CREEKSEA SAILING CLUB PHANTOM OPEN MEETING REPORT  16^th / 17^th June 2018

The grass had been cut, starting hut painted, engines serviced, beer bought and food prepared.  All was ready for another classic open meeting for the Phantom Eastern series at Creeksea Sailing Club in deepest Essex over the weekend of 16th/17th June. 

Nineteen boats entered the two day event, racing under the watchful eye of race officer Edwin Buckley ably assisted by his wife Pat.  The large home fleet was out in force with 10 boats entered (and a further two displaying “dual nationality”) looking forward to competing with the best from Northampton, Royal Harwich, Stone, Oulton Broad, Up River and Alton Water.

The wind god’s had once again smiled on the club and made sure that they were not to go without breeze over the whole weekend.  Saturday’s South Westerly built during the day and this direction gave Edwin a tough job in getting the fleet away from the club line.

Employing a temporary mark in Race 1 and 2 gave a challenge to the fleet in deciding whether to risk the tide with a fetch to the mark or benefit from slacker tide and a tighter beat.  Surprisingly the fleet spread out well for the start and battled strong gusts approaching and exiting the mark which required a bear away gybe.  Early victims included Bob Portway who had been in second place at the mark.

The race then reverted to the default setting of a reach to the Cliff mark close to the entrance to Althorne Marina and a beat up river to the Canewdon mark on the south bank of the river.  This stretch of the River Crouch presents a challenge in wind over tide conditions and as the day progressed both wind and tide built and it was inevitable that challenging conditions would develop.

The downwind legs back to the club line saw a classic tacticians dilemma that was also to be a feature of the weekend.  Crossing the river to hug the northern bank was the obvious choice but when and where to cross over were the hard choices.

Race one saw John Wayling resume his past form at Creeksea by playing things just right and holding off Matt House and Chris Roberts to take the gun.

The decision where to cross the river again played a crucial role in deciding the winner in Race 2, where up and coming local sailor Roger Smith defied the usual convention by crossing the river early after rounding Black Point, to reach home along the shore whilst the leading group of boats looked on in horror.  A well deserved first open meeting race win by the ever humble Smith who attributed his astute tactical analysis to the need to clear weed from his rudder.  As if….

Lunch in the “pop up” galley was enjoyed in glorious sunshine with a veritable banquet provided by the club.

Race three saw a further variation upon the theme – a fast reach to Cliff and a tough beat up to Canewdon with a repeat of this gruelling beat sorting the men from the boys.

Bob Portway showed that he had recovered from his earlier mishap, with a win from Wayling and Ben Falat.

Returning ashore the fleet showered and pampered in the beautifully refitted showers and enjoyed the free beer provided by the home fleet. Barrel 1 was swiftly disposed of as tactics, rules and tuning tips were debated at length.  

The home fleet is sponsored by the Polash Indian Restaurant in Burnham and an excellent meal was enjoyed by all at their establishment.  A night cap in the Queens Head before carriages were called rounded of the evening.

Sunday dawned grey with light rainfall.  Not what had been ordered but this soon passed and the day developed with more sun and slightly less wind evident to the relief of many.  Similar courses were necessary for the day as the breeze refused to follow the forecast and stuck in a general South Westerly direction.

In what seems to be something of a habit for day two of the Creeksea Open meeting, Chris Roberts got a grip on race one and he and former club mate Marcus Ingram, sailing Rod Thorpe’s beautiful JJ boat, had a close race at the front of the fleet before Roberts made the decision to cross the river early and left the fleet strung out behind him to score a win for the home fleet.

Race five again provided another suprise with a win for Ben Falat as John Wayling who had led from start to finish was judged to have been OCS.

The astute reader will realise that at this point after ffive races there were five different winners and the closeness of the racing was evident throughout the fleet.

Lunchtime saw a fair bit of calculation work amongst the leading boats.  John looked likely to win but it was very close between the four following boats of House, Portway, Falat and Roberts.

The final race saw the breeze build a little and the reversion to the double beat to Canewdon tested the endurance of the fleet. 

Special mention has to go to Warren Martin sailing his newly acquired boat who sped away from the line to develop a commanding lead on the reach to the Cliff mark only to fall back upwind.  The Creeksea Phantom Sailing Academy will be dishing out more homework on upwind technique next term for this promising new boy.

Having been stung by the denial of a victory in Race 5 John Wayling, however, made few mistakes to take the gun from Portway.  This secured the same results overall for them as a consequence.  Falat followed them home in third place to secure his fourth overall position, whilst House and Roberts were buried mid fleet. After the application of two discards House took third overall and Roberts fifth.

