steve Goacher Phil Evans	4.00	5.00	1	1	1	1	1	GBR
2	GBR 3699	ANA KARENINA Simon Kneller Andrew Palmer	15.00	22.00	3	3	7	4	5	GBR
3	IRL 3665	DERANGOD Shane Statham Chris Dourley	17.00	34.00	5	2	3	7	17	IRL
4	GBR 3786	Alan Bax	17.00	26.00	4	6	5	2	9	GBR
5	GBR 3734	CRAZY BOBS Howard Green Ian Preston	19.00	45.00	2	9	2	6	26	GBR
6	ESP 3796	FFATIGAOS Javier Chacartegui Joaquim Cobarro	21.00	33.00	8	12	8	3	2	ESP
7	IRL 3688	AS GOOD AS IT GETS Justin Burke Alan Green	24.00	34.00	10	7	4	5	8	IRL
8	GBR 3818	Gill Browning Simon Hunt	25.00	44.00	7	4	11	19	3	GBR
9	IRL 3803	WAY TOO MUCH CIDER Morgan Sheehy Jan Van Der Pull	31.00	43.00	9	8	6	8	12	IRL
10	ESP 3728	XX Paco Palmer Jamie Pujadas	39.00	66.00	11	10	9	9	27	ESP
11	GBR 3675	DAZZ Adrian Tattersall Tim Smart	40.00	53.00	12	5	13	13	10	GBR
12	IRL 3753	OLIVE OYL Ken Dumpleton John McNeilly	44.00	69.00	6	11	17	10	25	IRL
13	GBR 3787	FIVE David Brockbank Rob Parfitt	45.00	62.00	14	17	12	15	4	GBR
14	FRA 3163	TEQUILA Arnaud Delamare Antoine Liagre	50.00	65.00	15	13	15	11	11	Y.C.DINARD
15	GBR 3806	FIREBOLT Peter Hogg David Downs	52.00	74.00	22	18	16	12	6	GBR
16	FRA 3066	THE WWHITE KNIGHT Patrick Constant Fabien Constant	52.00	73.00	21	14	17	14	7	Y.C.DINARD
17	FRA 3785	STAR SHOOTER Eric Basset Pierre Salmon	62.00	82.00	13	16	14	20	19	Y.C.DINARD
18	FRA 3363	Gilles Chevalier Frederic Sautereau	70.00	91.00	16	15	21	18	21	Y.C.DINARD
19	FRA 2726	FREETIME Cedric Carre Alexis Carre	79.00	108.00	20	22	29	23	14	C V CAZAUX LAC
20	FRA 3004	HAMILTON Bernard Demartial Pierre malo Demartial	80.00	106.00	23	19	26	16	22	Y.C.DINARD
21	GBR 3695	LEEDING EDGE.COM Tony Lee Jo Mayes	82.00	112.00	19	21	30	22	20	GBR
22	ESP 3432	EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION Tim Aisher Frederik Roegies	83.00	115.00	17	28	22	32	16	ESP
23	IRL 3704	HI FIBRE Michael McCambridge Peter Murphy	84.00	119.00	24	20	DPG	17	23	IRL
24	FRA 3585	NUITS SAINT GEORGES Herve Jouett Eric Mordret	85.00	122.00	18	OCS	18	21	28	Y.C.DINARD
25	FRA 3411	Didier Thomas Gilles Roynard	97.00	129.00	28	29	32	27	13	Y.C.DINARD
26	FRA 2007	OPUS ONE Matthieu De Pannemaecker Benoit De Pannemaecker	97.00	130.00	26	23	33	24	24	C V ARCACHON
27	FRA 3081	NESSY Gwenaelle Romac Gwennael Romac	102.00	136.00	34	27	27	30	18	Y.C.DINARD
28	FRA 3151	SMOKE FREE Bertrand Bonneville Alain Briand	107.00	144.00	25	32	24	26	DNF	Y.C.DINARD
29	FRA 3325	LADY FIFI Gildas Brossier Francoise Brossier	109.00	146.00	36	30	DNF	28	15	Y.C.DINARD
30	FRA 2145	HAPPINESS Dominique Varene	112.00	143.00	27	25	31	31	29	Y.C.DINARD
31	ESP 3589	X Miguel Angelo Perello Fluxa Alejandro Presa Amenguai	114.00	151.00	32	26	25	DPG	31	ESP
32	ESP 3610	TCHAIKOFFSKY John Leaf David Thewlis	121.00	158.00	35	OCS	20	29	DPG	ESP
33	FRA 3125	BLEU COMME UNE ORANGE Jean-Francois Poirier Olivier Resmond	121.00	158.00	31	24	DPG	33	33	Y.C.DINARD
34	FRA 2942	DIDJERIDOO Lionel Riviere Edouard Riviere	129.00	166.00	DPG	34	33	32	30	C V CAZAUX LAC
35	GBR 3726	JUST PERFECT Judy Walker Bill Walker	134.00	171.00	29	31	DNF	DNF	DNF	GBR
36	FRA 1745	THEN YOUNG PRETENDER Pierre Vazel Marc Vazel	137.00	174.00	33	33	34	DPG	DNS	C V CAZAUX LAC

The Winners - Steve Goacher & Phil Evans - Picture by Judy Walker

Report from Judy Walker - ff 3726

Despite a wind forecast that was not encouraging eight visiting Flying Fifteens joined with ten home boats for the rejuvenated Carsington Open –this year run in conjunction with the Tempest Last Blast Open.

Saturday presented a stronger and steadier northerly breeze than was expected so Race Officer John Poulson decided to pack three Olympic course races into the afternoon in case the next day was a disappointment.

