The first day of the Buzz and Iso National Championships sailed at Hayling
Island Sailing Club near Portsmouth took its toll on both boats and crews. The
Coastguard and Lifeboat joined with the sailing club rescue boats to help
recover competitors and boats when the wind strength of Force 6 and large waves
caused havoc to the fleet. More than 14 boats suffered broken or bent masts and
one Buzz was written off after being washed on to the sand bar by the huge seas.
The day began routinely enough with a briefing from the race officer and a
forcast of a Westerley Force 4. As the fleet of fifty or so boats made their way
out into Hayling Bay to the race area the wind began to increase and by the time
the course had been set it had reached Force 5-6. Initially the racing was
delayed since there were many capsized boats and the four rescue boats were
fully occupied in attending to them. Eventually as the wind strength and wave
size continued to increase, the racing was abandoned. However the fleet still
had the problem of returning to shore, since the strong tidal flow in opposition
to the wind had set up huge breaking waves at the entrance to the channel. The
most spectacular capsize occurred when Buzz 414 broached down a wave and then
pitchpoled forward after standing on its nose in the sand. Luckily the crew were
catapulted forward away from the boat which crashed into the surf breaking the
mast in three places and sending it through the bottom of the boat. The crew
were recovered by the inshore lifeboat, but the boat was left on the sand bar
where it continued to be battered by the waves. All the crews were recovered
safely although one was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.
Amazingly by the next morning all but one of the broken masts had been replaced
and so the two fleets were almost back up to full strength. The Deal boats had
fared very well in the previous day's carnage and had not suffered any serious
damage. The wind and seas had moderated and so the race officer was able to run
four races out in Hayling Bay. The Downs contingent of four boats put in a
strong showing with Simon Cory and Penny Jordan winning two of the races and
Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman winning the last race by a large margin. Ed and
Sarah Styles were very consistent with two second places and a third. At the end
of the day the top three places were filled by Deal boats. However, the forecast
for Bank Holiday Monday was for the wind to swing round to the North-West and
increase again in strength. This proved to be accurate as the fleet battled out
again into the Bay. The wind direction was more offshore which meant that the
waves were smaller and more manageable and so the race officer was able to start
the first race. John Cass and Julia Brazil coped best with the conditions and
pulled out a good lead on the first lap. The spinnaker leg was spectacular as
the boats flew their kites and surfed back towards the leeward mark.
Unfortunately it was all to be in vain as the wind increased again and the race
officer, fearing a repeat of Saturday's carnage, abandoned the the race and
ordered the fleet back to shore. There was talk of staging a race in the
harbour, but this was short-lived since a huge squall appeared and the wind
speed increased to 37 knots! So the results from the previous day stood, Simon
Cory and Penny Jordan were crowned Buzz National Champions with Ed and Sarah
Styles second and Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman third. John Cass and Julia
Brazil took first position in the Pro-Am competition, so every member of the
Downs team returned home with a medal and importantly, with their boats still in
one piece!
The first race of the Tuesday Points series took place last week with fifteen boats taking to the water at Downs SC. The wind was a light South-Easterly which began to die away as the race progressed. Steve and Katie Restall pulled out an early lead followed by Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman. The latter were caught by the chasing pack at the leeward mark, but then caught up again on the next beat. On the second lap, the offwind leg became a dead run against the tide. Frank Catt and Tony Cook benefitted from this and passed the Buzzes. John Cass and Simon Cory also made up ground on the run. At the finish the Restalls kept ahead of the single-handers. In the slow handicap, Nathan Brazil sailed an excellent race to take the honours ahead of the more experienced competition.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Frank Catt
(RS300) 3rd Tony Cook (Contender) 4th Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 5th John
Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 6th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) Slow
Handicap 1st Nathan Brazil (Topper) 2nd Clare and Chris Stubbs (RS200) 3rd Henry
Gibson (Laser) 4th John Wilkinson and Will hardy (Albacore) 5th Alex (Laser)
On Sunday, the conditions were similar to Tuesday with a light breeze, this time from the North-East. In the Pusuit race, the RS400 of Mike Heeley led from the start and was never passed. Chris Shelton in his Phantom chased hard but was just pipped by Mike on the line. John Cass was the best of the Buzzes, followed by Simon Cory. Results 1st Mike Heeley (RS400) 2nd Chris Shelton (Phantom 3rd Clare Stubbs and Judy Restall (RS200) 4th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 5th Steve Restall and Annie Smith (Buzz) 6th Simon Cory (Buzz) Between the races the wind built to a steady Force 2, but dropped again for the start. Steve Restall and Chris Dutton had the best starts but as the wind dropped they were caugth by the fleet on the run, Steve did well to keep his nose ahead and hold on to the lead. In the slow handicap, Chris Shelton pulled out a significant lead on Ben Hills and Clare Stubbs to take the honours.
