BIFFA

Flying Fifteens at Falmouth Week 2009

Fourteen Flying Fifteens, from as far afield as Derwent Reservoir, Bewl, Grafham Water and Chew Valley Sailing Clubs entered Falmouth Week.

The first race was held in a light and variable force 1-2 wind on an outgoing tide. Ian Cadwallader and Dave Sweet and David and Catherine Brockbank got off to an early lead followed by Mike Thompson and Simon Millington. The latter chased a stronger breeze out in the estuary but the tidal advantage was along the shore and Doug and Gail Pattison in the new “Pink ffizz” gained third place and this was the finishing order.

On day 2 the breeze stiffened to Force 4 from the west and again Ian Cadwallader and the Brockbanks took the early lead with David and Carole Duke in hot pursuit. Mike Thompson came from behind to take third place on the first reach and second on the subsequent beat with the Brockbanks holding third and the Dukes keeping Tony Lee and the Pattisons at bay.

For day 3 two races were scheduled. Carrick Roads responded with brilliant sunshine and a northerly force 3 wind enticing a large fleet of boats onto the water. Particularly attractive were the local working boats with their colourful topsails. With the start near St Mawes and an out-going tide the Race Officer set a course up the estuary to the opposite shore necessitating crossing the tide. All the boats elected to short tack up the east out of the main stream. Keith Harris, however, decided to cross the stream much earlier than anyone else and took an enormous lead at the first mark and he was never challenged. Cadwallader, Nutt and Thompson were in a following bunch ahead of the rest of the fleet when their wind evaporated at the Falmouth Harbour entrance. The Pattisons and the Brockbanks sailed past on their own breeze with Cadwallader stranded somewhat. The second race was extraordinarily close with 6 boats rounding the leeward mark in line. Cadwallader and Sweet won with the Pattisons second and Colin Nutt third. Two boats were so enjoying the sun in Carrick Roads they missed the start!

Race 5 was in a freshening force 3 and was equally close with half the fleet abreast into the first downwind mark. The course options played little part.

Thursday was warm and sunny with a light breeze which evaporated from time to time. Everyone went the wrong way once. The Falmouth side paid for the first beat out to sea resulting in a huge lead for the group that chose that route. Their wind evaporated and the lead switched round. Doug and Gail Pattison were beginning to find the strings on their new boat and won after a close match with Ian Cadwallader and Dave Sweet. John Washington was third.

Going into the last race, the Pattisons had to be first or second with Cadwallader and Sweet 6th or lower. Form suggested this was an unlikely event. There was a Force 4 from the south-west. Colin Nutt took an early lead closely followed by Athol King and Dave Vasey reaching the windward mark in that order. There followed a long run to the opposite side of the estuary at St Just. Nutt elected to cross the outgoing tide early and King followed. Mike Thompson and Simon Millington stayed longer on the Falmouth side resulting in them taking the lead at St Just. They held the lead for the next two legs and the run to the finish at St Mawes. The Pattisons caught King and passed but the positions reversed so King took second by one third of a boat’s length, with Colin Nutt and Ian Cadwallader a very short way behind.

Thus, Ian Cadwallader and Dave Sweet won the series after one discard. However, the organisers of Falmouth Week introduced an “Ironman” prize for the series without discard and the positions were reversed, Doug and Gail Pattison winning. They also took the family prize.

Carrick Roads and the bay beyond provide a wonderful venue and once again Falmouth Week produced a terrific week of sailing in a variety of conditions and some extraordinarily close racing. The race management was good with interesting courses around the estuary.

