Aug – Sept (11/8/02) (19/8/02) (27/8/02) (2/9/02) (8/9/02)
The annual Stour Race, organized by the Sandwich Bay Sailing Club, took place on Sunday. There were eight entrants from Downs SC, most of whom sailed up the coast from Deal to the start line in Sandwich Bay. The weather was poor, with rain and only a light wind. At the start the 29er of Chris Catt was first away, but the RS400 of Richard White followed by the Buzzes of Simon Cory and Ed Styles were close behind. As the boats entered Pegwell Bay they began tacking to reach the end of the river and Richard White was first to hoist his spinnaker at the estuary mouth. As the race progressed, the wind began to swing round to the South which meant that being able to tack efficiently in the narrow channel became important. Simon Cory overtook the RS400 in one of the dead spots and the less manoeuvrable 29er fell back. The wind dropped away towards the end of the race and a number of the slower boats had to be towed for the final stretch. At the finish near the Quay at Sandwich, the Buzz of Simon Cory was first across the line and took the trophy back to Deal.
Results: 1st Simon Cory & Annie Smith (Buzz) 2nd Ed & Sarah Styles (Buzz) 3rd Richard White & Martyn Styles (RS400) 4th & first cadet Chris & Nikki Catt (29er) 5th & first lady Clare & Chris Stubbs (RS200)
(2/9/02)
Only two boats braved the Force 5-6 North-Easterly on Tuesday evening. Although there were large waves breaking on the beach and even the rescue boat had some difficulty getting out, once on the water the crews enjoyed the steady wind and reached some impressive speeds on the run down tide with the waves. Ed Styles recovered from a poor start to take the win.
Results: Asymmetrics 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd John Cass and Andrew Robinson (Buzz).
On Thursday twelve boats enjoyed a warm Southerly breeze which reached Force 4 at times. In the fast handicap, disaster befell the two leaders when the boom on Richard White's RS400 broke and he was forced to retire. Simon Cory, despite finishing in the lead, was relegated to sixth place for being over the line at the start. This left Ed Styles to win the race after passing Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman on the second lap. In the slow handicap, James Cooke showed excellent speed in his new Laser to take the win with Roger Phillips in second place.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 3rd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 4th Nigel Cureton (Contender) 5th Chris Shelton and Pat Clarke (RS400) 6th Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st James Cooke (Laser) 2nd Roger Phillips and Nick O'Dell (RS200) 3rd John Wilkinson and Will Hardy (Albacore) 4th Steve Stagg (Laser).
Sunday saw eighteen boats competing for the Rice Trophy. This event is a long distance pursuit race lasting three hours, the slower boats start first according to their handicap and first past the post after three hours is the winner. The Buzz fleet was swelled by the first appearance of Steve and Katie Restall in their new boat and the return of Frank Catt following repairs to his boat. The first to start was the Miracle of Chris Shelton, with both tide and wind coming from the North, the long beat up to the pier was a slow leg for him, however with a 45 minute start over some of the faster boats, it was the third lap before he was caught by Chris Stubbs in a Laser 2000. The wind strength and size of the waves increased gradually throughout the race leading to some exciting surfing on the downwind legs but suprisingly few capsizes and a small number of retirements. Competition in the Buzz fleet was fierce with all the boats closely grouped until the third lap when they began to spread out. Simon Cory and Annie Smith pulled out a good lead and went on to win overall after passing Chris Stubbs on the final lap. Ed and Sarah Styles finished just behind Chris. Alan Mollat sailing a Contender managed to catch the trailing Buzzes on the final lap and was the first non-asymmetric boat to finish.
Results: 1st Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 2nd Chris and Helen Stubbs (Laser 2000) 3rd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 4th Frank and Chris Catt (Buzz) 5th Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 6th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz)
The run of light winds looked set to continue on Tuesday evening for the Downs SC members. However the darkening skies heralded the appearance of more extreme weather, after a lap or so of gentle sailing, the heavens opened and the torrential rain and violent gusts from different directions battered the fleet. There were a fair number of capsizes but all the boats finished safely with Ed Styles taking the Asymmetrics and John Wilkinson the slow handicap.
Results: Asymmetrics 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 3rd John Cass and Andrew Robinson (Buzz) 4th John Waterfall (RS Vareo) 5th Allan Dewar (Laser 2000) 6th Jeremy Blackman abd Rick Clements (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st John Wilkinson and Will Hardy (Albacore) 2nd Chris Catt (Topper) 3rd Tim Ellis (Topper) 4th James O'Dell (Topper) 5th Josh and Sandy Cameron (Laser Fun)
On Thursday a light breeze from the South and a low tide provided more gentle sailing conditions. John Cass pulled away at the start finding a steadier wind out to sea where he also took advantage of the tidal flow towards Dover. On the following run it was the reverse case, with Chris Dutton gybing inshore to dodge the tide and making considerable gains. By the second lap, Richard White had overtaken the Buzzes and led the fleet with Clare Stubbs and Roger Phillips in an RS200 keeping in touch with the leaders. The breeze picked up slightly at the finish giving an advantage to the later finishers.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 2nd Richard White and Rick Clements (RS400) 3rd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 4th John Cass and Andrew Robinson (Buzz) 5th John Waterfall (RS Vareo) Slow Handicap 1st Clare Stubbs and Roger Phillips (RS200) 2nd John Wilkinson and Will Hardy (Albacore)
The start of racing on Sunday was delayed to allow the forecast North-Easterly to fill in and some crews took advantage of this to have a refreshing swim. In the Pursuit race, it was the Laser 2000 of Alan Dewar that started early and maintained a lead throughout despite the best attempts of John Wilkinson in his Albacore to catch him. Rick Clemence also showed good speed in his RS Vareo to finish in third place. Behind them Chris Dutton managed to pass Tony Cook and hold off the challenge of fellow Buzz helm Simon Cory.
