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REPORT OF PHANTOM OPEN MEETING ON 23RD APRIL

85% of the entries were visitors who had travelled from as far as Ipswich and Milton Keynes. They found the lake almost full of water but conditions otherwise were more conducive to marathon running than sailing overcast, drizzle and no wind!

After a postponement the fleet got away in a light breeze. Your scribe made a bad start but told himself that he could only improve but he didn't! Ken Daniels found conditions much to his liking as he established a lead that he held unchallenged to the finish. There was some place changing behind him with Gordon Banning getting second from Chris Shelton in third.

The lunch break brought a slight increase in breeze strength to possibly force 1, and Jeff Warley as R.O. wisely stuck with the same course, as the direction of the breeze was fairly steady. Shelton lead the fleet this time with Ian Miller finding occasional bursts of boat speed but not enough to hold off Banning and Doug Rivers when it mattered at the finish.

In the last race Ron Chivers and I had good starts but were subsequently told by shore side observers that we should not have gone up the middle! Isn't it easy sailing from the warmth of the clubhouse? However those going left benefitted. This race saw the closest finish of the meeting. Shelton won; Daniels had his own private gust that brought him through the fleet from last to second in literally the last 400 yards; and Banning took third. But this was a very close finish with all boats bow to transom and no more than 50 yards covering the whole fleet.

It was the sort of day that had it been club racing I would most probably have stayed home and won brownie points. But I sailed; had a far better sail than expected; received good comments from the visitors who were mostly first time to Bewl and they went home happy after a good tea and prize giving.

RESULTS:

1ST, CHRIS SHELTON, 979, DOWNS SC, 2PTS

2ND, KEN DANIELS, 1115, WEMBLEY SC, 3PTS

3RD, GORDON BANNING, 1185, HAVERSHAM SC, 4PTS

=4TH, DOUG RIVERS, 1092, LEIGH ON SEA SC, 8PTS

=4TH, IAN MILLER, 1155, ALTON WATER SC, 8PTS

=6TH, ROGER BROWN, 1167, BEWL VALLEY SC, 11PTS

=6TH, RON CHIVERS, 1231, WESTON SC, 11PTS

 

REPORT FROM ROGER L BROWN

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