TNT post north – FLYING FIFTEEN TRAVELLERS SERIES – HEAT 2

Having commenced the Travellers Series programme with a very successful open meeting at Northampton Sailing Club in May, Heat 2 took place at Bala Sailing Club over the weekend of 15th and 16th August.  With travelling contingents from Draycote, Burton Llangorse and an excellent turnout of six boats from Dovestone the visitors were treated to a stiff force 5 breeze straight down the lake gusting force 6 on the Saturday.  The race officer prudently postponed for an hour as the forecast was for the wind to abate, however, as this did not happen, competitors launched for three back-to-back races in testing and exhilarating conditions.  Those that dared had an exciting and exhausting time, those that didn’t were probably prudent.

The Saturday evening entertainment included a presentation by Tim Hall, World Championship winning crew in Spain and second in this year’s Worlds at Melbourne, providing an insight into his campaigns with a few tips and a chance to share his holiday snaps. 

Sunday dawned with brighter conditions and lighter wind and two further races were completed. 

The Traveller Series winners at Bala were :

1st                    Chris Swallow and Matt Pallett                 Burton
2nd                   Richard Hope and Scott Smith                  Draycote
3rd                    Paul McCarthy and Gary Butler                Burton

1st Silver         Colin Pierce and Mandy Thackray           Dovestone
1st Classic      J Craddock and P Kendall                         Llangorse

The full results for the event are at http://www.balasc.org.uk/ResultsReports/Results09/FlyingFifteen09.htm There is also a good set of pictures from the event at http://www.balasc.org.uk/Gallery/FFOpen09/index.htm .

After only two events in this Travellers Series all is still to play for, however, the winners for the last two years, Richard Hope and Scott Smith from Draycote are now re-establishing themselves in pole position, chased by Chris Swallow and Matt Pallett from Burton and Graham Massey and Russ Clark from Dovestone.  Colin Pierce and Mandy Thackray are currently tied with Andy Clark and Nadia from Datchet for the Silver section and we also have a tie in the Classic at this time between first timers J Craddock and P Kendall from Llangorse and Tim Tomlinson and M Greer from Middle Nene. 

So far there have been 24 qualified competitors for this Traveller Series and this is bound to increase at the next event at Burton Sailing Club near Derby on the 12th and 13th September.

FF National Championships, Abersoch         Fotoboat pictures          Sailshots pictures        Results

The South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club was the host for the 2009 Flying Fifteen National Championships from 16th to 21st July.

Fifty boats entered the Championships, a good number as all the boats were visitors, there being no home fleet. Furthermore, qualification for the World Championship only takes place in alternate years and this tends to attract more boats, but this was not one. The number of visiting boats represented a substantial increase on recent years.

Apart from the participation of four previous World Champions and several former Olympic sailors, there was an extra element of interest because a number of National Champions in other classes of boat had entered the event. It was going to be interesting, therefore, to see what effect sailors would have on the regular fleet members.

The first day of the Championships took place on a rather overcast day but with a fairly steady force 4 westerly breeze. After a short practice race the first race proper got underway at the first attempt. There was a close battle between David McKee and Chris Hewkin, Mike Hart and Richard Rigg and Steve Goacher and Phil Evans. The latter came through only on the last beat to win with Hart second and McKee third, Sam Mettam (in his first Flying Fifteen Championship) was fourth.

Day two dawned as a rather more dull day with lighter breezes. Race two began in a reasonable breeze. Charles Apthorp, having been left at the bus stop missing the start of race one showed his mettle, taking an early lead in his old boat. It was, however, Ben McGrane, current RS800 Champion, in his first appearance in a Flying Fifteen National Championship who won the race with Alan Bax, David McKee and Mike Hart in hot pursuit. The wind lightened towards the end of the race and then died altogether leaving the later boats stranded. There followed a torrential downpour followed by a long delay because of an unstable breeze.

Once the breeze filled after a substantial shift, the third race started in a steady force three breeze. There was no obvious advantage on the first beat, but the right side paid best on the second round. There was no established order in the fleet and a lot of variability in results was noted. Justin Waples and Iain Stowe took an early lead which they held to the finish. David McKee and Chris Hewkin were second and, because of their consistent results they held the overnight lead.

