Results

New Year’s Day Pursuit at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club. With a 9 knot wind forecasted for the start of the race, building to 12 knots by the end, things were looking promising for the annual New Year’s Day pursuit race at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club with a ￡100 prize for the winner. Thirty-five visitors made the trip, despite the recent winter conditions, only to find that the forecasters had got it wrong as the early morning breeze disappeared to leave the lake like a millpond. An hour before the start time it looked as though the weather was going to force an abandonment but at 12.30pm a breeze appeared at the top end of the lake and progressed down the length. The decision was made to start the Optimists at 12.45pm meaning that the Toppers would lead the rest of the fleet away about 35 minutes later.

Three Optimists set off in a reasonable Force 2 on a course set by OD Keith Summersgill covering the whole width and length of Pennington Flash. Martin Wrigley from Barnt Green SC led at the end of their first lap which was completed just before the Toppers made their way through the start line. By the time the Optimists and Toppers had made their way up the beat to the top of Pennington Flash, the wind was losing some of it’s earlier strength and by the time the last boat started (a 49er sailed by Jonny McLovin and Sarah Williams from Port Dinorwic) the wind was virtually non-existent. The fleet struggled to keep moving and as some boats finished their first lap by the clubhouse, the lure of a hot drink and a warm shower brought several of the boats back to shore.

About 30 minutes before the end of the race, the wind did an about face and started to fill in again allowing the faster boats to start eating away at the commanding 1 lap lead currently held by the Optimists. Steven Hunt (Pilkington SC) in his Solo had managed to pass the Toppers and was leading the rest of the fleet in their attempts to make the best of the filling breeze. He was hotly chased by Matt Mee and Emma Norris (Hollingworth Lake SC/LLSC) in their RS200, the three Enterprises from West Lancs SC, Chris Pickles and Laura Westell in another RS200 from Delph SC and the Fireball of Nicky and Christian Birrell from LLSC.

Meantime the three Optimist had been having their own private battle with Martin Wrigley and Hayden Griffiths (LLSC) swapping the pole position at various times and Bobby Hewitt constantly snapping at their heels. On the start of the last beat it was Haydn who led but Martin found a good lifting shift up the beat and once he crossed ahead of Haydn, covered him up the rest of the beat to round the top mark ahead and took the front spot as the finish gun sounded part way along the next reach.

With two minutes to go, the leaders of the chasing fleet rounded the leeward mark of the second beat in the course. Steven Hunt had seen the RS200 of Matt Mee and Emma Norris chip away at his lead as the breeze re-appeared and, despite his best efforts to cover them, lost out at the top mark, just as the finish gun sounded.

Results:

1st – Martin Wrigley (Optimist) – Barnt Green SC

2nd – Haydn Griffiths (Optimist) – LLSC

3rd – Bobby Hewitt (Optimist) – LLSC

4th - Matt Mee and Emma Norris (RS200) - Hollingworth Lake SC/LLSC

5th - Steven Hunt (Solo) - Pilkington SC

6th – Steve Blackburn and Nick Hampson (Enterprise) – West Lancs/Pilkington

7th – Mike Birch & Tom Foster (Enterprise) – West Lancs

8th – Nicky & Christian Birrell (Fireball) – LLSC

9th - Chris Pickles and Laura Westell (RS200) – Delph SC

10th – Charles Adams and Oli Hilliker (Enterprise) – West Lancs