Shadows at 'Reg Fest'

20 Single handed Shadow cats gathered in Brightlingsea, for a combined multihull event

The Shadow Nationals took place on 26-28th September as part of 'Reg Fest 2008', with three of the cat classes that Reg White has produced gathered together at Brightlingsea, the home of cat sailing to help celebrate Reg’s retirement. A great turnout of 20 Shadows produced fantastic close racing and confirms the Shadow as the number one fast singlehanded cat class in the UK.

Friday provided perfect force three to four conditions with a big course out to sea - easy to see why this was the perfect area to develop the modern catamaran in the 1960s. Yves Loday lead from the start, chased by Olly Harris and Robin Leather. Yves broke his tiller before the last run, but still managed to win, having repaired it while blasting downwind only a little slower than normal!

Race two saw the newer sailors getting to grips with the boat and a lot of place changing right through the fleet. Yves capsized, letting Laurie Gustar and Tim Swinburn fight for the lead. The choice between inshore or offshore was tricky in the strong tide and Carl Blenkinsop got it right, appearing at the finish to take the race and Ian Cuthberton also having a great race in fourth.

Race three was the windiest, with Yves back in the lead, Olly second and Robin Leather third plus a tight race mid fleet and a lot of very fast downwind battles going on.

Friday evening featured Bob Fisher presenting the story of Reg’s sailing career, and the surprise appearance of his 1976 Gold Medal winning crew John Osborne, making it three gold medallists present.

Race four on Saturday started in a light sea breeze which gradually strengthened. These conditions produced very close racing right through the fleet with Laurie beating Olly for second place and David Brief going very well in fourth.

In Race five, Yves capsized again, earning him the prize for most capsizes, but was up in a flash and past leader Robin by the second lap. This time, Dave Lowe found more speed to come third, with a number of photo finishes further back.

At the start of Race six, a number of boats were OCS and the windier conditions saw the familiar order of Yves then Olly, but with Carl and Ian Smith up in third and fourth places. From first to last, the gaps between boats were very small, showing the appeal of strict one design racing.

Saturday night featured an amazing live band sponsored by Towergate Mardon, including a guest appearance on lead guitar and vocals from new Shadow sailor Dermot Mangan. Sunday was very light and shifty, with only one race in which the lead changed between Yves and Olly with Carl and Laurie close behind. Carl hit the final gate mark, but did his turn and still held onto third place, securing third overall on equal points with Laurie.

Organisation and catering throughout the event was superb, including teas after racing sponsored by English Braids. Prizes were sponsored by Loday White and Hyde sails. This was a hugely successful and fun event, thanks to the efforts of Brightlingsea sailing club and the White family. The Shadows, Spitfires and Hurricanes look forward to getting together for other events and returning to Brightlingsea in the future.

Results:

1-Yves Loday (5 points) CNBPP France
2-Olly Harris (11 points) Weston SC
3-Carl Blenkinsop (18 points) Gurnard SC
4-Laurie Gustar (18 points) Gurnard SC
5-Robin Leather (20 points) Gurnard SC
6-Tim Swinburn (28 points) Grafham Water SC