Results: Pursuit 1st Alan Dewar (Laser 2000) 2nd John Wilkinson (Albacore) 3rd Rick Clemence (RS Vareo) 4th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 5th Tony Cook (Contender) 6th Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) The wind strength had increased by the start of the Handicap race to a very pleasant Force 3-4 which allowed the crews to begin trapezing upwind and gain some exciting speed on the reaches. After one false start, the fleet got away with the Buzzes of Ed Styles and John Cass to the fore. They maintained this lead throughout, but behind them there was a close contest between Chris Dutton and crew James Cooke and Simon Cory, crewed by Annie Smith. After swapping places several times it was Cory who took the line honours. In the slow handicap the RS200 of Roger Phillips held off the challenge of John Wilkinson to take first place, although coming ashore proved more difficult than winning, with Roger having to be towed off the lee shore by Simon Cory.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 3rd Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 4th Chris Dutton and James Cooke (Buzz) 5th Tony Cook (Contender) Slow Handicap 1st Roger Phillips (RS200) 2nd John Wilkinson (Albacore) 3rd Chris Shelton (Miracle)
After a beautiful sunny day with very little wind the sailors arrived at the beach on Thursday to find a narrow band of wind extending to about three-quarters of a mile off-shore coming from the South. This was sufficient to sail and so the race began in a very light breeze.
At the start, the fast handicap fleet were bunched at the port end of the line, but Richard White and Martyn Styles in their RS400 managed to cross the fleet on port tack and were first to the windward mark. Behind them, John Cass was ahead in the Buzz contingent, however he was being chased by Chris Dutton and Simon Cory and on the penultimate lap Cory managed to get ahead. On the final lap the wind began to die away, however the tide was slack and so the fleet were able to complete the race. Ed Styles took advantage of the bunching of the three Buzzes ahead of him to take the lead on the run, but in the dying breeze it was the early-finishing boats which had the advantage and so the race winner was Rick Clemence in his RS Vareo.
In the slow handicap fleet, Mike Martin-Short took the honours followed by Clare Stubbs in an RS200.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Rick Clemence (RS Vareo) 2nd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 3rd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 4th Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 5th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 6th John Cass and Kathryn Hewitt (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st Mike Martin-Short (Streaker) 2nd Clare Stubbs and Roger Phillips (RS200) 3rd Martin O'Dell (Laser) 4th John Wilkinson (Albacore) 5th Chris and Helen Stubbs (Laser 2000) 6th James O'Dell (Laser Radial)
On Sunday the sailors competed for the Norman Atkins trophy. The format of the event was three short races held back to back, amongst the fourteen entrants the competition was fierce, and from the three races there were three different winners from different classes of boat. After a short delay for lack of wind, a light breeze began to fill in, initially from the North-East and then from the South-East for the start of the first race. Ed Styles and Chris Dutton in their Buzzes started well, as did the Contender of Tony Cook. After one lap the wind began to die away but the order at the front remained the same except that Simon Cory and Annie Smith moved up into third place. As the leaders finished, the wind began to fill in again and the fleet finshed in a pleasant breeze. On corrected time, the Miracle of Chris Shelton took second spot, splitting the three Buzzes.
The second and third races took place in a slightly stronger wind, which Chris Catt, fresh from his success in the Topper National Championships, found more to his liking. His first and third positions were enough to give him the Norman Atkins trophy as he was able to discard an eleventh from the first race. Simon Cory won the battle of the Buzzes, with Ed Styles in third place.
Results: 1st Chris Catt (Topper) 2nd Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 3rd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 4th Chris Shelton (Miracle) 5th Chris and David Stubbs (Laser 2000) 6th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz)
Bright sunshine, but very little breeze, meant that the Pursuit race at Downs SC on Sunday morning was cancelled. This was probably just as well, since the previous evening most of the club members were celebrating the completion of a successfull Topper National Championships at the Golden Jubilee Ball. The cancellation meant that work could begin on dismantling the marquee, which was used for the events of the previous week.
Eventually a light breeze filled in from the North-East and the Points Race began, however shortly after the start, the wind died away and it looked as though the fleet would not be able to reach the windward mark since a strong tide was running towards Dover. The leading boats, the Buzzes of Ed Styles and Simon Cory, rounded the mark and then the wind direction rotated by 180 degrees and began to fill in from the shore. This opened up large gaps in the fleet as the leading boats met the breeze first. The Laser 2000 of Chris Stubbs was well up with the leaders splitting the Buzzes of John Cass and Chris Dutton. The order remained the same until the last lap when a wind shift on the run allowed Ed Styles and John Cass to overtake Simon Cory.
Results:
Fast handicap. 1st Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 2nd John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 3rd Simon Cory and Amy Sleep (Buzz) 4th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 5th Tony Cook (Contender) 6th Rick Clemence (RS Vareo)
Slow Handicap 1st Chris Stubbs and Zara Brazil (Laser 2000) 2nd Chris Shelton and Nick O'Dell (Miracle) 3rd Roger Philips and Annie Smith (RS200) 4th Rob Friend (Streaker)