EVENTS UPDATE

The Class Association has been carefully considering how the class returns to racing and the impact that of the Corona Virus on future events.

The current restrictions are such that clubs are unlikely to be able to host events and in this regard the current regional events should be reviewed on a club by club basis.  The regional representatives will keep members advised of any updates on the status of any forthcoming events.

Similarly the proposed National Championships at Rock Sailing Club in September are going to be reviewed at the end of June.  This will involve the Committee and Club considering how any restrictions will impact on the viability of the event.  

In this regard it is easiest to regard the event as neither on or off.  A decision will be made at the end of June and members advised accordingly.

Looking to future events the Committee has been working hard to secure future Nationals venues and dates.  At this time of uncertainty we hope that these are of interest and will allow you to plan ahead.  

In particular the class will be celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary next year and the Nationals will be returning to Stone SC on 9-12th September.  In addition to this consideration is being given to a European Event in 2021 (most likely Medemblik) and again more details will follow on this in due course.

Following the Dinghy Show which we were fortunate to be able to conclude before the lockdown period there has been a marked increase in interest in the class.  This has been seen in increased membership of the Facebook Class Association Group and the associated sales page.  Boats are now selling quickly and there is a demand for most styles of boat ranging from woodies to the latest boats.  Ovington report that new boats are being ordered and they are maintaining a stock boat as required by the Class Association.  

If you do have spare gear or a neglected boat then now would appear to be an ideal time to move them on.

Phantom Inland Championships 6th/7th June - POSTPONED

Phantom Class Information Booklet

Updated Phantom Class Information Booklet now available - Click Here

New South East Region

Following discussions with "interested parties" it has been decided to try splitting the existing Southern region into two regions - South East and South West. The rationale is that the distance between Downs SC and say Salcombe is just as great as that between any Northern or Midland events.
 
Richard Cumberbatch will remain the representative for the South West region, whilst Chris Shelton (Downs SC Phantom 1211) has kindly volunteered to act as the initial South Eastern representative.
 
The initial aim is to run a limited number of events in the region to gauge interest and hopefully form a cadre of travelling sailors. Remember, it's important to support away events if you want sailors to visit your club when you want to host an event....
The initial plan envisages the following events:-
12th/13th April - Shoreham SC (Easter regatta)
16th May - Downs SC (practice/training)
17th May - Downs SC (open meeting)
13th/14th June - Felpham SC (regatta)
3rd October - Broadwater SC (joint with Southern region)
 
Remember that the regions are not exclusive to one another and you can "pick and mix" to suit your own location.
Hopefully this will give all Phantom sailors something to look forward too in the coming season!

Phantom Class at 2020 Dinghy Show

To start off the year the class will be exhibiting two boats at the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace on 29th February / 1st March. Stand F34. 

Having not attended for a couple of years, we thought that it was important to show our faces again and promote the class.

We will have two boats on the stand, one being a brand new Ovington boat that is going to Tim Platt of the growing Broadwater SC fleet whilst the second is an Ovington hull completed by JJ Boats, with a deep cockpit well and low buoyancy side tanks.

Come and see us.

2020 Midland Traveller Series

GET INVOLVED WITH THE PHANTOM MIDLAND SERIES 2020
OPEN TO ALL AND WELCOMING OTHER REGIONS
FRIENDLY AND FUN FOR ALL LEVELS OF PHANTOM SAILING
COMPETITIVE AND PASSIONATE RACING
LEARN AND IMPROVE YOUR SAILING

Best four results to count from six events to qualify

Phantom Midlands Sailing
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The P+B Phantom Midlands Series  - 2019

The Phantom Midlands Series has drawn to a close with the final event of being hosted by Grafham Water Sailing Club. A lower than expected turnout possibly due to the shocking forecast of 38knt gusts and the England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final match against the All Blacks !!
Despite this, Phantoms travelled from far and wide and were treated to two full days of back to back racing as part of the Ovington Winter Championships, racing in much better conditions than were predicted.
Overall podium places were awarded to:
 1st -  Martin Watts  Netley S.C.
2nd  - Alister Morely  Salcombe Y.C.
3rd  - Richard Sims   Carsington S.C.

The P+B Midlands Series as a whole was made up of 5 events:
Northampton S.C – inland Championships
Carsington S.C.
Shustoke S.C.
Blithfield S.C.
Grafham Water S.C.

Our thanks to each of these clubs for hosting the Phantom events, all of which were well organized, friendly and welcoming.

