Weymouth Regatta 3rd - 4th July 2021 Report

A toned-down event due to ongoing Covid restrictions saw 14 Phantoms entered for the 2021 Weymouth Regatta sponsored by Dorset Boat Works and Beat Racing.

Day one saw a SW force 3 and the decision of the race officer to take us right across Weymouth bay with the sail to the start area being the longest sail that many competitors had seen for a while.

A well-set start line and U flag from the off prevented any startline shenanigans and the fleet set off on what was to become a monster day.

The windward mark saw Ian Stone, Simon Hawkes, Henry Ayres and John Wayling round in no particular order at the front of the fleet.

Sailing a trapezoid, sausage course, Nick Orman did some good work downwind and Ayres quickly slipped backwards as he tried to remember how to sail.

The course was horrendously long and the race went on forever.  Orman, sailing a new boat, slipped back as he got to grips with it and the final result was Hawkes, Stone and Wayling.

Then a few things happened that changed the course of the result.  The wind increased and Simon Hawkes decided to try a bit of sly pig.  But as he pulled it on broke the mast lock and the sail came down. With such a long way into the club that was the end of his day and he joined Paul Birbeck who had not made it to Race 1 with the same issue.

Race 2 the sadistic race officer shortened the length of the beat but the damage was already done for many.
Another even start and the lead boats quickly put distance on the also rans with Alex Knight Improving from 4th to 3rd and Nick Orman getting control of his boat and head and improving quickly to second with Ian Stone taking the win.

Race 3 and even more wind and now quite lumpy and the war of attrition continued with Ian Stone breaking his kicker.  The fleet was now pretty much banging the corner and the beats could have featured at about level 7 in Dante's inferno.
With Stone now back in the pits Orman stepped up to take the win with Rob Cook continuing his improvement throughout the day to take 2nd after a brutal hike off with Wayling who secured 3rd.

Then a long sail home to share Ibuprofen and war stories.
A subdued evening as most of the fleet were exhausted and the Football was on.

Day 2 dawned thoroughly miserable with a lot of aching bodies but as the Ibuprofen took effect the day brightened and we launched into a gusty force 2 - 4 for a further scheduled 3 races but this time in Portland Harbour.

Starting choices were slightly more challenging with those going to the pin looking good at the start of the race but the boats that went right gained further up the track with favourable shifts.  The wind was very shifty at the windward mark.

With both Stone and Hawkes returning to the fray, the finish order was Stone, Hawkes and Orman.

Race 5 saw less of a choice on the startline but managing the shifts and the traffic from other fleets was essential.  The wind was slowly building throughout this race with a few epic battles going on throughout the fleet as the sailors threw their tired bodies into the penultimate race.  The finish order was the same with Stone firmly taking control but Hawkes pushing him the whole way.

A few sailors headed for home as the last race beckoned and the wind continued to build.

A busy windy beat saw Stone extend but Hawkes, Birbeck and Ayres round the windward mark in close proximity with Orman a little behind as he struggled to hold the boat down.  As the fleet rounded the windward mark the wind increased to survival levels and things started to get really tasty.

Orman Capsized giving Birbeck and Ayres the opportunity to cash in a podium position for this race but Ayres bottled it downwind citing exhaustion.  Orman caught Birbeck but every time the fleet turned downwind he fell in on the gybe and then had to catch up.

Thankfully a wind shift made the dead run in 35kts a broad reach and after a very lively sail, the result was Stone, Hawkes, Orman, Birbeck with Ayres taking la Flamme Rouge as the final finishers of the entire regatta.

A low key covid prize giving saw Ian Stone thank Castle Cove Sailing Club, the Regatta organizers and the race office and his crew.

A fantastic event very much enjoyed by all that took part.

Results
1. Ian Stone
2. Nick Orman
3. John Wayling

Full Results https://halsail.com/Result/Public/55031

P+B Phantom Inland Championships

5TH/6TH June - Northampton Sailing Club

As the first weekend in June loomed, Phantom sailors from around the country were eagerly viewing their wind apps in the hope that the wind gods were aware it was the long awaited P+B Phantom Inland Championships.

Summer had arrived and along with it, high pressure and light winds !
This didn’t deter the 40 online entries heading to Northampton Sailing Club with it’s 420 acres set in the beautiful countryside of Northamptonshire.

The fleet were keen to get together, to meet up with old friends and new. A handful arrived early on Thursday afternoon for the long weekend event, participating the club evening racing.

Friday was a planned training day as a pre-curser to the main event.  John ‘Titch’ Wayling supported by Simon Hawkes and Mike Webster delivered some onshore boat tuning, exchanging ideas on rig and boat set up. This was followed by on the water coaching for the fifteen Phantoms, the light winds providing perfect conditions for practice roll tacking and gybing and finishing off with numerous short line, windward/leeward races. The debriefing session watching the go pro footage over a glass or two of the local Timothy Taylors brew was always going to be a success !

Saturday morning saw many more Phantom arrive for the midday start and thankfully the light wind forecast for the weekend didn’t deter most.  The Race Officer - Neil Barford briefed the competitors, advising  a postponement until the much anticipated  5-7 mph westerly arrived in the early afternoon. Due to the Sunday forecast looking even lighter, it was decided go try and race four out of the planned six race event  on the Saturday.

