Downs SC sailors Simon Cory
and Sarah Styles won the Hoo Freezer trophy on the River Medway on Sunday with
fellow Downs SC members Chris Dutton and Clare Hansell taking fourth place in a
fleet of seventy-two boats. This event is one of the premier winter dinghy
sailing events and is held over two days with a practise race on Saturday
followed by the main event on Sunday. A strong and gusty South Westerly Force
6-7 reduced the entry for the practise race to around 50 boats and it was with
some foreboding that the teams lined up for the launch. When the first Laser
to set off returned a few minutes later with a broken mast, the numbers of
starters fell to 30 and in the end only sixteen boats finished with Chris Dutton
and Claire Hansell being the sole Buzz to survive. The top three places in the
practise race were:
1st Chris Bines/David
Gibbons, B14, Brightlingsea SC, 2nd Andrew Peake, Musto Skiff, Eastbourne
Sovereign SC and 3rd Chris Matthews/Ed Gibbons, 29er, Brightlingsea SC. For the
trophy race on Sunday the wind had moderated to a much calmer Force 3 to 4,
Simon Cory and Sarah Styles got a good start and led the fleet at the windward
mark, closely pursued by the V3000 of Tony Hunt. Close behind the Buzzes of
Chris Dutton and Stuart Bailey were having a tight battle with the lead changing
hands several times. For the first lap the tide was flooding and the boats kept
close to the North shore out of the flow but for the second lap the tide was
slack and so there were more options on the run. Simon Cory, Tony Hunt and
Stuart Bailey stayed mid-stream, but Chris Dutton kept to the shore and made up
some ground. On the long beat back up-river he also passed Tony Hunt to finish
in second place on the water behind Simon. When the handicaps were taken into
account, Simon Cory and Sarah Styles took the Hoo Freezer trophy with Chris
Dutton and Clare Hansell taking fourth place. Overall results: 1st Buzz,
Simon Cory/Sarah Styles, Downs SC, 2nd Lark, Steve Hall/Simon Haighton,
Nothampton SC, 3rd 3000, Tony Hunt/Suzanne Hall, Wilsonian SC, 4th
Buzz, Chris Dutton/Claire Hansell, Downs SC, 5th Scorpion, John Clementson/Jamie
Clementson, Chipstead SC, 6th Scorpion, Janet Gatehouse/Alan Ritchie,
Chipstead SC, 7th Buzz, Stuart Bailey/Zoe Noble, Wilsonian SC
8th B14, David Hayes/Richie Bell, Southport SC, 9th Lark, Chris
Whitehouse/Ruth Johnson, Ranelagh SC, 10th RS200, Doug Horner/Tim Ellis,
Wilsonian SC