Surprises at Lee on Solent

Heather Chipperfield reports from the RS200 racing

A red hot fleet of 54 boats and weather that became increasingly bizarre as the weekend progressed was the recipe for one of the most open events in many a year. It also saw all the top 10 record higher scores than the Zimbabwe top order did in the Test match, with no one having a clue who had won what. A point emphasised by Dave and Nicky Derby’s genuine surprise when, at the prize-giving, they were announced the winners with 29 points; only one other boat managed 5 top 10 results. The depth of the fleet was demonstrated by 28 boats recording top 10 results, and National Champions, Tom & Jo Hewitson counting results of 13, 11 and 25. Every leading boat could claim they could have won with bad luck and what if stories.

Saturday’s racing started with a really good force 4 from the West, and the classic Lee-on-Solent short chop. Lee Sydenham/Anne Vaudray were majestic in the first race to lead from start to finish with Hamish Calder/Severine Rees-Jones, Pete Vincent/Louisa Fewtrell and David Giles/Fiona Cark 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Jon Lewis/Millie Parsons shook off the early challenge of Paul Dorer/Ian Robertson to score an emphatic win from the Hewitsons, Dorer and Vincent in race 2. The wind now started to drop quickly, so race 3 was held in a force 2 with the tide turning. You had to go right up the first beat and Hamish Walker/Caroline Eyre, Steve Dunn/Harriett Edwards did this to perfection to be clear 1.2 with Ian Pickard/Lucy Matthews, Giles/Clark on 3rd and 4th.

After the RS Ball everything seemed nice on Sunday morning until you launched. Then the big black clouds rolled up the Solent and played havoc with the wind. A shift seemed to hit every 45 minutes, and the poor race officer shifted marks for England; setting up windward legs which varied from 210 to 330 degrees, and back again within 30 minutes. Race 4 started in a gentle force 2 with Lee Sydenham leading. The frontpack went right into falling breeze on the first run, and then watched in horror as anyone who gybed early found huge planning gusts under the front edge of a nasty cloud that took them to the leeward mark. Walker/Eyre must have thought Christmas had arrived early as they, in a cloud of spray, shot into the lead. Behind was carnage as boats capsized everywhere as the wind rose from force 1-2 to 5 in the blink of an eye. Walker won from James Stewart/Elaine Turner and Jane Robertson/Helen Rollinson, with Giles and Sydenham impressively recovering to 4th and 6th. The challenge of overnight leaders, Pickard/Matthews, disappeared in a rum & cokeinduced haze with a soggy 34th.

Race 5 did not exactly give the fleet chance to recover, after a long wait for the wind to settle everything seemed pleasant in a force 2 and sunshine at the start. Giles/Clark led but somehow capsized in a hole on a light wind run. Then for he final lap a very large cloud meant you had to go right, sit out and get very wet in heavy rain with a planning reach to the finish. The Derbys won from Walker, Dunn, and Chris Trainer/Bev Jordan. Walker/Eyre were now ahead overall, but everyone had a discard they did not want to write home about, so it was down to the last race.

With the wind now from the NW, the beat was against a strong tide. Calder and Vincent had the best starts and were 2.3 behind Phil Sowden and 11 year old Daniel Sowden at the first mark but none of these counted in overall victory terms. Calder led up the 2bd beat, but then the wind switched off. The Sowdens and Mark Dencher/Anna Harding sailed around Calder in more zephyrs, the front 4 inched their way around the windward mark to rush downwind with the tide. The rest of the fleet was slowly moving backwards away from the mark. Just when it looked like the time limit was going to come into play, a new breeze allowed everyone to reach to the windward mark. The Sowdens won, young Daniel now thinking this open meeting lark a real doddle, with Vincent sneaking second at the death from Dencher. The ever consistent Derbys finished 7th, with Giles and Sydenham in 8.14, and Walker a distant 24th and now having to count a 14th. This gave the Derbys overall victory by 2 point only.

