18/7/06

A fading Northerly breeze greeted the sailors on Tuesday evening at Downs SC. Consequently only 8 boats took to the water, in the fast handicap Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman got the best start but were caught at the first mark by Steve and Katie Restall, the next leg was a run against the tide and so most of the fleet went inshore, out of the tide. However, John Cass and Julia Brazil, who were recovering from a poor start, went out to sea looking for more wind and were the first to benefit from a slightly stronger breeze, filling in from the North-East. At the wing mark, they had caught up with the leaders. Steve Restall and Ed Styles managed to hold on to their positions, leaving Chris Dutton and John Cass to battle for 3rd place with the former just winning out. In the Slow handicap, Clare and Chris Stubbs pulled out a good lead ahead of the single handers.

Results Fast Handicap 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 3rd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 4th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 5th Eric Styles and Katherine Hewitt (Hornet) Slow Handicap 1st Clare and Chris Stubbs (RS200) 2nd Stuart Bradbeer (Laser) 3rd Seb Hansell (Topper).

 

16/7/06

Tuesday’s race at the Downs SC was held in near-perfect conditions with a flat sea and a moderate South-Easterly breeze. The first leg was a beat with the tide and Ed Styles made a good start and led at the windward mark. However a capsize on the 2nd lap allowed Steve Restall and Simon Cory to get through. The order remained unchanged after that. In the Slow Handicap, Frank and Chris Catt led the fleet home, and Roger Phillips finished ahead of Chris and Clare Stubbs.

Results Fast Handicap 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Simon Cory and Claire Hansell (Buzz) 3rd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 4th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 5th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 6th Nigel Cureton (Contender) Slow Handicap 1st Chris and Frank Catt (RS200) 2nd Roger Phillips and Judy Restall (Laser 2000) 3rd Clare and Chris Stubbs (RS200) 4th Steve Stagg (Laser) 5th John Turgoose (Laser) James Blackman (Topper) 6th Rosie Lord (Topper).

On Sunday, 24 boats competed in a two-race series for the Queen Mother’s Cup, so called because the first race involves a long leg to a mark set off Walmer Castle. The strong North-Easterly of the past few days had subsided to a gentle Force 2-3, but coupled with a strong tide, this made hard work for the slower boats. At the front Richard White and Martyn Styles pulled out a good lead ahead of Eric Styles in a Hornet. Chris and Frank Catt kept ahead of most of the faster boats to claim fourth place. In the second race, Simon Cory and Penny Jordan pulled out a good lead, with Chris and Frank Catt still in contention. The RS200 of Katie Restall and Zara Brazil was also going well and picked up a fourth place. But Richard White and Martyn Styles claimed third place which was enough to give them the Queen Mother’s Cup.

Results 1st Richard White and Martyn Styles 2nd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 3rd Chris and Frank Catt (RS200) 4th Steve Restall and Annie Smith (Buzz) 5th Eric Styles and Heike (Hornet) 6th Katie Restall and Zara Brazil (RS200
 

9/7/06

Downs SC held a Topper Open Meeting on Saturday 8th July. The fifteen competitors enjoyed a blustery Force 4 from the South-West with gusts up to Force 6. The competitive fleet had several recalls at the start as the sailors battled for position but in the end four good races were completed. Edward Cowell from Broadstairs dominated proceedings with Downs sailors taking the next three positions. The strong winds led to two broken masts, but these were rapidly replaced to allow racing to continue. The Ladies prize went to Claire Hansell also from Downs SC.

Results: 1st Edward Cowell (Broadstairs SC) 2nd Robert Waite (Downs SC) 3rd Mitch Webb (Downs SC) 4th Tim Ellis (Downs SC) 5th Jordan Taylor (WWSC) 6th Richard Thomas (Broadstairs SC)

On Sunday, the wind strength increased further to Force 5, gusting 6 and the only finisher in the Pursuit Race was Steve Stagg in a Laser. The Points race was cancelled.

30/6/06

Light winds continued on Tuesday, but the warm weather attracted a good entry of 20 boats for the evening race at the Downs Sailing Club. Eric Styles in a Hornet led the fleet for the first lap, closely followed by Steve Restall and Chris Dutton. On the second lap Ed Styles and Simon Cory caught up with the leaders and Simon passed Chris and Martin on the final leg. In the Slow Handicap, Chris and Frank Catt won the battle of the RS200s ahead of Clare and Chris Stubbs. But Roger Phillips took second place on handicap.

Results Fast Handicap 1st Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 2nd Simon Cory and Claire Hansell (Buzz) 3rd Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 4th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 5th Eric Styles (Hornet) 6th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st Chris and Frank Catt (RS200) 2nd Roger Phillips and Judy Restall (Laser 2000) 3rd Clare and Chris Stubbs (RS200) 4th James Blackman (Topper) 5th John Wilkinson and Will Hardy (Albacore) 6th Rosie Lord (Topper).

On Sunday, the Pursuit race was abandoned due to lack of wind, but a light breeze allowed the Points race to start. The two RS400s of Phil Eversfield and Richard White pulled out a good lead whilst behind them, the Buzzes had a tense battle. Simon Cory and Chris Dutton pulled out a good lead on the final lap, only to be reeled in by the other Buzzes on the last leg when the wind dropped. In a photo finish on the line, Simon held on to his lead ahead of Ed and Chris, followed by John Cass. In the slow handicap only two boats finished, with Chris Shelton beating Stuart Bradbeer.

