The 2008 TNT Post North series reached its climax at Draycote Water Sailing Club on the 18th and 19th October. The series commenced in April and included eight events geographically, ranging from Bassenthwaite at the north of the Lake District to Draycote Water in Warwickshire.  The series has been sponsored since its inception by TNT Post North.  In total 101 boats competed this year representing 31 clubs.
The Series is targeted at club sailors and occasional open meeting sailors with a view to encouraging sailing and more activity at the smaller Flying Fifteen fleets/clubs.  It is also intended that the Series will encourage more travel and enjoy open meeting sailing.  The top fifteen boats in the National qualifying series are therefore excluded from these results.
Coming into the final event the Series results stood in the balance with all to play for.  The winner at Draycote, local sailor Jeremy Davey, was impressed by the fleet size of twenty-four boats which was all the more impressive for the fact that twenty of the top open fleet Travellers were preparing their boats for shipping to Australia for the Worlds in January and could not take part.
The conditions were bright with a stiff breeze on Saturday increasing through to a good force-five by the end of Sunday sailing.  The competitors enjoyed the traditional Olympic style triangle/sausages and the weekend provided competitive and enjoyable sailing for all.
Thanks go to the eight clubs and their fleet captains for their efforts in ensuring a successful series and in particular to Chris Swallow of Burton Sailing Club, who undertook the majority of the work producing results and reports and who also managed to compete in all eight events.
Thanks go particularly to the sponsors of the event “TNT Post North” and to their representative, Andy Goddard, who managed to come third overall in the Series even though he was only able to take part in three events.
The Open Series was won by the host club’s Richard Hope and Scott Smith for the second year in a row, throwing down the gauntlet for his hat-trick in 2009.
The programme for 2009 is in the process of preparation.  This is likely to include Opens at Northampton, Bala, Burton, Notts County and Dovestone.  More details will follow.

FINAL ROUND OF THE TNT TRAVELLERS TROPHY

Draycote Water Sailing Club hosted the final round of the TNT travellers trophy as part  of  its annual open meeting on the 18th and 19th October 2008. Twenty-four boats took to the water, with 13 visitors travelling to join the 11 club boats on Saturday 18th  October. The wind was westerly force 3 to 4 with sunshine.
The first race was keenly fought, with Jeremy Davy and Dave Lucas taking first place from Mark Darling and Greg Wells, with Simon Patterson and Simon Thompson third.
The second race was also won by Davy and Lucas, with Justin Waples and Jamie Roberts second, followed home by Darling and Wells in third. At the end of the day, neither Richard Hope and Scott Smith or Chris Swallow and Matt Pallet, the two leading contenders in the TNT travellers trophy had struck a decisive blow. The fleet retired to the shore to enjoy a barrel of beer and wine, before the evening meal.
Sunday was forecast to be breezy and early signs were that it looked similar to Saturday. The fleet set out in a steadily increasing wind to begin three races back to back. Race three saw a new winner, with Patterson and Thompson first, followed home by Davy and Tom Hall, while the leading TNT travellers competitors, in FF 3642, Richard Hope and Scott Smith made their move to secure the TNT series, in third.
Race four saw Davy and Hall win the race and the overall meeting, while Patterson and Thompson were second. Darling and Wells came home in third. Race five was held in strong winds gusting force 5 to 6, with many capsizes and broken  boats. The winners were Patterson and Thompson, second Darling and Wells, and  Hope and Smith third. Only half of the fleet actually finished the last race.
Open meeting prizes were supported by Speed Sails, while TNT provided the Travellers Series prizes.

Overall

1st FF3922  J Davy - D Lucas/T Hall DWSC 5pts
2nd FF 3795 S Patterson and S Thompson DWSC  7pts
3rd FF 3920  M Darling and G Wells  Hayling Island SC 10pts

1st Silver Fleet FF 3327 P Slater and J Edwards   DWSC

1st Classic FF 2660 P Needham and B West    Burton SC

1st Vintage FF 1035  J Dinnie and R Chaplin      DWSC

Richard Hope and Scott Smith from Draycote Water SC retained the TNT Travellers Trophy for the second year in succession and Chris Swallow and Matt Pallet from Burton SC were second. P Needham and B West won the TNT Travellers Classic prize.

