Print

[maxibuddah]

2010 Sutton Bingham SC Phantom Open
The 2010 running of the Phantom open at Sutton Bingham resulted in some bizarre events. Before the event even commenced a travelling sailor managed to miss the club turning, decided to turn around in the nearby picnic area and completely missed the low height barrier on the entrance. Unfortunately for him his lovely shiny carbon didn’t and ended up in two pieces. On the plus side the lack of any wind whatsoever meant he had time to borrow a tin mast and re-rig his boat.

A slight puff of wind allowed the race officer to set a short course in the middle of the lake after lunch and the 13 sailors took to the water with some enthusiasm. Roger Battersby, back in a Phantom for the first time since his defection to the Slowlo’s gave everyone a laugh by promptly falling in practicing a roll tack. For the race itself Ian Jay picked up the wind before everyone else and zoomed off in the gentle zephyr soon picking up a 150 yard lead. Simon Hawkes and Tom Abbott fought continuously behind. It was those sort of conditions that any lead could be lost and Jay proved it by sitting still for 5 minutes until Hawkes & Abbott caught him. Hawkes got past but Abbott couldn’t, and this time it was his turn to sit in a hole while everyone behind caught up. Eventually Hawkes took the win, Jay second and Abbott fell back to 7th. Phil Wheeler sporting a lovely borrowed tin rig ghosted past for 3rd with the Battersby in 4th.

A similar course was used for the 2nd race and this time Battersby decided to wait until the start itself to provide the merriment of the other helms by diving head first into the water just as the gun went. It didn’t hold him up too much as the wind had died yet again. Jay & Hawkes went left, Wheeler and the majority right. It appeared that Wheeler would get to the windward mark first but the wind swung and filled slightly from the left and Jay got there first. The next leg was nominally a reach but the leaders had to beat to the mark, tacking up to 8 times without really changing the direction of the boat. The next leg again turned in to a beat for some of it before returning to the expected run and Hawkes sailed past Jay to take the lead. At the last mark a wind shift allowed Jay to overtake Hawkes. Within 10 yards of the finish though the wind was dying and the windward boat of Jay slowed allowing the leeward boat to eke out what was left of the wind and the leeward most one of Pete Barnstable took the wind with Paul Kerley only a fraction behind. Jay took third. Hawkes ended up in 7th.

The best wind of the day appeared for the last race and in fact some competitors nearly sat on the side of the boat. Hawkes sailed well and lead from start to finish taking the line honours and the open win with it. Battersby decided now was the time to stop messing around and sailed well battling with Jay & a fast improving Chris Bottomley. Bottomley got confused on the rounding of the leeward mark and tangled with Jay resulting in a 720° penalty turn which relegated him to 5th. Battersby & Jay continued with Kerley closing them down all of the time. Jay eventually took second despite having to return a missed out mark and Battersby in third. Kerley couldn’t quite get there and took forth.

Overall Results

1st    Simon Hawkes      Wimbleball SC
2nd    Ian Jay         Sutton Bingham SC
3rd    Paul Kerley      Castle Cove SC
4th   Pete Barnstable      Castle Cove SC
5th   Roger Battersby      Sutton Bingham SC
6th   Phil Wheeler      Spinnaker SC
7th   Chris Bottomley      Sutton Bingham SC
8th   Simon Hare      Oxford SC
9th   John Bower      Plymouth Corinthian YC
10th   Nigel Leveridge      Sutton Bingham SC
11th   Tom Abbott      Sutton Bingham SC
12th   Steve Joyce      Sutton Bingham SC
13th   Richard Cumberbatch   Sutton Bingham SC