Race 1 saw Mike Webster round the windward mark first, but was soon passed by Rob Starling who led the fleet around the trapezoid course. The difficult condition of small pressure bands and dead patches made life difficult for the sailors but Rob Cook closed ranks on the leader and managed to squeeze past on the last short beat to the finish line. Rob Starling smarting in second with Chris Shelton and Miles Odel in third and four respectively.

Race 2 commenced after a quick turnaround with the leading boats sniffing out the light pressure patches ahead of the rest of the pack. The downwind legs being particularly nervy when the fleet bunched together, desperately trying to avoid the killer holes in the wind. Simon Hawkes took the lead from Mike Webster only to have a brain freeze heading to the wrong mark on the last lap, gifting Mike Webster the bullet, Simon Hawkes a frustrated second and Benveluto Fallet taking third, with John ‘Titch’ Wayling in forth.

Race 3 commenced in the same light and shifty conditions proving difficult for some to get the much sought after consistency. Clear starts and finding pressure were the key ingredients to success.
Rob Starling again made his presence know at the front end of the fleet with lots of movement and exchange of places, Rob Starling this time converting a first place closely followed by Charlie Chandler and Martin Watts with Simon Hawkes again punching into the top four.

Race 4, the final race of the day made the most of the fading pressure.  A discard now in play changed to potential leader board and consistency was still the critical factor in who would come out on top after day one and the thought in everyone’s mind that there might not be a day two ! The fleet eager to get started were too keen for the Race Officer, who deemed a General Recall. The fleet got away the second time with only one casualty of the ‘U’ flag. Despite the continuing light and shifty wind, some familiar faces were at the front again proving it wasn’t all luck picking out those patchy shifts of pressure.
For the first time in the day the Race officer decided for three laps, which added pain to the sailors already aching knees. Simon Hawkes again dominated taking the winning gun followed by Rob Cook in second, with Richard Sims and Jim Hopton picking up third and forth.

Sunday dawned with the lake looking like a mirror, with occasional breeze filling in from all directions. A short postponement was made but it was inevitable
there would be no prospect of acing. The abandoned flag was duly hoisted drawing a close to the event. 

Congratulations to Simon Hawkes who became the 2021 Inland Champion following a set of remarkably consistent results, never being out of the top five in difficult conditions……..  He clearly knew what he was talking about in the Friday coaching sessions  !!   

Thanks were given to Northampton Sailing Club for hosting the event and to Pinnell and Bax  for kindly sponsoring the championships and providing great prizes.

Mike Webster

NSC - 2021- Phantom Open - 5 - 6th June

Northampton Sailing Club

Results are final as of 14:07 on June 6, 2021

Overall

Sailed: 4, Discards: 1, To count: 3, Rating system: PY, Entries: 34, Scoring system: Phantoms NSC 2021 scoring system

Phantom P+B Inland Championships 5th/6th June 2021

Inland Champs online entry closing date has been extended until Midnight on Wed 2nd June

Preview – Online Entries now open !

The long wait is finally over and the Phantom Class is emerging from it’s hibernation of competitive events and championship regattas.

In a few week time the Phantom P+B Inland Championships will take place which is being hosted by Northampton Sailing Club, online pre entries are now open ! The event is again being kindly sponsored by Pinnel and Bax, the midlands based one stop shop for boats, chandlery, repairs and clothing.

The class is expecting a bumper entry, following its self imposed delay to regional and national events until after the governments Covid19 roadmap changes on the 17th May. The Inland Championships marks the first of these national events and forms part of a National Regatta Series. Five events in total, with the other regatta events in the series taking place at Weymouth – 3rd/4th July, Filey -31stJuly/1st August, Lee on Solent – 4th/5th September and finally the National Championships hosted by Stone SC between the 17th/19th September.

With such a long time since the regional fleet have joined and the disappointment of having to cancel the Phantom National Championships planned to take place at Rock SC, Cornwall in September of 2020 , it will be interesting to see who will be emerging from the long winter. Will the event be dominated by many of the old masters of the class, previous inland and national champions? Or will we be seeing new talent emerging? The class has certainly seen a huge surge in popularity with many new boats being ordered and the second hand market going crazy. Who would have thought ‘Phantom gazumping’ would become the new buz phrase for 2021 !

Northampton Sailing Club are looking forward to welcoming the Phantom fleet and sure they will be talking to the wind gods to make the racing weekend enjoyable. The class has also arranged a training day on Friday 4th June to precede the event, which is open to all sailors and is free to Phantom Association members and should popular for those who want to start the weekend early and gain some valuable tuning and coaching.

The event is online pre entry only and may be restricted with a closing date of the 29th May …….so don’t delay !

Event Entry : https://www.northamptonsailingclub.org/index.asp?pg=eventdetail&eid=3110

Training Booking : https://www.northamptonsailingclub.org/index.asp?pg=enteronline&ss=3123

Broadstairs Sailing Club Phantom Open

Book now to avoid dissapointment cut of date for entrants is 31st May

https://webcollect.org.uk/broadstairssailingclub/event/phantom-open-meeting-2021/192839

Phantom Class Association ~ Downs Open Meeting 22nd / 23rd May ~ Limited entry so pre entry is required

http://downssailingclub.co.uk/phantom-streaker-and-topper-open-meeting-2021/

Midlands Series 2021

Phantom Class 2021 National Championships