Event 3
Venue: Hove Lagoon, Hove
Date: 24 June 2007

On 24th June 07 the South Eastern T15 Teams met up at Hove for their 3rd event of the season, to compete for their individual category prizes and the all important ‘Winning Team’ of the event prize. The Races were held in the Lagoon as the UKWA Championships were being held on the sea. With light winds due to a wind shadow from the clubhouse and occasional showers of rain, these weren’t races for the light hearted.

The race was an ‘S’ course, with little sailing upwind and straight off starts, with no countdowns, making the first leg of the race all important in battling for the positions. Henry from Aqua sports (B2) set the scene as he blasted off the start line to let the battle commence!

Henry, Harvey & Harry Battle it out in 3.5m class.

The 3.5m class were once again the most popular, with 9 competitors sailing for their teams. Henry Bloodworth (B2) of Aqua Sports Aquanauts played a blinder in his first race, getting off to a fantastic lead and maintaining it for the rest of the course, with Zara Petts (R12) for Hythe Hotshots coming in close behind. Henry continued to do well in all his races, coming first in every single one, a fantastic achievement and improvement from just 2 weeks before. He won vital points for The Aquanauts.

The second race was a perfect alliterative dream as Henry, Harvey & Harry battled for 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Harvey Mason (Y4) for Bewl Blasters worked hard for 2nd place, coming 2nd in every race except one, and threatening for Bewl to win the Team Award again.

The wind proved changeable and unpredictable for the 3.5m’s, meaning that adjustments to the course had to be made and the finish line extended – an example of just how difficult the conditions proved to be

Alex Barry proves his Techno technique is a winner for 4.5m class

In the 4.5m class, the winner too was clear cut, with Alex Barry (R7) winning 5 of his 6 races for Hythe Hotshots, also getting himself the Techno class 1st place, and putting on another excellent performance. 2nd place went to James Farnes (R11), meaning it was a Red-One-Two for Hythe. The battle for 3rd place was far closer, with Arthur Plant (B9) of Aqua Sports finishing on equal points with David Stinton (Y5) of Bewl Blasters. It was down to best discount for 3rd place, just going to David, who had been sailing well all day, often getting off to a lead on the first leg. Bewl Blaster’s David, Oliver and Cameron looked like close buddies following a clear line with synchronised sailing at times – something to be worked on in training before they hit the sea at Hythe.

5.5m a Hot Contest

The 5.5m class seemed to grow, with prospects of making only 2 competitors race with the 4.5ms, until 5 other racers turned up from nowhere, making this class a hot contest for 1st place. Thomas Addison (R10) of Hythe Hotshots and Scott Mason (1) of Bewl Blasters fought competitively for the number 1 position. Thy finished on equal points, with the best discount as the decider. Scott’s 3rd place in his first race against Thomas Addison’s 1st’s and 2nd’s meant that Thomas won the 5.5m class, and got those all important points for Hythe. Glenn Sullivan (Y14) of Bewl came 3rd overall, having also participated in the Freestyle events next door on Hove seafront in beasting winds!

Stuart not finding it “Hard” to win the 6.8m class

The 6.8m Free class was fought between two racers; Stuart Hards (R15) and Jessica Plant (B6). Stuart of Hythe Hotshots came out on top in 5 of his 6 races, with Jessica of Aqua Sports sailing consistently close to him, ensuring that the race was a real battle for both racers. The win for Hythe meant that their chances of winning the Team Award for the first time this year were greatly improved.

Techno 6.8m skilful class show the onlookers how it’s done

In the 6.8m Techno class, possibly the most technically skilful class, 3 races were competed. Unfortunately for Bewl they did not have a single racer in this class this time, leaving it to Sam Conroy (R3) of Hythe to race for first place with Conor Wells (B1) and Charlie Wilson (B15) of Aqua Sports Aquanauts. The 3 racers did excellently, all coming 1st at least once but all coming last at least once as well. Although the three finished within 3 points of each other, Sam Conroy of Hythe just pipped the Aqua Sports boys to the post, getting another first place for Hythe, leaving Conor and Charlie to try and get 2nd place. In the end there was almost nothing between them, with points and discounted race being the same, meaning that it was number of 1st places which one it for Conor over Charlie.

Finally, after all the individual races and awards came the ‘Team Award’ which, deservedly went to Hythe Hotshots, meaning that all 3 teams have won it once this season. Excitingly, the final meeting at Hythe will be the decider for the overall season winner!

A big thanks to Harvey Dawkins and the team at Hove Lagoon for allowing the T15s to hold their event and for cooking some delicious Bacon Baguettes.

Tune in & surf on line for the results of “Hythe” T15 South Eastern contest July 22nd.

Team winners - Hythe Hotshots 

Report written by: Scott Mason

Photos courtesy of Ian Kraft

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

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