Summer Series 2022 Report

After a challenging Summer season in 2021, where we just about managed to hold a full Summer Series, despite Covid considerations – we hoped that the 2022 Summer series might be a little more straightforward.   Little did we suspect that Mother Nature was going to throw some different challenges our way in the form of the weather!   With hindsight, the early indications were there as we lost our January Winter TT to fog and our February Winter TT to Storm Eunice.  But adverse weather does not affect Summer Events, right?   Well, it nearly did but for different reasons!

Stone SC in Essex hosted our first summer TT with very strong winds on the Saturday very much reducing the fleet turnout on day one.   By race three, only three competitors were left standing and the remaining competitors who did not sail had effectively lost their regatta.  However, that did not stop a good turnout on the Sunday when conditions were much better and made for two exhilarating races.   Congratulations to Chris Tillyer, Len Flynn and Jim Bowie all from Thorpe Bay for completing all five races and taking the top three positions.    Kudos also to Len for christening his brand new Sprint 15 in those conditions!

In May, the fleet headed to the South Island for a TT at Shanklin.  A fantastic local turnout plus visitors resulted in a great local turnout of 21 boats.  The forecast was for cracking Sprint 15 breezes on the Saturday followed by very light winds on the Sunday (aka not fun for Sprint 15s).  So the decision was taken to fit four races in on Saturday in case the wind did not appear on Sunday.    The result was a great afternoon of blasting round the bay in Force 4 – 5 in the sunshine.  Which was just as well because once the sea mist had cleared on Sunday morning, there was only just enough puff to run one fairly torturous race with the wind unkindly dying away before the last of the fleet had reached the finish line.  It was a weekend of close racing but Paul Grattage (Shanklin/Belfast) took the win with Jenny Ball (Marconi) in second and Simon Giles (Shanklin) in third.

The June TT was a one day event at Draycote in lively and shifty Force 5 breezes.  17 boats took part in the four back to back races and there were plenty of capsizes throughout the day, particularly at the gybe mark which was conveniently in full view of the clubhouse.   Racing again was very close with Liam Thom (Shanklin) and Jan Elfring (Draycote) tied on equal points for third and fourth places, Liam clinching the third on countback.   Jenny and Ed Tuite-Dalton (Draycote) were also tied on equal points and both with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place to count.  Jenny’s win was in race 4 which gave her the event title over Ed.

Our National Championships took place in July in Mylor - hosted by Windsport International and Restonguet SC.   A fantastic weekend of sunshine, racing and socials for forty-five competitors – all of which are subject to a separate event report.

With a short break to avoid the summer holiday period – our next Summer TT took place at Carsington at the beginning of September.  The summer had been glorious with continuous sunshine and high temperatures for many weeks.   Fantastic for going sailing – not so good for reservoirs to go sailing on. 

The tide had well and truly gone at out Carsington.  Whilst there was plenty of water for sailing – launching was a challenge as the slipways no longer reached the water and the rest of the shoreline was very soft mud. It was touch and go right up to a few days before as to whether the club would be able to host the event.   Fortunately, one slipway still just about reached the water and that was enough for sixteen Sprint 15s to launch one at a time and get underway for racing.   Six races were completed over the two days.   The wind was lighter than forecast on both days and was also very shifty and changeable – not helped by everything being a lot lower down than normal.    So there were some real snakes and ladders moments for everyone across the weekend.  However, Liam put in a consistent set of great results to take the win, following on from his National Championship victory in July.  Stuart Snell (Grafham) came second and Jenny came third.  Also of note was the father and son team, David and John Ball (aged 10) who got some great races results to come in fifth overall.

At the start of October, the fleet headed to North Devon Yacht Club at Instow for our Sport National Championships.  41 boats took part in a full range of conditions across the three day event.   Also the subject of a separate event report.

Our final Summer TT and Inland Championships were due to take place at the Grafham Cat Open, as they have done for many years.   But Mother Nature had not finished with us yet.  Grafham Water was also very low due to the drought and did not have enough launching or sailing capacity to host their usual full complement of 80 plus catamarans.     As a result, with two weeks to go, Grafham reluctantly had to uninvite the Sprint 15s from the Cat Open and we were without our final summer event.

A desperate plea to Rutland was answered – thanks to the enthusiasm of their Cat Fleet Captain and a group of volunteers who stepped up at extraordinarily short notice to make sure our event could go ahead after all.   Twenty-five competitors enjoyed a brilliant weekend of sailing in the beautiful surroundings of Rutland Water where, ironically, it poured with rain overnight Saturday and Sunday morning so hopefully that will help top up some of our other venues again.  

Going into the event, Jenny was leading the Summer Series but Liam was only two points behind so it was all to play for.  Day one was eventful with breezy conditions and some boat damage, including a spectacular hole in Jenny’s boat.   However, everyone was temporarily patched up again to be able to compete on the Sunday where a strong breeze in race one fell away completely after the finish.  The fleet drifted around to see if the wind would fill in again.   With impeccable timing, the Race Officer began race 2 exactly as the wind came back to strength and the final two races were completed in cracking breezes.   The event and the series came down to the final race.  A race win resulted in Jenny winning the Championship and holding onto the Summer Series title.  It was also great to see Abbie Clarke (Stone) take the Youth Trophy.

Overall, it was a fantastic Summer Series.  With event entries ranging from 13 to 25 – we had a total of 53 competitors take part during the series representing 13 different sailing clubs.  Thirteen sailors completed the qualifying three events although only one competitor – Jenny - managed all five events.  But that’s what comes of being the Event Secretary. 

Also special mention to the younger members of our fleet – Jemma Clarke, Jason Clarke (Marconi), Hector Bunclark (NDYC) and Abbie Clarke (Stone) who have turned out in force on the Summer circuit and continue to go from strength to strength.    And to father/son team David and John Ball (age 10) who are rapidly mastering the art of two up sailing and will hopefully inspire other sailors to bring their young crews out on the circuit.

Overall results:

5th Place – David and John Ball (Marconi)
4th Place – Jason Clarke (Marconi)
3rd Place – Ed Tuite Dalton (Draycote)
2nd Place – Liam Thom (Shanklin)
1st Place – Jenny Ball (Marconi)

Team Trophy – Marconi SC

We’d like to extend a huge thanks to our host clubs – Stone SC, Shanklin, Draycote, Carsington and Rutland without whom none of this would have been possible.  We are looking forward to visiting several of these clubs again next year!