Special thanks were made to the race officer and rescue boat crews.  The single handed recovery of a dismasted Phantom by Finn sailor Keith Fedi manning the Safety boat was masterly and after minor work on Sunday Pete Sarbut was back on the water to fight again.  A special mention also goes to Alan Shrimplin who once again took some superb photos on Sunday morning but could barely keep awake for the rest of the day having returned from an overseas holiday early that morning!

The next event in the Phantom Eastern Series is at Royal Harwich Yacht Club on the 14^th / 15^th July.

1^st 1346 John Wayling         Northampton

2^nd 1334 Bob Portway         Royal Harwich

3^rd 1432 Matt House            Royal Harwich

4^th 1266 Ben Falat               Waveney and Oulton Broad

5^th 1395 Chris Roberts        Creeksea

Optimum Time Watches Phantom Travellers Series Round 5 at Lee on Solent Sailing Club 23rd-24th June

This weekend we are at the venue of next years Nationals for an open meeting shared with the Aero class.
Registrtion is between 10.00 and 12.30 on Saturday with the first race at 13.00 and 3 races scheduled each day, notice of race can of course be found on the club web site www.lossc.co.uk , triangle/sausage course with a view of the Isle of Wight I'm informed. And if  anyone wants to arrive on Friday evening please contact Gordon at the club or class forum to make arrangements.
Entry is £25 and an an evening meal will be available at £8 from the excellent galley.
So come and familiarise yourself this weekend and give yourself an advantage for 2019 Nationals !!

The 2018 Phantom Inland National Championships @ Northampton Sailing Club

The Championships were held over the weekend of 27^th & 28^th May @ Northampton Sailing Club

The forecast for the weekend was for fair winds, lots of Sunshine with the threat of an odd Thunderstorm

On the Friday a measurement day was held for sails and boats alike, with the newest being 1461 a JJ Sinker design which makes it easier to right and less likely to invert, the boat performed well during the Buoyancy Test, righted easily and drained fast.

With sails measure and Boats weighed the Friday team, with a partial attendance from the Creeksea Massive, set off the local curry house to re-fuel ready for the following days forecast which was gradually building.

Saturday arrived with pliantly of breeze coming straight down the lake, the threat of the wind swinging east didn’t materialize but it did build from the F3 to F4 during the day.

Race 1 ~ The PRO Neil Pitcher had set a Trapezoid course around the large inflatable buoys 1,2,3,4 all to port, a nice long beat, a reach and good true run proceeding to a broad reach to the leeward mark and posted for 4 laps. The first horn of the Championships sounded and the 19 sailors lined up in preparation for the start, with the line set true the start was clean and Andy Couch soon made it clear about his intentions, he was off up the beat like a “scolded cat” or was it the fact the Phantom is so much easier than the Finn?!!, The battle was close for the honor of getting round the top 1^st and Ian Stone just managed to take the privilege along with being officially the tallest Phantom sailor displacing our Chair my Longley…  Once round the top mark Andy eased out a good lead and the battle for the top 5 spot commenced. Ian held onto 2^nd and Will Gulliver fought hard to get into 3^rd, just holding off Alister Morley in 4^th and John Wayling in 5^th.

Race 2 ~ Using the same course the start was quickly turned round and the battel to hunt down Andy commenced again, with the chase on Will managed to scrape through to second  with Ian dropping to 3^rd and Nick Orman climbing upto 4^th once he had remembered he was now pond sailing with very small lumps, John came through in 5^th with the worry of writing the report already looming.

The fleet sailed in for a well-deserved lunch and to discuss when John’s wood wind shift would start working?!

Race 3 ~ Got underway with the breeze building and a slight course adjustment  to give a tighter top reach, longer run and another short blast to the leeward mark. The order changed as Nick must have had some sugar for lunch but the fleet were also closing in on Andy with the finishing order, Andy, Nick, Ian, Will and surprise surprise myself in 5^th..

Race 4 ~ With everyone keen to get away (The bar was open) and a small shift just before the start the gun went but followed by too hoots and we all returned to do it again, Neil held his cool and kept with the blue peter and the 2^nd start was clean. The battle at the front was getting a lot tighter and the distances gained were small, several place changes driven by the wind flicking east made a game of Snakes and Ladders but the finish order was similar, Andy, Will, Nick, John and Jim Hopton gaining a well-earned 5^th.