Results: Fast Handicap 1st Steve Restall and Annie Smith (Buzz) 2nd Tony Cook (Contender) 3rd Simon Cory (Buzz) 4th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 5th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 6th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st Chris Shelton (Phantom) 2nd Ben Hills (Laser) 3rd Clare Stubbs and Judy Restall (RS200)
The Spring Points race on Sunday attracted a good entry of 17 boats. The Northerly wind had built to a good Force 4 for the start of the race and holding the boats in the waves for launching became more of a challenge. The race officer set a triangular course with the first leg being a beat towards Ramsgate. The Buzz of Steve Restall was quickly out of the blocks along with the RS400 of Dick White and Martyn Styles. Nigel Cureton in his Contender was going well and benefited from the angle of reaches, which was too tight to allow the spinnakers to be used effectively for the first four or five laps. At the gybe mark out to sea, there were a few capsizes, but these were generally quickly recovered. Ed and Sarah Styles were going well and kept ahead of Simon Cory and Annie Smith. As the tide turned, it became possible to use spinnakers and the asymmetric boats benefited, nonetheless Nigel Cureton kept his nose ahead to take second place, just behind Steve Restall.
Results: 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Nigel Cureton (Contender) 3rd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 4th Simon Cory and Annie Smith (Buzz) 5th Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 6th Frank Catt (RS300)
A gentle South-Easterly wind and weak sunshine greeted the competitors for the Spring Points race on Sunday. The race officer set a triangular course with the first leg being a beat towards Dover. The Buzz of Chris Dutton was quickly out of the blocks along with the RS400 of Dick White and Martyn Styles these two continued out to sea whilst the majority of the fleet stayed inshore out of the predicted tide. However the direction of the tide changed towards Dover earlier than expected and so both groups of boats arrived at the windward mark together. The fleet then turned out to sea on an 3-sail reach. The RS200 of Chris and Nikki Catt was keeping pace with some of the faster boats and looked to be in a good position. Steve Restall misjudged a luff and collided with Frank Catt and subsequently dropped back after doing his penalty turns. At the mark out to sea, the fleet turned onto a run towards Ramsgate against the tide, as the wind dropped the fleet slowed down, Simon Cory and Penny Jordan kept ahead of the other Buzzes despite a close contest with Frank Catt in his RS300. The latter capsized during an over enthusiastic gybe, but still managed to keep ahead of the other boats. Ed and Sarah Styles and Tony Cook found some more breeze out to sea and gained several places on the run. At the finish, the first two places went to the Catt family.
Results: 1st Chris and Nikki Catt (RS200) 2nd Frank Catt (RS300) 3rd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 4th Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 5th Tony Cook (Contender) 6th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz)
The bright sunshine and moderate wind attracted a good entry of 20 boats for the Marquis Medallion Race on Easter Monday. The race officer set a triangular course with the first leg being a reach towards Dover. The Buzz of Steve Restall was quickly out of the blocks along with the RS400 of Dick White and Martyn Styles. At the first mark there was a log jam of boats and Simon Cory lost out as a bunch of boats sailed inside him. Following a gybe at the leeward mark the fleet turned out to sea on an 3-sail reach. The RS200 of Chris and Nikki Catt was keeping pace with some of the faster boats and looked to be in a good position. Ed and Sarah Styles kept ahead of the other Buzzes who were in a close contest with Frank Catt in his RS300. On the final beat things got even closer as the wind swung back to the West and allowed Chris Dutton and Frank Catt to catch up. Despite a capsize on the penultimate leg, John Cass and Julia Brazil managed to keep just ahead of the chasing pack to take 5th place.
Results: 1st Chris and Nikki Catt (RS200) 2nd Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 3rd Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 4th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 5th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 6th Simon Cory and Claire Hansen (Buzz)
With the new roof safely installed on the clubhouse, attention could return to the sailing at Downs SC. The first race of the 2006 season took place in a moderate Force 2-4 and some welcome sunshine. Fourteen boats took to the water for a single race over a triangular course. The brand new Contender of Tony Cook was launched with the traditional sprinkling of champagne. There was a running start against the tide towards Dover and the RS200 of Chris and Nikki Catt was quickly out of the blocks. The Buzz of Steve Restall was also in contention along with the RS400 of Dick White and Martyn Styles. Following a gybe at the leeward mark the fleet turned out to sea on an exciting 3-sail reach. As the race progressed the wind began to die away in patches as Ed and Sarah Styles found out to their cost when they sailed into a hole and dropped back The RS200 of Chris and Nikki Catt was keeping pace with some of the faster boats and went on to win the race.
Results: 1st Chris and Nikki Catt (RS200) 2nd Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 3rd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 4th Richard White and Martyn Styles (RS400) 5th Frank Catt (RS300) 6th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz)