Phantom Eastern Travellers series
Read more: 2016 Eastern Series Overall
Phantom National Championships 2016 South Shields Sailing Club
This year’s Nationals were hosted by South Shields Sailing Club and saw a respectable turn out. There were entries from as far as Shoreham, Weymouth and Milford Haven.
On the morning before the first race, as well as sail measurements a few boats were picked at random for weighing (some more random than others!). The boats picked were brand new this year indicating a continuingly growing class. All boats measured were in limits and legal.
During registration the competitors received their embroidered fleece and the first of the bacon rolls, all included within the entry fee
Races were held outside the breakwaters just to the south. Day 1 saw a fairly stable breeze coming off the land with big shifts and prolonged gusts from 12 – 20 knots.
Race 1 – Boats got away cleanly under the new U flag start (like a black flag but if there is a GR you are allowed back in the fleet). A sausage triangle course remained for the weekend and was well set. Harry Briddon, Will Gulliver, Chris Turner, Jon Nuttall and Norman Byrd were all in the mix but Harry came out on top which was pretty much the form for the rest of the weekend.
Race 2 – Again boats were away and again Harry was off like a rocket. Peter Shuttleworth smashed the first beat to be first at the top mark, not that he mentioned that at all during the rest of the weekend! This time Will was hot on his tail closely followed by John Wayling who showed his usual upwing pace to beat Jon Nuttall who nearly managed to stack it on the short reach to the finish just in front of Nick Orman.
On return to shore the cook it yourself BBQ was up and running and the bar was making a healthy turnover until the early hours!
Day 2 started with a very light breeze still off the land and another bacon roll. As the fleet made it to the race area the breeze picked up nicely to give another 12 – 18 knot day but this time accompanied by drizzle and rain. The courses were sausage triangle and set promptly and true as before.
Race 3 – Will found himself lined up for the wrong start line at the one minute gun so encouraged the rest of the fleet to have a jump start which caused a GR which under flag U meant he was back in the game for the restart.
We got away cleanly the second time and it was the first bullet for Will. Harry followed him home and a superb sail by Nick Orman saw him third followed by James Dawson in fourth.
Race 4 – Harry, Will, Chris, Nick and Norman got away in clean air and couldn’t be touched on race 4, they stayed clear of the fleet all race and stayed out of trouble. The fleet were grateful for a rapid turn around between races at this stage as the rain set in and everyone was feeling the cold.
Race 5 – Chris Turner again challenged Harry for the bullet but Harry held on to confirm the Championship. Will came in third followed by Oliver Davenport who had been getting increasingly better results through the weekend, one to watch for the future! Neil Fulcher had a cracking final down wind leg rolling two boats to cross the line 6th.
With an award winning fish and chip supper and plenty of drinks to celebrate with the new National Champion, some decided to brave South Shields on a Saturday night. The less said about that the better!
Day 3 dawned with another bacon roll and the fleet looking forward to blowing away the cobwebs. The forecast for the Sunday had ranged from 30 to 2 knots over the weekend but in the end it had gone Northerly and was about 15 knots. The combination of the ebb tide and the Northerly breeze had caused a steep short swell at the river mouth and as a result the race officer decided it was too dangerous to race. It was increasing all the time.
At the prizgiving Phantom class association chairman Phil Longley thanked the sponsors – Colonial Capital, The Morton Partnership, Vicky’s embroidery services, Ovington Boats and Seabrooke developments – presenting the winners and committee prizes for each race, spot prizes for a few special competitors, as well as brandy glasses and wine for the top ten
It was a fantastic weekend and South Shields made us feel very welcome. The food was excellent as was the beer and company. Massive thanks to the ladies in the galley and the bar staff who made the weekend very special. Thanks also go to the PRO Nigel Denchfieild for getting the course right and turning the racing round in some varying condiditons.
Well done to Harry sealing the deal with 4 firsts and a second, look forward to doing it all again soon!