With a total entry 33 boats spread across 19 clubs it has been a reasonable start to reigniting Phantom Sailing in the Midlands after a gap of several years.
There were notably some consistent travellers attending most of the events, but clearly room for improvement in 2020 to attract more ‘club’ sailors and encourage them to hitch up their boats and venture forth !

The racing has been competitive with venues being centralized to try and reduce long journey times for midlands sailors. It was great to see people from other regions taking part and enjoying the friendly atmosphere.

Congratulations go to the 2019 Series winner - Jim Hopton from Shustoke Sailing Club who sailed consistently well and will receive the Midlands Series Trophy. Full details below of the overall series results. Our thanks go to P+B the sponsors for the series who provided some great prizes for each event and continue to support the Phantom Class.

In addition to the event prizes and in an attempt to encourage more travelling Phantoms, P+B provided a ‘Golden Ticket’ series raffle prize of a mast bag.
Every sailor at each event received a ‘vitual’ raffle ticket – the more events entered the more tickets they received !
    
Drawn out of the hat, Winning Ticket  1447 – Richard Sims. Congratulations Richard and many thanks to P+B for their generosity.

With the 2019 season coming to a close thoughts are already being made towards next seasons series.  So if you would like your club to be considered for the 2020 Midlands Series contact Mike Webster- Midlands Area Representative via the Phantom Website.

Optimum Time Phantom Southern Travellers at Salcombe Yacht Club

For the second year running the Optimum Time Phantom Southern Traveller Series were at Salcombe Yacht Club for the final event of the season.

And what an absolutely stunning weekend it turned out to be. Wall to wall sunshine, blue skies and the harbour to ourselves, at what is undoubtedly the most picturesque venue on the calendar. Even the seals put in an appearance.

Admittedly, the wind and tide can be 'interesting' at times, but when you make a call and it comes good the rewards are significant. Get it wrong and it can be devastating. I don't think there was a sailor there who doesn't have tales of both. And therein lies the challenge, but until you go there I don't you ever really quite appreciate it. There's a reason other classes flock here.

The weekend started well, with a bit of session in the Victoria on Friday night, and a pub breakfast the following morning to watch England take the Wallabies apart. Perfect.

2 races were held each day, and overnight it was a Salcombe top 4, with Alister Morley, taking two bullets, Paul Ellis with 2 seconds, Chris Cleaves with 2 thirds and Olly Alexander a fourth and a fifth.

This didn't reflect just how close it had been on the water, with places changing constantly, but unsurprisingly the Salcombe boys came out on top when it counted.

Saturday's races were a beat down the estuary to mark 1, and then a long run up the estuary and through 'the bag' to 7, somewhere off towards Kingsbridge. No 40 minute lightweight races in this neck of the woods! Chris Cleaves led for much of the first race, but Alister and Paul eventually overhauled him.

In race two, at 50 yards from the line it looked like a bullet for Paul and a second for Richard Cumberbatch, but Alister still managed to find his way to the front for his second bullet, and Chris took his second third of the day.

Sunday was breezier, and the wind was coming down the estuary instead. In race 3 Alister Morley and Paul Ellis again led the way with Alister and Paul assuming their usual positions of a 1, 2 respectively. Jim Hopton, Richard Cumberbatch and Chris Cleaves were fighting for 3rd. As the breeze increased on the final beat Jim and Richard pulled ahead a little with Richard just taking 3rd on the line.

Race 4 looked like being a repeat of race 3 for Alister and Paul, but Jim was hanging in there. It was all getting rather close on the final beat. The shorten course flag was raised, but a little late for Paul who had already decided to cross the estuary. Jim Hopton snuck the bullet from Alister Morley, the only person to do so all weekend, and Richard benefited from the late shorten course signal to take 3rd from Paul Ellis. Not that either of these events affected Alister and Pauls final scoreline.

Overall Results:

1th Alister Morley (Salcombe)
2th Paul Ellis (Salcombe)
3th Jim Hopton (Shustoke)
4th Richard Cumberbatch (Castle Cove)
5th Chris Cleaves (Salcombe)
6th Olly Alexander (Salcombe)
7th Nick Mason (Island Barn)
8th Dave Patrick (Broadwater)

9th Bruce Hattersly (Salcombe)

All told, it was an outstanding weekends sailing. As one person was heard to say "it's like having a cheeky little summer holiday".

Sincere thanks to both Salcombe Yacht Club for their hospitality and for hosting a great event, and to Optimum Time for their sponsorship.

We'll see you all again next year!