Results

Pos	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Total	discard	Pnts
1	David Derby	Nicky Derby	Bough Beech	6	7	17	8	1	7	46	17	29
2	Hamish Walker	Caroline Eyre	RNSA	13	14	1	1	2	24	55	24	31
3	David Giles	Fiona Clark	Weir Wood	3	10	8	4	55	8	88	55	33
4	Lee Syndenham	Anne Vandry	Stokes Bay	1	5	19	6	12	14	57	19	38
5	Steve Dunn	Harriet	SWSC	16	55	2	12	3	9	97	55	42
6	Roger Gilbert	Katrina Gilbert	Frensham Pond	7	11	4	21	5	55	103	55	48
7	Martyn Jones	Clare Rowbottom	Itchenor	10	8	7	24	8	15	72	24	48
8	Pete Vincent	Louisa Buttons Fewtrell	Bristol Corinthian	5	4	42	31	10	2	94	42	52
9	Ian Pickard	Lucy Matthews	Bristol Corinthian	11	6	3	34	11	25	90	34	56
10	Paul Fisk	Caroline Fisk	ECA/RYA	55	19	9	5	7	20	115	55	60
11	James Stewart	Elaine Turner	Stokes Bay	18	55	16	2	16	10	117	55	62
12	Jon Lewis	Milly Parsons	Burghfield	4	1	33	17	21	55	131	55	76
13	Ralph Singleton	Sophie Singleton	Chew Valley Lake	21	17	6	15	18	22	99	22	77
14	John Blundell	Chris Blundell	Hallamshire	19	29	5	14	55	11	133	55	78
15	Sam Mettam	Orwin Murray	RNSA	20	16	10	22	13	21	102	22	80
16	Jane Robertson	Helen Rollinson	Bowmoor	29	25	11	3	32	13	113	32	81
17	Matt Davies	Andy Robertson	Hayling Island	8	12	31	10	30	23	114	31	83
18	Hamish Calder	Severine Rees-Jones	Royal Highland	2	34	24	20	55	4	139	55	84
19	Chris Trainor	Bev Jordan	Draycote Water	55	35	10	9	4	28	141	55	86
20	Paul Dorer	Ian Robertson	Bowmoor	12	3	14	7	55	55	146	55	91
21	Sue Antonelli	Jo Lloyd	Littleton	32	24	23	27	9	18	133	32	101
22	M English	Bridget Cooke	Wembley	27	21	29	18	20	16	131	29	102
23	Simon Gillow	Tracey Hill	Wembley	25	33	12	32	22	12	136	33	103
24	Charlie Roome	Jodi Dyer	Hayling Island	15	13	15	33	28	55	159	55	104
25	Mike Chapman	Sheridan Killwick	Wembley	24	27	45	16	33	5	150	45	105
26	Tom Hewitson	Jo Hewitson	BLYM	55	2	13	11	25	55	161	55	106
27	Ben Alexander	Liz Alexander	Deben YC	26	30	32	42	17	6	153	42	111
28	Sarah Taylor	Claire Upton-Brown	Hayling Island	17	28	41	23	6	55	170	55	115
29	Andi Riley	J Marsden	Stewartby	28	18	18	36	27	30	157	36	121
30	Cliff Millimer	Bec Millimer	CSC	9	9	36	40	31	55	180	55	125
31	Ann Jackson	Alan Skeens	Burghfield	55	23	22	28	36	17	181	55	126
32	Phil Sowden	Daniel Sowden	Highcliffe	31	36	20	55	39	1	182	55	127
33	Mark Harrison	Sally Harrison	Gurnard	30	37	21	29	19	32	168	37	131
34	Harry Roome	Prue Roome	Hayling Island	14	20	38	19	40	55	186	55	131
35	Trudie Banbury	Bert Ryder	Bristol Corinthian	23	15	26	55	15	55	189	55	134
36	Chris Smith	Paula Irish	Draycote Water	22	26	44	13	35	55	195	55	140
37	M Dencher	A Harding	Chew Valley Lake	55	39	27	46	26	3	196	55	141
38	Lucy Davey	Jane Sutor	Doris	36	31	40	38	37	19	201	40	161
39	Sarah Covington	Kellie Covington	Hill Head	38	44	28	39	14	55	218	55	163
40	Jaemi Gebhard	Karen Baker	Derwent Reservoir	39	41	35	45	23	27	210	45	165
41	Vanda Young	Jonathan Jonett	Littleton	37	38	48	35	29	29	216	48	168
42	Lynne Ratcliffe	Butch Roberts	Bough Beech	41	43	30	44	38	31	227	44	183
43	I McGregor	William McGregor	Salcombe	55	46	51	25	43	26	246	55	191
44	Nigel Furness	Jean Furness	Draycote Water	33	42	25	37	55	55	247	55	192
45	Alan Perry	Neil Chadborn	Wembley	40	45	34	41	34	55	249	55	194
46	W Carlton	A Carlton	Cotswold	55	49	49	47	45	5	250	55	195
47	Sarah Allan	Lauren Meadows	Hamble River	55	55	43	30	42	33	258	55	203
48	Paul Goodwin	Kate Gillow	Draycote Water	35	40	46	43	41	55	260	55	205
49	Alice Allen	Peter Cruickshank	Bristol Corinthian	34	32	39	55	55	55	270	55	215
50	Stephen Seargeant	Karen Garlick	Wembley	55	55	55	26	24	55	270	55	215
51	Derek Bretherton	Lesley Bennett	RYA	55	22	37	55	55	55	279	55	224
52	Will King	Jemma Langford	RNSA	42	47	47	55	44	55	290	55	235
53	Matt Hall	Jo Wells	Weston	43	48	52	55	55	55	308	55	253
54	E Hatton	M Barnes	Weir Wood	55	50	50	55	55	55	320	55	265