UK Inland Nationals
sponsored by Ovington Boats
Report by Bruce Keen.
33 Musto sailors were
treated to relatively warm conditions on the first day
of the Ovington Inlands. Notable absences were the Essex
boys. Some said that they were drafted in as extras
in the next season of "The Only Way Is Essex"
(http://www.itv.com/channels/itv2/itv2shows/theonlywayisessex/),
while others thought that they may have recently been
evicted from their homes in a well publicised
eviction process...
Also missing was Danny "Dog" Vincent who had
decided that he would prefer not to show his potential
in his new(er) boat and decided to fulfil his family
commitments by sailing a Firefly instead. Those missing
were put to shame by Tristan Williams who had travelled
across from Holland to take part.
Four races were sailed on the Saturday
in 8-10 knots, with Tom "Sausage" Wright showing
early form by taking two of the race wins. Alastair
Conn and Richard Stenhouse also picked up a race win
each. The moderate conditions and flat water made the
racing very close with large groups of boats often rounding
the marks at the same time.
Important lessons learnt by some sailors on Saturday
were:
- the SatNav is sometimes right
- an open meeting is not a good place to experiment
with a new trapeze harness
- it is possible to call "Stokes Bay Shoot-out"
(see defintion below**) without capsizing afterwards
Some very tired sailors were appreciative
of the comfortable sofas in the Grafham clubhouse on
Saturday evening and were treated to a live band and
a fireworks display all supported by Ovington Boats.
Thanks guys.
 The
breeze had picked up to around 15 knots on Sunday morning,
but the temperature had dropped to more normal levels.
Mikey Mike Palfreman struggled to find his form from
the previous day, with rumours of an attack by a giant
Killer Shrimp (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11246642)
being the cause for his capsizes. Wright dominated the
three races taking the first two races by a considerabe
margin. He only lost his lead briefly in the final race
when he mistankingly sailed the wrong way round the
gate mark (much to the amusement of the race committee).
Well done to Tom Wright for winning the
event counting five 1sts and a 3rd. Sten took 2nd overall,
with Bruce Keen in 3rd.
Tom was the first to recieve the new trophy
donated by Ovington Boats.
Current Musto Skiff World Champion Dan
Henderson and current National champion James McIntosh
(with Brendon Jenner) put in respectable performances
in the 49er class to finish 4th and 5th respectively.
Thanks to Ovington Boats and Grafham Water
Sailing Club for sponsoring and organising an excellent
event.
Results: http://grafham.dyndns.org/Gwsc_Results/Open%20Meetings/2011/Ovington%20Inlands%202011.htm
** Definitions
"Stokes Bay Shoot-out"
- When three or more Stokes Bay boats round a mark consecutively,
the sailors can can call "Stokes Bay Shoot-out".
The winner of the shoot-out is the first boat to the
next mark. Club bragging rights are up for grabs if
any passing manoeuvres can be performed. Typically the
boat calling the shoot-out capsizes on the next leg.
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