Chris Avery

Burton Sailing Club Flying Fifteen Open and TNT Series Round 6
13th / 14th September 2008
For the 6th event of this 8 Open series, competitors moved to Burton Sailing Club for what proved to be a hotly contested event sailed in very light and fickle zephyrs.

With little or no wind forecast it was good to see 20 Flying Fifteens at Burton for their Open. After an hour’s postponement the wind managed to fill in sufficiently to get race 1 away. Pete Needham and Brian West in 2660 read the wind well to get to the windward mark first and hold this to the wing. David McKee and Chris Hewkin got the lead by the leeward mark and held it to the finish. Adam and Emma Mangan pulled through to 2nd with Pete and Brian holding on and finishing 3rd. The wind fell away as the boats struggled to finish and only 9 boats make it to the line within the time limit. Racing was then abandoned for the day.
The Club lived up to its reputation by putting on a feast after sailing followed by a vigorously contested “Bar Boat” championship. This was enjoyed by the competitors and club members and no doubt produced some “thick heads” for the next day.
4 races were scheduled for Sunday but the wind looked to be little better. Richard Hope and Scott Smith in 3642 broke away in the first, winning from David and Chris with Mark Gardner and Mike Irwing 3rd. The second race saw David and Chris return to the front with Arthur and Angie George 2976 second followed by Richard and Scott in 3rd.
Following Lunch the breeze improved and David and Chris continued their winning ways with Adam in second and Richard in 3rd.
With one race to go David had it wrapped up but the remaining podium places were still undecided between Richard and Adam. Graham Lamond and Scott Train contrived to find the wind and get into the lead only to be taken by David on the run. On the last beat however Graham once again got it right and led down the final Run with David in 2nd and Paul McCarthy and Gary Butler in 3278 3rd.
It looked as if Richard and Scott would have to settle for 3rd overall finding themselves in mid fleet for the first time in the weekend but Adam had to pull out of the race leaving Richard 2nd and Adam 3rd overall.
After 6 events of the “TNT post north” traveller series we now have 8 boats that have already qualified with 3 results headed by Richard Hope on 5 points closely followed by Chris Swift on 6 points. The Silver fleet is headed by Colin Pierce on 5 points. So far 78 boats have taken part in the series. With 2 events left at Notts County on 27th/28th September and the final event at Draycote on 18th/19th October, there is still all to play for.

Congratulations to Ian Linder and Kevin Sweetman on their victory at Poole Week. They were closely chased by Chris Gorringe and Nadia Hosie, but, despite a few problems with navigation around the harbour and beyond to the bay, FFUK held off the opposition. The wind varied throughout the week, slowly dying away until the race on Friday was cancelled. However, the timing was perfect, and an impromptu flotilla made its way from Parkstone round to Bournemouth for the Air Show, which was spectacular. The evening fireworks display was the finale to an excellent week of sailing and socialising. Five teams made the journey down from Grafham Water. Next year we hope that there will be more visitors for this fantastic event.

Click here for results 

Clywedog SC were pleased to hold their 1st FF open over the August Bank Holiday. Clywedog ff members turned out in force with nine boats (4 classics and 5 silver fleet) coming to the line over the two days with one visitor from Notts County.

Race Officer David Rollinson set some exciting courses in the fresh SW breeze for the two Sat races with the the “Fat Boys” Paul and Paul in ff2127 coming through to the front in each race. Keith Rollinson and Rodney Townsend in ff 1855 got two great starts and led at the first couple of marks but were lacking boat speed and slipped back a little.

Sunday dawned with a good stong breeze and our race Officer David Rollinson set a challenging courses using most of Clywedogs racing buoys. Paul and Paul; dominated again winning all three races by a quite large margin even before there Classic handicap was calculated.

