Curtis dominates

One sailor stood out from the rest in the mixed conditions at the UK, OK Inland Championship

A weekend of contrasts was ahead for the 26 OK sailors that assembled at Northampton Sailing Club for the 2006 Inland Championships. Excellent hospitality and slick race management was combined with everything from hot sunshine and drifter conditions to a 30 knot squall with hail.

Defending champion Terry Curtis got off to a good start winning race one by a substantial margin in 10 to 15 knots. Robert Deaves spent most of the race in second but lost it to Mike Edwards on the final tack to the finish line.

After lunch the fleet set sail again under a large black cloud. Sure enough, a few minutes later balls of spray were flying round the lake in 30 knots of wind and hail. The race officer wisely waited for the wind to abate and then started race two in about ten knots. A gradually shifting wind meant a shortened course after one lap with Mike Edwards taking the win from Tony Thresher and Curtis.

The final race of the day was started in just a few knots of shifty wind with little margin for overtaking. Alex Scoles got the best of the start to round first and extend to win by three minutes. Andrew Day sailed well to hold on for second, just ahead of Curtis. Overnight Edwards held a slim lead.

Sunday dawned bright and breezy with excellent prospects for good racing. Terry Curtis showed everyone why he was the defending champion, winning all three races in the 10-15 knot winds.

Race four nearly went to Simon Childs. After leading most of the way he capsized on the final gybe to let three boats through.

Race 5five was a battle between Curtis, Scoles and Deaves with very close tactical racing upwind on the short figure of eight course. The final race proved to be the best with a much longer beat and better reaches which Curtis won easily. Ian Harris finally found some of his old form to hold on to second with Jon Fish losing his hard fought for third place on the finish line to Tony Thresher.

Results:

Pos	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Tot
1	Terry Curtis	1	-3	3	1	1	1	7
2	Mike Edwards	2	1	4	5	6	-7	18
3	Robert Deaves	3	4	5	-6	3	6	21
4	Alex Scoles	6	-20	1	9	2	9	27
5	Tony Thresher	10	2	11	2	(27 OCS)	5	30
6	Simon Childs	7	-16	12	4	4	3	30
7	Jon Fish	5	9	(27 DNF)	7	5	4	30
8	Ian Harvey	4	6	(27 DNF)	10	9	2	31
9	Dan Ager	12	10	7	3	-13	8	40
10	John Meadowcroft	8	5	(27 DNF)	8	7	17	45
11	Neil Goodhead	-15	7	8	15	8	11	49
12	Anthony Rich	9	-18	10	12	11	10	52
13	Andrew Day	13	13	2	-16	14	13	55
14	Andy Turner	14	12	13	11	10	(DNC)	60
15	Deryck Lovegrove	11	14	14	14	-20	12	65
16	Bill Bradburn	18	11	6	-21	18	14	67
17	Julian Bonham	16	8	15	13	16	(27 DNF)	68
18	Keith Dutton	-19	19	9	19	15	16	78
19	Robert Bourne	17	15	17	17	17	(DNC)	83
20	Garth Thompson	-21	21	16	20	19	15	91
21	Dave Cooper	20	17	18	-22	22	19	96
22	Paul Pike	22	22	20	-23	21	20	105
23	Edward Dutton	-25	23	19	25	23	18	108
24	J P Williams	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	18	12	DNC	111
25	Roger Cooper	24	24	21	-26	25	22	116
26	Colin Page	23	25	(27 DNF)	24	24	21	117