Anthill Mob crowned

New National Champions in the B14 class after final Plymouth Sound races in shifty conditions

With many competitors nursing injuries from the evening fun and games at the hands of the warped minds of Rod, Sharon and Kathy it was a reluctant fleet that launched into the light and variable breeze for the long run out to the start area.

Race 6 eventually got underway in a light northerly breeze with the fleet splitting up the beat in the shifty conditions looking for pressure. Anthill Mob showed their intentions to lead the fleet from Dynamic Sails with Seavolution (Mark Barnes/Tom Pygall) finally finding form to challenge in third. Some confusion on the second lap with the fleet clearly not reading the Sailing Instructions and some of the fleet misunderstanding the change of course signal. With the breeze heading right there were many place changes up the final beat but the top three remained unchanged with Anthill Mob from Dynamic Sails and Seavolution taking third from Team Gill.

Race 7 got underway with a big shift inside the starting sequence leading to boats making the windward mark in one tack with Dynamic Sails 2 (Tim Fells/James Stewart) leading. The race was rightly abandoned as the wind shut down completely much to the relief of both Dynamic Sails and the Anthill Mob who were dead and buried.

With conditions now complete calm the calculators came out and the smiles began to grow on the Anthill Mob, placed to take the event on count-back from Dynamic Sails. With the race officer setting a 1330 call to abandon if the breeze hadn’t returned, the Anthill Mob with a number of other boats began to head in, but the fat lady hadn’t quite sung yet and new breeze began to arrive with minutes to spare!

Race 7 got underway again in a building but patchy northerly. Team Gill showed they werent giving up the title just yet to lead from the Anthill Mob. Dynamic Sails buried down by the pin at the start staged an impressive first beat recovery to round behind in the front pack. With gusts now turning the run into a minefield, big gains and losses were common. Team Gill holding on to take the win from the Anthill Mob and Seavolution, with Dynamic Sails falling foul of the holes to drop back to 6th.

With the wind increasing to 5-10 knots the final race of the event saw the Anthill Mob leading by two points from Dynamic Sails with Team Gill still in the hunt. The fleet got away cleanly on the second attempt to see teams splitting up the beat in the more consistent breeze, crews finally making it to the wings for the first time in the event! Team Gill sailing a perfect first beat to take a solid lead round the top mark chased by Dynamic Sails, Winged Monkey (Mark Elkington/Charlie Game) Seavolution and Hyde Sails (Alan Davis/Toby Barsley-Dale). With Dynamic Sails having trouble on their hoist, this gave Team Gill the breathing space to get clear and never be threatened. The pack of following 5-6 boats saw extremely close racing with regular place changes throughout.

Going into the penultimate run there was nothing to choose between second and eighth but with the Anthill Mob in second looking strong for the title. The final beat saw the fleet round the top mark in a tight pack. Down the last run the boats breaking left saw more pressure from the increasingly nervous boats on the right including the Anthill Mob and Dynamic Sails. Team Gill looking like a possible last minute grab for the title taking first from Simmons&Simmons/Hyde Sails (Mark Watts/George Morris) with Sketchwork/North (Dave Hayes/Richie Bell) in third.

Nervous final moments as the boats from the left converged at the finish but the Anthill Mob held on for fourth and had done enough to take the 2009 title, with Dynamic Sails coming in 7th to drop to third overall on count-back from last years champions Team Gill.

Tim and Jonny are crowned deserved 2009 champions in the challenging conditions and have won their first ever B14 TT or Nationals event. The big question is can they follow last years B14 Champion to take the Endeavour Champion of Champions title later in the year?

Huge thanks to Mayflower Sailing Club for the event organisation and being such great hosts. Also to Dave Curno and team for managing 8 races in such challenging conditions. Finally a big thankyou to Hyde Sails and North Sails for sponsoring the event prizes.

The event moves on to continue to UK TT Series before the 2009 Europeans in Carnac over the August Bank Holiday.

Overall Championship Results (1 Discard)
1. Anthill Mob - Tim Harrison/Jonny Ratcliffe 18
2. Team Gill - Nick Craig/Tobytastic Lewis 21
3. Dynamic Sails - Dave Dobrijivec/Phil Eltringham 21
4. Sketch/North - Dave Hayes/Richie Bell 30
5. Dynamic Sails 2 - Tim Fells/James Stewart 42
6. Seavolution - Mark Barnses/Tom Pygall 42
7. Simmons&Simmons/Hyde Sails - Mark Watts/George Morris 45
8. Winged Monkey - Mark Elkington/Charlie Game 60
9. Acxiom - Mark Emmett/Allen Stuart 61
10. Hyde Sails - Alan Davis/Toby Barnsley-Dale 67

Overall Results - Handicap

1. Alex Willard/Daniel Hollands
2. Lucy Walter/Andrew Thompson
3. Will Brooks/Andrew
4. Crispin Taylor/Guy Harrill
5. Steve Hollingsworth/Chris Murphy
6. Kathy Sherratt/Andy Weir

1st Lady – Nikki Webster
1st Tin Rig – Crispin Taylor/Guy Harrill
1st Youth – Will Mcgrath/Harry
1st Newcomer – Oliver Love/Witty