With 4 hard races completed the fleet retired to the clubhouse and a well-deserved pint and an excellent evening meal provide by Elaine in the Galley.

Sunday morning arrived with a little less wind but not much less, the threat of Thunderstorms had the race team on their toes to get completed but they had the Abandon flags ready to hand.

Race 5 ~ Started clean and with the lighter breeze the thought that the order would change did not materialize, the wind had more shifts, so the gains and losses could be big but the fleet picked their way through them and the finishing order was all too familiar with Andy, Will, Ian, Nick and Myself taking the top five.

Race 6 ~ was smartly away and the pond sailors were coming good, Andy decided to sit out the last lap to be first in the showers, the top five had a shake up and the order changed with the Puddle Sailors finding their way around the shifts and the final race order was, Will, Ian, Jim, Richard Simms and Nick. We came off the water with the sun shining, Wind blowing and no sign of the Thunderstorms which did arrive much later to flood some areas of Northampton town.

The prizing giving was held promptly and the thank you’ s were made.

Top five places ~ Andy, Will, Ian, Nick and Myself in 5^th ~ Hence writing this report!!

Regards,
John

Maud - 1346

Sailwave results for Phantom Inlands - 26th & 27th May 2018 at Northampton Sailing Club 2018.htm

Phantom Inlands - 26th & 27th May 2018

Northampton Sailing Club

Results are provisional as of 11:57 on May 27, 2018

Overall

Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 19, Scoring system: NSC Phantom Inlands 2018

Scoring codes used

www.northamptonsailingclub.org

http://http//www.phantomclass.org.uk/

Sailwave Scoring Software 2.24.0
http://www.sailwave.com/

Roger Brown

As some of you will already be aware Roger Brown, long-time Chairman and Treasurer of the Phantom Association, tragically died on Sunday 15th April during an organised snorkelling trip whilst on holiday in Costa Rica with his wife Sue.

The death of a loved one is hard enough to deal with but to be so far from home must have been incredibly hard for Sue. With the support of her daughter and family, Sue had to make the difficult decision to return home and await Roger’s repatriation.  Once home Sue then had to make the heart-breaking decision to agree to Roger being cremated in Costa Rica as they were unable to fully embalm him for the flight home in a coffin.  Roger’s ashes were returned to the UK on Monday 14th May.

I’m not sure how long Roger had been involved with the Association because he was every present guiding us through some interesting times. Roger held both the position of Treasurer and Chairman for many years in the days when all subscriptions, measurement forms and any other correspondence was all hard copy and via the post. I believe there was quite an intricate card system in operation then as well.  Although he tried to give up these posts on many occasions, this was always a half-hearted attempt and he would carry on for the next year after a short silence at the AGM, following the “is there anyone else who wants to volunteer?” question. 

I always had a lot of time and respect for Roger as both a Chairman but mostly a Gentleman. He could be approached about pretty much any subject, and one thing was for sure, you would get a straight answer - maybe not the one you wanted, but always the way he saw it. I like that type of man.

The family have arranged a service to celebrate Roger’s life at 10.30am on Tuesday 29^th May at United Church, Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 1HA, followed by a lunch at Barnsgate Manor, TN22 4DB.

Family flowers only please. Donations to RNLI via Tester and Jones Funeral Service, Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 2TT

If you would like to attend, or know of other Phantom sailors who may like to attend, please can you contact his daughter, Caroline, via email so they can advise the caterers - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tyler Harmsworth

Phantom Inlands 2018 - 26-27th May

Notice of Race Here

At Northampton SC you can camp, you can caravan, you can motor home, you can sleep in your car/ van, you can sleep in the changing rooms, you can sleep in the open air.

If you need an electric hook up you can have one (need to be close to the clubhouse)

Optimum Time Watches Southern Phantom Travellers Series Round 4 at POSH

Phantom Open this weekend at Paignton sailing club 12th - 13th May as part of POSH due to Shoreham open being unfortunately cancelled.
3 races back to back both days with Saturday start 12.55 and Sunday 10.25
Sailing will take place in the waters of Tor bay and NOR on Paignton sailing club website. Great event and location !!