The competition was very keen down the fleet with all the boats finishing on the same leg and lots of position changes. The visitors Nick Lyncit crewed by Silka Roscher in ff 3297 began to get to grips with the famed Clywedog shifts and finshed the last two races in 2nd place despite strong opposition.

The final results were :

1st Paul Watson & Paul Morris - ff 2125 - 3pts    Clywedog - 1st Classic
2nd Nick Lyncit & Silka  Roscher - ff3297 - 9pts    Notts County - 1st Silver
3rd  Keith Rollinson & Rodney Townsend - ff1855 - 10pts  Clywedog - 2nd Classic
4th  Mick Edwards & Andrew Watson - ff 3365 - 12pts Clywedog - 2nd Silver

With the wind and conditions too strong on Saturday, the remaining races were cancelled, and the results to-date became the final results. Steve Goacher and Phil Evans were declared the European 2008 Champions. Thanks to Kinsale Yacht Club for hosting such an excellent event, that proceeded without a hitch, except for the weather.

Click here for results 

Click here for results 

Fourteen Fifteens entered Falmouth Week, 10 crewed by members of the same family. Two fell by the wayside because of work commitments and an uncomfortable water-skiing injury the day before.

The first race was held in a force 5-6 south-westerly  breeze and a choppy sea. Ian Cadwallader and David Sweet, David and Catherine Brockbank and Mike Thompson and Simon Millington arrived in close proximity to the presumed location of the windward mark but finding it proved difficult. The remainder of the course was set out in the bay where conditions were testing leading to some retirements and gear failure. Ian Cadwallader and David Brockbank finished first and second with David and Carol Duke third after Mike Thompson’s spinnaker pole snapped.

On the Monday the day dawned in brilliant sunshine and a gentle breeze but this soon built to a force 5. The initial part of the course was along the east side of the estuary to the windward mark just outside the estuary. Ian Cadwallader, Mike Thompson and Tessa Lancaster arrived in that order: the first two pulled away on the long run down to St Just. Doug Pattison, in the only silver boat in the fleet, pulled away from the mid-fleet to come fourth.

The weather worsened on Tuesday and racing was cancelled, but even worse was to come with force 9 winds being recorded in Cornwall on Wednesday causing a second day without racing.

As the troublesome area of low pressure moved into the North Sea Falmouth was left in glorious sunshine on Thursday and the Race Committee staged two races in a force 2-3 wind. The first was for the Rising Sun Trophy. The start was alongside the Roseland shore and Max and Jim Passmore acquired an early lead close tacking up the shore and out of the strongest tide. However, the Brockbanks judged the crossing of the estuary best and arrived at the windward mark first followed by Ian Cadwallader and they finished in that order, the Brockbanks taking the trophy. In the second race of the day a similar course was set with the windward mark on the west side of the mouth of the estuary and again the Brockbanks arrived first only to have a shroud pin snap on the next leg. This allowed Ian Cadwallader and David Sweet to assume the lead followed by Tony Lee and Fiona Ramus with the Dukes in third. Mike Thompson and Simon Millington, after a very poor start, moved through the fleet to the stern of the leading boat at the leeward mark. A quick tack onto port and a lucky puff of wind took them into the lead which they held to the finish.

Two races were held again on Friday to complete the series. The strong wind returned and again the Race Officer set a course up the east side of the estuary and just out into the bay. Again, Max and Jim Passmore went into the lead after the start but they were caught by Cadwallader and Thompson but held onto third place. This gave Ian Cadwallader and David Sweet the series.  The last race again involved crossing the estuary against the incoming tide. The Brockbanks judged the move best and arrived at the windward mark first, a position they held to the finish. They were closely followed by Tessa and Nick Lancaster. Cadwallader and Thompson chose the notably slower route delaying their crossing of the estuary until late. Ian Cadwallader caught up to finish second but Mike Thompson and Simon Millington had to give way to an incoming ship and failed to regain the lost ground. David and Carole Duke were fourth.

