Hornet National Championship at Brixham Yacht Club 2015 – Day 1

Hornet National Championship at Brixham Yacht Club – Day 1

by Dawn Barsley-Dale 17 Aug 2015 00:20 BST 15-18 August 2015

So, here we are at the Hornet Nationals in sunny Brixham. An excellent 22 boat fleet is currently sunbathing on the front. Yes, I did say sunny but utterly windless at the moment. Yesterday was a different matter, 10-17 knot led for interested and varied racing with most boats having a good race and a not so good one leaving the series still up for grabs.

The first race was 10-14 knots with a wind shift that resulted in many of the front runners fighting from the middle of the fleet. The breeze continued to rise to the heady strength of 17 knots and supplied some screaming reaches for the crews to enjoy. Will McGrath and Sam Woolner won with Tim Coombe and James Beer close behind.

The second race had more variable breeze but still sunny and warm. Another large windshift resulted in the moving of the windward mark during the race which the race crews carried off in a highly professional manner. A change in fortune for the front runners resulted in Nigel Skudder and Keith Hills winning the race with Rob Larke & Nic Barnes in second place.

The evening Commodore’s reception in the club was accompanied by a lot of Pimms and excellent food. The fleet tucked in with relish and proceeded to assist the bar with shedding some of the bar stock… maybe it’s a good idea that there is a postponement this morning…

So now we wait… and wait… and wait…

Results after Day 1:

Pos Helm & Crew R1 R2 Pts
1 Nigel Skudder & Keith Hills 5 1 6
2 Dick Garry & Matt McGrath 3 4 7
3 Tim Coombe & James Beer 2 7 9
4 Will McGrath & Sam Woolner 1 9 10
5 Terry Curtis & Kevin Francis 8 3 11
6 Strangler & Pippa Rogers 6 6 12
7 Jo Powell & Corin Westley 4 10 14
8 Toby Barsley‑Dale & Andy Hay 10 5 15
9 Dave Edge & Martin Arnison 7 8 15
10 Rob Larke & Nic Barnes 14 2 16
11 Duncan West & Ewan Gribbin 9 11 20
12 Tom Guy & Jamie Kelleway 13 12 25
13 Dawn Barsley‑Dale & Simon Evance 11 19 30
14 Dean & Adam Saxton 12 18 30
15 Gary & Tracey Haylett 16 14 30
16 Kevin Burt & Barry Miller 15 15 30
17 Ansell Davison & Alex Rogers 21 13 34
18 Roger & Natalie Kelleway 18 16 34
19 Eric Styles & guest 20 17 37
20 Eric Marchbanks & Alex/Stuart Crang 17 21 38
21 Barney Broatch & Jos Davison 19 20 39
22 Mike Owen & Paul Bottomley 22 22 44