Fourteen eager Phantom sailors took part in the second event in the Phantom Class Eastern Series event at Fishers Green Sailing Club in the scenic Lea Valley.
The wind gods had come up trumps with a gusty North Westerly that carried punch at times but also faded away at critical points. The locals told visitors that the wind direction was unusual and most were secretly glad that the “home advantage” seemed to have been neutralised.
This seemed to be the case in Race 1 when Ian Stone from Maidenhead aced the start with a port tack flyer from the committee boat end leaving the fleet wondering why everyone else hadn’t tried the tactic.
Ian looked set to win the first race by a significant margin having been placed under pressure from time to time by Chris Roberts, Ben Falet and Chris Biglin, all of whom fell back at some point due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Having shown mastery of the conditions for almost three laps it was with surprise that Ian headed off for the wrong mark on the final lap, leaving the race wide open again for the following pack who realised his error. The win went to Jim Hopton, one of three sailors from Shustoke taking a sabbatical in the East, with clubmate Chris Biglin grabbing second place ahead of Roberts.
Read more: Eastern Series open at Fisher Green Sailing Club Saturday 6th May
Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers race report and results for Round 4 at Lee on Solent SC 6th and 7th of May 2017 by Jon Cooper
The Southern fleet headed to Lee on Solent for the 4th open in the SW traveller series.
On Saturday Simon Hawkes ran some excellent training for half a dozen of us, he was given a high tech video camera off Gordon which captured some good videos of us all sailing, and also some fantastic shots of him “air humping” when the camera was put down and left on by mistake! All of the trainees benefited from the on the water coaching, some real improvements were made by all.
Sunday – Race Day!
We were greeted with Bacon butties, no waves and fickle wind. A good turnout of boats made for an exciting day ahead.
After a short briefing everyone rigged and headed out for 4 back to back races.
Race 1
The first race of the day started with multiple premature starters, everyone was quickly brought back via a general recall.
On the second start those that started at the lower end of the line had a good advantage, they were in the favorable tide and closer to the first mark!
The fleet headed out to the wing mark on a very broad reach. Jon Cooper, Mike Tustin and Rob Starling appeared to be in a good position, but the tide proved to be a cruel beast with Jon being pushed into the wing mark (Mike and Rob managed to squeeze round). Nick (Slow) Orman and Ben Falat’s experience showed with the pair of them leaving adequate space for tidal movement!
Nick and Ben tussled all the way round, but Nick came out on top in the end (this was the theme for the rest of the day). For others in the fleet the shifty wind and tide made for a difficult race with positions changing all the time.
Read more: Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers race report and results for Round 4 at Lee on...
Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers Round 4 at Lee on Solent SC 6th May Training and 7th May Open
The plan is for Simon Hawkes to run Phantom training on Saturday afternoon and to have boats rigged for 1.30 and go through set up sail shape etc etc and then some on the water coaching.
Sunday 4 races back to back from the club line 10.30 first start in what looks like a good wind forecast at the moment.
Simon Hawkes has 2 Phantom open wins under his belt this year but we have a new kid on the block now in the shape of Ian Stewart from Salcombe SC Who won the Frensham Phantom open last week in the latest boat number 1452 that son Jamie has modified with a lower cockpit for ease of getting under the boom. Beautiful job too. A new Phantom fleet is building in Salcombe so we could well be there next year with an open meeting. With Nick Orman due to attend Lee on Solent it could be fun at the front !!
As with all fleets, races within races and rivalries will ensue and a good turnout is expected to support this new Phantom venue...
See you on the start line
Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers race report and results for Round 3 at Frensham Pond SC 23rd April 2017 by Jeremy Hudson
…. And so to the 2017 edition of hard fought racing for the very prestigious Frensham Phantom Pie Platter …. The forecast was not good and perhaps put a few off attending with very variable wind strengths depending upon the source … the only thing in agreement was a SW wind direction and as it happened that was about the only direction we did not get!!
Despite the dire forecast, 6 visitors joined 5 home boats and in between drifting managed to get in 4 reasonable races with even the occasional spot of hiking and planning witnessed.
Some of the key highlights included:
Ivan Walsh obviously still a little overconfident from winning the series last year deciding that he only needed to show up to the start area with a minute to go.
Simon (00 something) Bond capsizing in a momentous gust of around 4 knots in between race 2 and 3.
The appearance of a new trend in wooden booms on a brand new boat which won 3 races! The boom apparently being multi-purpose with a Salcombe Yawl as they are the same length! Not sure where you buy them from but they clearly work so there may be a rush of orders …. Although we were advised that they are a bit hard on the head!
The phantom WAGS, who enjoyed a lovely walk around the lake with its beautiful scenic Surrey countryside and witnessing all the ungentlemanly behavior on the water from various angles! (not really in the friendly Phantom fleet ).
Numerous calls for Mast Abeam, showing the age and current rule knowledge of some of the participants!
Read more: Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers race report and results for Round 3 at Frensham...
Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern Travellers Round 3 at Frensham Pond SC Saturday 23rd of April
The forecast is thankfully calmer than last year and the lighter winds might even give us a chance to halt the excellent run of series wins by Super Simon Hawkes !! Another fairly central location at a very welcoming club.
Briefing: 1015
Phantom Prep: 1055
Phantom first start : 1100
Schedule of races: 4 – 2 back to back in the morning, lunch, then 2 back to back in the afternoon. Three results to count. The first and last races will be simpler and shorter than the other two.
Entry fee: Phantoms £10.
Bacon butties and coffee served from 0915, lunch available.
Frensham free tea.
Plenty of parking, easy launching off jetties.
Sailing Instructions available on the day
Come and have some fun at Frensham