The weather might have been better but the week was thoroughly enjoyable on and off the water. Falmouth is a wonderful sailing venue enjoyed by those who return each year.

Round 5 of the TNT Flying Fifteen Series at Bala SC on 9th / 10 July
The enthusiastic competitors were greeted with welcoming Welsh hospitality. A stiff force 4 blowing straight down the lake gave excellent sailing conditions.
3 races were sailed back-to-back on the Saturday with a good variation of long beats, screaming reaches and runs. Three boats used the opportunity to tune-up for the forthcoming European championships. David McKee and Chris Hewkin showed blistering form to win all 3 races by a comfortable margin. Chris Swallow and Matt Pallett enjoyed the conditions and scored 3 second places and after a super-human effort by Scott Smith to sail all day with a slipped disc he and Richard Hope scored 3 thirds.
Excessive rain overnight resulted in a rise in the lake water swamping the jetties and with the wind at force 6 gusting 7 racing was abandoned.
The next stop is at Burton Sailing Club on 13th/14th September.
The latest TNT table can be seen at  http://flying15.org/gbr/files/tntresults08.pdf
Pictures at http://www.balasc.org.uk/Gallery/FFOpen08

Hayling Island SC - Sun 27 July to Fri 1 August 2008

Congratulations to Greg Wells and Mark Darling (HISC) who are the new Flying 15 National Champions for 2008. Second Barry and Sue Parkin (HISC) and third Mike Hart and Richard Rigg (Port Dinorwic SC).Winners of the Classic event were Bob Tait and Mick Musgrave (2606), second Ian and Gavin Shaw (798) and third Duncan Baird and Tim Bowen (1155).Winners of the Silver event were Dave and Jimmy Moody (3393) second Andy Clark and Nadia Melnikova (3378 and third Mike and Claire Durrant (3271).

Click here for results     Event pictures     HISC event home page  

French Flying Fifteen National Championships July 12th to July 14th

Saturday 12th of July saw the start of the French National Flying Fifteen championships. Held this year in the waters off Dinard and St Malo the event was hosted by the Dinard Yacht Club. Twenty one boats took part with entrants from a number of French clubs, Belgium and two British boats
Race one started in a force two to three with a good swell running. The first beat set the scene for event with Eric Basset and Arnaud Biet, Chris Swallow in Hayffever (with guest crew Damien Muller) and Chris and Tracy Harris in Sans Culottes all featuring at the front of the fleet. Basset collided with Swallow in a port starboard incident, but having completed his penalty still went on to win the first race.
In fact Basset and Biet won all three races on day one, although the British boats were hard on their heels throughout.
Day two dawned with very light winds and calm sea. The fleet took some ninety minutes to reach the race area and drifted through some torrential rain on the way. After a considerable postponement the racing got under way with Basset and Biet again taking all three races.
Overnight the placings were:
Basset and Biet  1st  6 points
Swallow and Muller  2nd  12 points
Harris and Harris 3rd  16 points
Cojan and Coirre 4th  21 points
With the possibility of two races on the final day and two discards in the series Bassett and Beit had the event sewn up and did not take to the water. However there was all to sail for in the minor placings.
The race officer, who had a challenging weekend, moved the race area to the west, and read the conditions correctly to get a race away as the sea breeze filled in. There was a good tussle up the first beat in very light shifty conditions. At the first mark a number of new faces appeared at the front, although by the start of the second beat normal service had been resumed with Sans Culottes in third with Hayffever close behind. Hayffever lost a couple of places on the final beat, and at the spreader Chris and Tracy Harris needed to make progress from fourth if they were to snatch second  overall from Chris Swallow. Chris Swallow dropped a couple more places, whilst the Harris’s managed to gybe inside two boats at the final spreader mark and went on to a comfortable second place in the race, second overall, winning visitor and winning mixed crew, whilst Chris Swallow finished third overall.