Results Fast Handicap 1st Phil and Steve Eversfield (RS400)) 2nd Richard White and Annie Smith (RS400) 3rd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 4th Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 5th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) 6th John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st Chris Shelton (Phantom) 2nd Stuart Bradbeer (Laser)
 

25/6/06

A strong Southerly breeze, gusting up to Force 6 put sailing in doubt on Tuesday, however the sea was flat and so a hardy band of sailors put to the water. (Numbers were also reduced due to a clash with the England vs. Sweden game!) In the fast handicap, Nigel Cureton in a Contender enjoyed the conditions and led throughout to take first place. Ed Styles and Simon Cory battled it out for second position. In the slow handicap, Clare and Chris Stubbs dominated in an RS200 ahead of John Sharvill and Thomas Salvio in a Laser 2000.

Results Fast Handicap 1^st Nigel Cureton (Contender) 2^nd Ed and Sarah Styles (Buzz) 3^rd Simon Cory and Claire Hansell (Buzz) 4^th Chris Dutton and Martin Wyman (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1^st Clare and Chris Stubbs (RS200) 2^nd John Sharvill and Thomas Salvio (Laser 2000) 3^rd Rob Waite (Laser) 4^th Rosie Lord (Topper).

Over the weekend the Downs Buzz fleet travelled to Herne Bay to take part in a Multigala with Isos and Laser 2000s. The organization of the event was excellent with 3 races each day, sailed back to back. The Downs sailors dominated proceedings to take the first five places. Steve Restall, crewed by Annie Smith took the overall title ahead of Simon Cory and Penny Jordan. Just one point separated Ed Styles from John Cass. John also took the Pro-Am trophy with Chris Dutton and Claire Hansell in second place.

Results 1^st Steve Restall and Annie Smith 2^nd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan 3^rd Ed and Sarah Styles 4^th John Cass and Julia Brazil 5^th Chris Dutton and Claire Hansell

18/6/06

The bright sunshine and moderate Southerly breeze attracted 25 entries for the Rice Trophy Pursuit Race on Sunday at Downs Sailing Club. In this type of racing the slowest boats start first and then the faster boats begin later, according to their handicap, and must pass the slower boats before the 3 hour time limit is up to win the race. With wind against tide, the slowest leg was the run towards Ramsgate and it was here that the greatest gains or losses were made. The single handed boats fared best with Chris Shelton in a Phantom holding his advantage over the faster Buzzes and Laser 4000s. But it was Nigel Cureton in a Contender who took full advantage of the close reaches to win the Rice Trophy. The Buzzes, as usual had a ding-dong battle, with a capsize by Steve Restall allowing National Champion, Simon Cory, to take the lead and hold it to the end, finishing in third place overall. On the final leg, the two Laser 4000s, which had been close together throughout, passed the Buzzes of Ed Styles and Chris Dutton to take 5th and 6th places behind Steve

Restall. Results 1st Nigel Cureton (Contender) 2nd Chris Shelton (Phantom) 3rd Simon Cory and Penny Jordan (Buzz) 4th Steve and Katie Restall (Buzz) 5th Mitch Webb and Rob Waite (Laser 4000) 6th Chris and Helen Stubbs (Laser 4000)

11/6/06

4/6/06

Deal Sailor Wins European Championship
Adam Heeley , [age 27yrs and a member of Downs SC] has won the European laser SB3 championship in Port de Crouesty, South Brittany, France. It was held on 26th to 29th May inclusive. He sailed with Craig Burlton [helm] and Dave Cheyne [bowman]. Their boat is called " Team Zeal Optics" who sponsored them, it is a firm which makes superior sunglasses. They led each day and on the final race they were "match raced" by a Russian Boat, who tried to " push them off the course". Apparently it was a very tense last race, but they came 8th winning the regatta. Second was Geof Carveth [has won RS 400 and RS 200 national champs a few times], Third was a Ukrainian who got a silver medal in Athens and is the current 49er World Champion. Adam said it was the hardest 4 days racing he has ever done, they kept "focused" throughout the regatta.

Bright sunshine and a fresh sea breeze greeted the competitors at Downs SC on Sunday. At the start of the Pursuit race the wind strength was Force 3 from the South, but it increased throughout the race to reach Force 4-5 by the start of the Points race. Chris and Helen Stubbs in their Laser 4000 gradually picked their way through the fleet to take 1st position, followed by John Cass and Julia Brazil in their Buzz. Some of the competitors went to help when Roger Phillips capsized and Sally Waite was swept away from the boat. She clambered aboard Chris Shelton's boat before being reunited with her helmsman. Jeremy Blackman did well in a Laser Radial to take 3rd place.

The wind had strengthened for the Points race and the course took the faster boats out to sea where the were larger waves but also a stronger tide. John Cass made a good start and was leading until he headed for the wrong mark allowing Chris Dutton and the two Dart catamarans sailed by Mitch Webb and Paul Spicer through. The run down to the North mark was exciting as the boats could surf down the larger waves and then the next leg was a fast two-sail reach with the tide. Chris Dutton and Claire Hansen kept close enough to the Dart to take the race on handicap, with John Cass in third. In the slow handicap, Chris Shelton pulled out a good lead, and Jeremy Blackman went one better than the first race to take 2nd place.

Results: Pursuit Race 1st Chris and Helen Stubbs (Laser 2000) 2nd John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) 3rd Jeremy Blackman (Laser Radial) 4th Chris Dutton and Claire Hansen (Buzz) 5th Mike Heeley and Mike Hall (RS400) 6th Ken Davis (Laser 2000) Points Race Fast Handicap 1st Chris Dutton and Claire Hansen (Buzz) 2nd Mitch Webb and Rob Waite (Dart 16) 3rd John Cass and Julia Brazil (Buzz) Slow Handicap 1st Chris Shelton (Phantom) 2nd Jeremy Blackman (Laser Radial) 3rd Rosie Lord (Topper)