The visiting crews from Tees and Hartlepool, David and Susan Giles, and Peter and David Kitchen set the pace with Jeremy Arnold/John Allen and Mark Gardner/Anne Sutherland mixing it in. When the fleet sailed in, illuminated by a beautiful sunset on the lake and surrounding woods the Kitchens were leading with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd followed by the Giles and Arnold/Allen on joint second. The finishing order for positions down to sixth were already established with Gardner/Sutherland in fourth, David and Carole Duke in fifth place leading the Classics with their beautiful 40 year old ‘Quaker Girl’, Steve Blake and Paul Kelly in a Windebank IV, ‘Double Blue’ leading the Silver Fleet in 6th place.

Arising on Sunday after a splendid joint supper with the Tempest fleet the night before brought the anticipated mirror calm. Postponements lasted up to the drop-dead decision to abandon the day’s racing at midday when a light variable westerly breeze kicked in and the two remaining races were quickly run off. The Giles produced two convincing wins to win the competition overall leaving the Kitchens in second and Jeremy Arnold and John Allen in third place.

Overall

Place	Sail No.	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	3612	David Giles	Susan Giles	Tees & H/Pool	4	2	1	1	1	5
2	3595	Peter Kitchen	David Kitchen	Tees & H/Pool	1	3	2	4	2	8
3	3685	Jeremy Arnold	John Allen	Notts County	2	1	4	3	DSQ	10
4	3208	Mark Gardner	Anne Sutherland	CSC	3	4	7	2	4	13
5	516	David Duke	Carole Duke	Grafham	7	5	5	5	6	21
6	3149	Steve Blake	Paul Kelly	CSC	8	8	3	7	5	23
7	3732	Graham Wilkinson	Mike Pearce	CSC	5	6	11	RTD	3	25
8	671	Peter Clark	Chris Thompson	Humber Yawl	RTD	7	8	11	9	35
9	3375	David Bailey	John Paine	Burton	11	12	15	6	7	36
10	3389	Tim Wherly	Mick Steer	CSC	10	11	6	10	10	36
11	3164	Roland Antonelli	Jamie Cattermole	CSC	9	10	10	8	DNS	37
12	3137	Andrew Cross	Charles Thomas	CSC	13	16	14	9	8	44
	3438	Ian Knowles	Ian Dann	CSC	6	14	12	DNS	DNS	DNQ
	3365	Peter Slater	Nick Williams	South Cerney	RTD	13	9	DNS	DNS	DNQ
	2266	Ernest Pursehouse	Malcolm Murray	CSC	15	18	13	DNS	DNS	DNQ
	3112	Dean Heaps	Keith Blonner	Burton	14	15	DNS	12	DNS	DNQ
	2856	Tony Levy	Bev Webster	CSC	12	9	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNQ
	2945	Barry Robertson	Liz Cattermole	CSC	16	17	16	DNS	DNS	DNQ

Report from Mark Gardner

The series was dominated by Iain Lamey teamed up with Andy Osman in 3758 Floater. They showed their pace with 6 first places, a second and a third place to count. Behind them in second place Bob Hoare & Bernard Merna sailing 3807 Nymphodora, were consistent with two seconds, five thirds and a fourth place, to give them 23 points and second place overall.

The real competition was for the remaining places and going into the final race there were four boats separated by only a point or two. With a decent planing breeze, north easterly force four, and more wind forecast, the race team under Race Officer Basil Ellis set an olympic triangle that was to provide exciting racing and good tactical competition for all. First to the windward mark were Phil Owen in 3711 Fifteen Love, closely followed by Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam in 3783 Friendly Fire. As the teams hoisted their spinnakers the two leaders lost out to Mike Kilbee & Tony Cox sailing 3625 Tempus Ffugit, Andy Osman in Floater and 3326 Magic Affair sailed by Paul Litton & Nick Cornish; these three found some extra wind by going high to the wing mark. On the next reaching leg to the leeward mark Andy Osman took the lead from Phil Owen while Rolfe & Southam clawed their way back to third place.

As the crews came to the final beat to the finish, the Osmans had the lead, but both Owen and Rolfe had closed their lead down to within a few boat lengths. Andy Osman tacked to cover Phil Owen while Barry Rolfe went for the starboard side of the beat. Rolfe & Southam crossed ahead of both their competitors, but Phil Owen tacked onto port and crossed behind then tacked back catching Barry Rolfe on starboard and forcing him to overstand the finish line. Both Phil Owen & Barry Rolfe and then tacked onto port for the line with Andy Osman coming in fast and calling starboard. Both tacked so that three boats crossed the line with barely a foot beween them. Phil Owen took the winning gun, Barry Rolfe was second and Andy Osman third by a whisker.

This exciting finish was just enough to give Barry Rolfe & Matt Southam third place overall for the series, with Phil Owen one point behind them in forth place.

Report from Barry Rolfe

In the series there were 73 Main Fleet, 45 Classics and only 4 Silver, this again shows the strength of the Classics and would seem to strengthen the case for changing the Silver upper limit. Due to the lack of support the series will not take place in 2005, at least not in the same form. The intention was to encourage entry in open meetings, particularly those for who have not done so before, any ideas?

Main Fleet

Position	Helm	Sail number	Club
1	Alan Bax	3786	Hayling Island
2	Brett Dingwall	3603	Grafham Water
3	Pip Hudson	3681	Broxbourne
4	Glynn Morgan	3645	Bewl Valley

Silver Fleet.
Unfortunately no qualifiers.

Main Fleet

Position	Helm	Sail number	Club
1	Roger Finch	2658	Middle Nene
2	Bob Tait	2606	Broxbourne
3	Brian Turner	3031	Broxbourne
4	Geoff Town	2468	Broxbourne

Report from Geoff Town