Northampton Open
Meeting - 29-30th April
Competitors arriving at Northampton were
greeted by bright but chilly conditions and, a gusty
force 3, which steadily eased to a patchy force 2 by
the time the sailors took to the water.
Race 1 saw most who started cleanly enough
head left of middle up the first beat and, with variations
in pressure and big shifts up at the windard mark it
was those who maximised the small shifts best who came
out on top. Rick Perkins (Harken) rounded just ahead
of Jamie Stevenson (Westway) followed by a tight bunch
of six boats headed by Dan Dixon. In the streaky breeze
the biggest gains and losses were to be made downwind,
which made the judgement of angles and deciding when
to heat the boat up critical.
By the end of the first downwind Perkins
and Stevenson had pulled further ahead and, Simon Reynolds
(Blighline) pulled up to third, hotly pursued by Dixon.
The battle in the following pack was intense with Will
Crocker, Gareth Davies, Dave Poston and, Simon Dodds
all battling it out.
On the following rounds, the lead switched
between Stevenson and Perkins, until Perkins stamped
his authority on the final beat, to finish in that order.
Reynolds pulled out on Dixon, who was followed home
by Simon Dodds.
Race 2 saw a big shift during the last
minute of the start sequence which Reynolds capitalised
on to port tack the fleet. With the wind having shifted
and eased, the beat became heavily biased and the race
somewhat processional. Perkins narrowly pipped Reynolds
to the windward mark having found better pressure and,
both began to pulled out on the fleet downwind. Huge
random holes in the breeze developed across the course
and strong rogue gusts, some shifting 20 degrees and
back, saw heartbreak moments throughout the fleet and,
a dunking for some caught unaware.
On the penultimate downwind Perkins got
caught in traffic and let Reynolds through, who picked
a personal gust that carried him 400 meters clear. Further
back, the fleet saw Dave Poston comfortably holding
third, whilst Stevenson and Davies battled it out for
forth. Up the final beat Perkins exerted his revenge
as Reynolds got becalmed in a big hole in the race course,
which he telegraphed to Perkins who sailed clear of
it and, defended the downwind to the finish. The race
finished in that order and, newcomer Mike Palfreman
showed good bursts of speed to lift him up to sixth.
Race 3 got under way following a repositioning
of the committee boat, a steadier breeze and a squarer
line and, the beat saw a close tussle between Dan Dixon
and Perkins, with the pair inseparable at the windward
mark. This tussle continued until the final lap when
Perkins pulled clear and put a welcome cushion between
him and Dixon, who himself had to fight to hold a late
charging Reynolds out of the finish. Slightly further
back saw a dogfight between Simon Dodds, Will Crocker
and, Dave Poston, who finished in that order.
Sunday dawned bright but windless
and, many past the time away by clearing the galley
out bacon rolls whilst waiting for the race officer
to decide on the day. Eventually, racing was abandoned
and, with three races sailed was just enough for a series
and a result to stand. With a clean set of bullets,
Rick Perkins (Harken) took a deserved win and, showed
that the use of Paul Brotherton’s coaching website was
already paying dividends. Simon Reynolds (Blighline)
took a comfortable second, whilst Jamie Stevenson capitalised
on a poor second race result by Dan Dixon to take third
ahead of Simon Dodds, who was showing a welcomed return
to form. The event was attended by a number of newcomers
to the class, who having put some dedicated practice
in are already showing well in the racing and, Dan Dixon
will be one to watch as the season progresses.
Results:
1st Rick Perkins (Harken)
2nd Simon Reynolds (Blighline)
3rd Jamie Stevenson (Westaway Sails)
4th Simon Dodds
5th Dan Dixon
6th Dave Poston
7th Gareth Davies
8th Will Crocker
9th Tim Chapman
10th Mike Palfreman
11th Paul Clarke
11th Ben Swann
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