Optimum Time Watches Southern Phantom Travellers Series Round 3 at Bowmoor Sailing Club – 14th April

A warm welcome and usual car park banter met visitors and locals to Round 3 at Bowmoor Sailing Club.   The sunshine welcome, the lack of any wind meant discussions of delay abounded.  However as if on demand the 6/8 knots forecast arrived just after completion of the briefing.
The first race started cleanly and Nick Ormam showed his usual speed to win from Alister Morley.  The second start was a little more lively and a number of bangs and bumps resulted in a number of turns and some discussion over lunch.  Nick won again, with local Phil Benn benefitting from the quickening Alister who retired following the start line events.
A very pleasant lunch break was taken and 2 more back to back races held.  Race 3 saw Nick and Alister tangle at the start resulting in the rest of the fleet having a chance.  Ivan Walsh got so far in front the most gave up chasing but he was caught by Alister, Nick and Phil.  The final race saw the whole fleet contesting the final run with Alister staying in front of Nick and Tom Whittington.
Cake, beer and prizes finished a very enjoyable day.
Results
1st Alister Morley     Salcombe Sailing Club
2nd Nick Ormam     Castle Cove Sailing Club
3rd Phil Benn             Bowmoor Sailing Club  

Simon Clark

Eastern Series Fisher Green Open

I would like to congratulate the great people at Fishers Green for their lovely welcome and hospitality.  Fifteen boats took part ranging from a very early woody to the newest Ovington boat.

Bacon rolls on arrival, curry for lunch plus a very nice snacking buffet at the prize giving - the way to any Phantom open event sailor's heart.  All that and some fantastic racing. What a blast!

But it could have all been so different. Not the food and the hospitality, that was a given, but because we arrived to a zephyr of a breeze and a not too promising forecast.

After the bacon rolls and briefing the decision was made to drift out to the course and at least attempt some sort of racing. Then, out of nowhere, wham a good strong southerly which set up a windward leeward course using the full length of the lake.  

Three great races followed.  There were casualties, there was some incidents,  people swam. Most sailors headed out in clothing suitable for a light wind drifter and found the water temperature not to their liking. The sometimes strong and shifting gusts made the beats very interesting with the whole width of the lake opening up for use, islands could be passed on different sides and as I found out by following local Nick Yannakoyoros, there was even a fantastic lifter up the edge of a forest.

Matt House showed that a consistent winter racing regime pays dividends with a convincing double race winning victory.

Bob Portway and Chris Roberts had nothing between them by the end of the day except on count back.

Another great sail was had by the three woodies but unfortunately Ian Simpson lost his forestay so could only complete the first race.

Matt Aldous-Horne was a little too good in his woody 438 and really showed what a well sailed £200 boat could do.  His third race start was textbook stuff and it looked very much as though he would be first round the windward mark.

After the let down of the first round at Island Barn being all but wiped out by the Beast from the East it was great to get going again.  Until the next one at Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club on 9th June thanks to everyone both afloat and ashore that made this a memorable event.  Did I mention I was fifth?

1. Matthew House 1432 Alton Water SC
2. Bob Portway 1334 Alton Water SC
3. Chris Roberts 1395 Creeksea SC
4. Nick Yannakoyoros 1291 Fishers Green SC
5. Eric Howe 1404 Creeksea SC

Optimum Time Watches Southern Phantom Travellers Series Round 3 at Bowmoor Sailing Club

Phantom Open Saturday 14th April. First race approx 11.00am. Entry is on the day from 09h00 with a fee of £15 payable at the registration desk (cash only). The Registration Fee includes tea/coffee and a bacon roll on arrival.

We are expecting fierce competition with some of the fleets top guns entering after this weekends training camp at Castle Cove Weymouth. Great club, huge car park with easy launching into a lake packed with Phantoms !!
See you there

Ivan

Optimum Time Watches Phantom Southern and Eastern Travellers at Island Barn Sailing Club.

Icy roads & snow significantly reduced attendance at this popular joint Southern & Eastern Travellers event. However, three Phantoms  did start without initial mishap in a strong NE wind.

Halfway through race one   Richard Barker's escapade was soon over when his sail shredded in a prolonged heavy gust. After leading throughout John Oldham had to settle for 2nd on Steve's 57th birthday when he chose the wrong finish mark.  Steve who borrowed Ivan Walsh's famous Prawn Star for the event decided to call it a day as his icy mainsheet began slipping through frozen fingers. 

Incredibly, John went on to complete race two & three alone and take the overall win.  A genuine local hero !!  

Sincere thanks to Island Barn for cheerfully putting on this event which was run to their usual high standard in challenging conditions

1st   1351  John Oldham        Island Barn SC

2nd  1300  Steve Popple        Shoreham SC

3rd   1289  Richard Barker     Island Barn SC