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Northern & European Regattas 2009
There is some great footage of the UK Northern and European Championships on Offshore Rules website. You can view this by clicking here
Solent Etchells Spring Series at RCYC Cowes
Some super-competitive one design racing took place in the Solent over the weekend, with the completion of the Etchells Solent Spring Series hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes on the 18th and 19th April. The Cowes fleet has always been competitive at World Championship level and with Ante Razmilovic, twice 3rd in the Worlds out for his first sail of the year,the competitiveness was raised a bar, especially as he turned out with Olympic Gold medallist Andrew “Bart” Simpson as his middle man!! James Howells (4th in the Worlds) had also got his boat out of the shed after winter and with David Bedford back in the middle they were another welcome addition to the starters list. Saturday dawned with a chilly but not cold northerly blowing at 10 to 14 knots and with 5 races scheduled a short course was the order of the day. Despite the returning hotshots the man of the day was Graham Bailey, another hot shot in his own right and winner of the first Spring Series weekend. Bailey, 6th in the Worlds in Chicago last year and perennial Cowes Week winner, crewed by David Heritage and Stephen Bailey was either 1st or 2nd in all 5 races on the Saturday, an outstandingly consistent set of results as the fleet was 12 boats deep and the start lines short, the courses crowded and the level of competitiveness as high as you could hope to see. Razmilovic got into his stride in race 2 with a win but was otherwise struggling to get up the first beat cleanly. James Howells scored a bullet as well but 2nd overall was Sam Carter who also won a race and was very consistent with a 1,2,4,4 to count (discarding an 11th). Surprise of the day might have been Hugh Evans though, who wasn’t overawed by the world championship sailors on parade and who slotted in solid scores to lock up 3rd overall just a point ahead of another Bailey, this time Julia.
Sunday dawned colder but brighter, slightly stronger breeze and the fleet set to with gusto. Nobody wanted to step back at the starts, which were frantic affairs, only slightly less intense than the leeward marks, which were very busy places!!!
However, the fleet got a lesson in getting off the start line from newcomer to the Etchells class, Sam Carter, who is sailing with John Alexander and Richard Glen. They won the first 2 races on Sunday, starting tidily, sailing smart and going high upwind. They found nice lanes and were able to protect them and build solid wins from there. Others started with a little less pace out of the blocks than they might have liked, but Rod Goddard, winner of 2 races at the Worlds last month in Melbourne looked to be there or thereabouts with a 6, 3, 3 in the first 3 races.
Race 3 was when things got very tough, a left shift made the start line pretty heavily biased to the pin and everyone was battling for clear air. Once again Sam Carter got out and away and although Ante Razmilovic took the bullet from the left, the team on “Evalina” was starting to look good for the days overall prize with a 2nd. Race 4 was another toughie with a fair amount of pin bias, but somehow the top boats got themselves away very nicely again, Bailey (G) , Razmilovic and Carter were 1, 2 and 3 and with that Sam Carter won the day, a great result and a very strong start for Sam who only started sailing in the class this year. This crew are now very well set up for the Northern Area’s and Europeans which are being sailed out of Holyhead in May. 2nd overall on Sunday was Ante Razmilovic, a single point behind Carter, with Graham Bailey in 3rd Bailey / Heritage and Bailey took the overall Spring Series Trophy to start the season in style.
The Solent fleet gathers for the Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron in 2 weeks time (May 2/3/4) when Stuart Childerly and Laurence Mead should have their boats back from the Melbourne worlds to add a couple more boats to the fleet. With the next four years of World Championship venues laid out for the class (Dublin / San Diego/ Sydney and Italy) and with 2 European locations among the four, there is a welcome surge of new owners in the fleet, and as for competitiveness, well if that’s what you are looking for, the Etchells Solent fleet is the place to sail.
Laurence Mead
Cowes Fleet Captain
Northern & European Regattas 2009
The Mersey Fleet are delighted to be organising the 2009 International Etchells European Championship to be held 23-25 May 2009 in Holyhead, North Wales, UK. We are expecting entries from the Solent, Irish, Italian and Dutch fleets and for those looking forward to the 2010 World Championship in Howth, Ireland, Holyhead offers a convenient, direct ferry terminus to Dublin, with roll-on, roll-off service.
As a warm-up event, the Fleet will run its first ever Northern Championship the previous weekend, 15-16 May 2009 at Holyhead. Both events are considered 'open' events, and a special regatta rate will be offered for both.
The Royal Mersey represents the Etchells newest fleet in the UK and will celebrate its 5th anniversary this year.
We at the RMYC and HSC extend a warm welcome to all competitors.
www.internationaletchells-holyhead.co.uk
With kind regards,
Tom Edge
International Etchells Class Mersey Fleet Captain
Cowes Spring Series 2009
A small fleet enjoyed some fabulous early season racing in the Solent Spring Series for Etchells hosted by the Royal Corinthian YC in Cowes over the weekend. The Etchells calendar has long started with a "warm-up" format and 5 races were sailed on Saturday and another 5 on Sunday in that spirit. The short two lap courses meant that competitors had 10 starts, 20 hoists and 20 drops to practise their crew work. With another 10 races planned for the middle of April weekend the fleet will have packed in more racing by mid April than some classes will manage all season!
The fleet was treated to 2 almost summer like days; Saturday was lighter and warmer with a SW sea breeze switching on for the last race, after some light air in the morning. A welcome change from last years spring series which was sailed in a thumping and very cold 28 knot southerly. Sunday was glorious; a 12 to 16 knot south easterly filled in early and with a tide change mid-day the strong Solent tides weren't a huge factor either.
The biggest challenge for the fleet was getting a good start on a short line, and if you started to leeward you needed great speed and an "on the button" start to get enough space to tack and cross the windward end starters still on starboard. Once or twice left shifts made that viable, once or twice the windward end was the place to start. Either way everyone’s time on distance was a lot better after 10 races than it was on Saturday morning!
With both days scored individually the Saturday was won overall by Irish visitor Stephen Quinn who won 2 races to kick off the season in style. Graham Bailey won twice and lost 1st overall on a count back. Both of these boats were well clear of Richard Glen in Evelina who has a strong program in place for 2009. Glen won the other race to put a marker down for the season ahead. 3rd, 4th and 5th places were all within one point, with Julia Bailey's consistency putting her ahead of Hugh Evans who was 5th.
On Sunday Graham Bailey hit form early taking races 1 and 2 with Richard Glen, John Alexander and S Carter never out of the top 3 trying to hang onto his coat tails. Race 3 was a turnaround with Andrew Cooper (sailing 2 up) taking a win having led from start to finish but never having been more than 2 boat lengths ahead of Bailey. He took the win by about 6 feet. Thereafter Bailey took race 4 to lock up the overall win for the day ahead of Richard Glen in "Evelina" and Stephen Quinn from Ireland. Cooper was 4th; Hugh Evans took 5th again after a consistent weekend.
The fleet gathers for 2 more days of Spring Series racing on the 18th and 19th of April and charter boats are available as are crewing spots, just ask Andrew Cooper and his overworked middleman, both of whom would have welcomed a 3rd on Sunday morning!
Laurence Mead
Cowes Fleet Captain
Times Online Article March 2009
Click here for a great Times Online article