Individual trophy winners:-
Under 30 – Harry Briddon
30-40 Cup – Jon Nuttall
2 Score cup – Will Gulliver
Half Ton cup – John Wayling
3 Score – Jimmy Sanderson
Endeavour Trophy – Stephen Lowe
1st Classic – Stephen Lowe
Full results here
Optimum Time Watches Southern Series Phantom Open Meeting Round 4 held at Shoreham SC in July
This year also counted towards the Phantom class’s national Grand Prix series. 10 helms enjoyed three races on Saturday. Local Steve Popple won races 1 & 2 in champagne force 4 conditions. Race 3 in progressively lighter conditions favoured local veteran Ivan Walsh who having nailed the start bagged his first open meeting race win. Consistently low scores by Chris Shelton & Richard Simms kept them in contention overnight.
Popular class stalwarts Titch & Viv arrived during the afternoon to initiate proceedings which kept Tyler & Lisa behind the bar fully employed thus ensuring a healthy profit !!
Grateful sailors tucked into bangers, mash & beans during the evening courtesy of the two Mandys.
Overnight winds increased creating typical Shoreham conditions. Titch easily won race 4 held in a held in a rising force 5 followed by Gareth Griffiths & Steve Popple. Toe strap failure immediately followed by an Olympic standard back flip meant Walsh finished 6th.
Race Officer Phil Ayton & his excellent team wisely decided to cancel race 6 due the deteriorating conditions.
Steve Popple retained his overnight lead with Ivan Walsh runner up & Richard Simms third overall.
Competitors wish to thanks club members both on & off the water for their help which ensured such an enjoyable event. www.optimumtime.co.uk
Optimum Time Watches Southern Series Phantom Open Meeting Round 5 at Downs SC Kent on 30/31 July
1st and 2nd for Downs Sailors!
As part of the Optimum Time Watches Southern Series, Downs SC welcomed 5 visitors making a fleet of 9 boats in total. It was a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon but unfortunately with very little wind.
The Race Officer and his team did a great job to get the first race started after a short postponement in very challenging conditions. The fleet was split on the first beat with everyone chasing whatever wind they could find. Unfortunately after three legs the RO decided to shorten the course at the wing mark so Race 1 was won by Ivan Walsh (Shoreham SC) and 2nd Chris Shelton (Downs SC) & 3rd Eric Styles (Downs SC). AP over H was displayed and after a short wait on the beach it was decided to cancel any further racing for that day.
Read more: Optimum Time Watches Southern Series Phantom Open Meeting Round 5 at Downs SC Kent on 30/31 July
Midland series 2016
18th Sept Bartley SC8th
9th October - Shustoke SC (also GP event)
5-6th November – Grafham Water SC (also Inlands)
2-3 events to count
Optimum Time Watches Southern Series Phantom Open Meeting at Shoreham SC 9/10 July
SSC Phantom Open Entry Form 2016
SSC OpenMeetingSailingInstructionsv2 5
Eastern Creeksea Open - Report
CREEKSEA PHANTOM OPEN MEETING
An impressive fleet of 28 boats entered the Creeksea Phantom Opening Meeting which yet again proved to be a favourite with regulars who knew that every effort would be made to attend to all their needs. The traditional barrels of beer had been carefully selected by the home fleet and proved an immediate hit with those that arrived early on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday Race Officer Edwin Buckley was faced with something of a dilemma as the North Westerly breeze did not look to be settled and with a flooding tide it looked difficult to get a true beat for the first race. He therefore sent the fleet heading up river on the clubs favourite course of Cliff and Canewdon, with a short beat across the river before a long run back to Creeksea. The weather gods soon realised his predicament and shortly after the start the wind picked up and the heavens opened to wake the fleet up and stretch some muscles. The fleet found they had a hard beat to contend with which soon split the fleet into two groups for the reach to Canewdon. After a quick fetch across the river the fleet decided that the south bank was the prefered option to better the flooding tide although choosing where to cross the river to get to the start line proved a challenge that resulted in some place changes. Paul Church made the best of this challenge to score a race win ahead of Matt House and John Wayling.
Read more: Eastern Creeksea Open - Report