Day3 – The competitors arrived to find a lovely sunny day with a fairly steady force 5 breeze from the South West. The forecast for the following day, however, was for a strong easterly wind which would produce sizeable waves on the beach making launching impossible. The Race Officer decided, therefore, to run three races on the third day because of the risk of losing the last day. The Championship was likely to be between Steve Goacher, Mike Hart, Alan Bax and David McKee.

After the start of Race 4 no one side paid particularly at or after the start. Steve Goacher and Phil Evans went straight into an early lead which was never challenged. Alan Bax, David McKee and Greg Wells were in contention. Henry Craven-Smith and Matt Alvarado using Hyde Sails, another new arrival in the fleet this year, arrived at the first mark in fifth place then worked their way into second place. David McKee finished fifth and Mike Hart seventh.

After a general recall which saw a change of mind about the favoured end amongst a large portion of the fleet race 5 developed into a battle between Mike Hart, Alan Bax and Steve Goacher. Hart took an early lead to win the race with Bax second and Goacher third.

Going into the last race the Championship was still wide open. The race was won by Charles Apthorp have rested after a black flag disqualification in the previous race and sailing his old boat. Andy Davis and Andy Farmer took second place and Greg Wells and Mark Darling third. Of the main contenders, David McKee finished ninth, Steve Goacher seventh, Mike Hart sixth and Alan Bax fourth.

After the arithmetic, only four points separated the top five boats with Steve Goacher and Phil Evans tying with Mike Hart and Richard Rigg. Goacher and Evans had more first places and so took the Championship.

The sailing at Abersoch was wonderful, organised by an excellent Race Team and a hospitable host club. It was also pleasant to have four boats from Ireland and one from New Zealand competing.

This was a most enjoyable Championship with the largest number of visiting boats for some time. There were some excellent performances from some of the older boats and a wealth of new talent in the fleet.

On the social side the club and adjacent facilities of the town provided for good bonhomie. A “buddy” system was tried to award prizes to the second half of the fleet and it will probably be developed further. Thanks are due to some generous sponsorship from Goacher Sails, Tacktick, Harken, Selden and Synthesize, without which this would not have happened.

Some development sails were tried on the blowy last day and they proved to be good at giving better gust response than the present sails but were not obviously any faster.

The view from Datchet

 As ever, your reporters set out too early, and arrived as the club was being opened up! Still, the early birds etc. Fortified by “the first cup is free” – very welcoming – we set about rigging 3385. We were joined by real pros, Bobby Salmond and Robert Till from Loch Earn SC – yes Scotland! – quite a way from the M25! They had brought 627 (Bobby’s Dad’s boat that they sailed together), lovingly restored by his son, with all new fittings and looking gorgeous.

The warm welcome from Commodore Robin Fletcher and his team, masked real sadism when it came to the course – the locals smiled knowingly and cracked on – while the visitors rushed about finding something to write a cat’s cradle on! Initially the light winds flattered to deceive, with multi-directional gusts adding to the complexity. Exiting launching using a hoist and cradle, was followed by slightly chaotic racing (for the visitors) where the route confused all tactical thinking …… “where is the next buoy?” “follow 627” “I cant see him” etc.

The racing was dominated by two classics, Bobby Salmond and Robert Till first in 627 and Tim Tomlinson and Mark Greer second in 2433. Both discarded thirds. Bob Tait and Alice Hudson in 2606 were the most consistent of the rest of us and took a convincing third.

In race 1 we started reasonably, consolidated well, had a diabolical beat, with veritable Anglo-Saxon expletives from the driver, and scraped in 6th. Second race was much better; our mood improved, and we hung on for 3rd, and were further encouraged when the all conquering Andy Clark (also from Datchet) retired.

A digression here. As is proper, we set out to win the event. But, inevitably, there was a sub-plot for the two Datchet boats. Nadia being at a family whingding in the Baltic, Andy Clark was crewed by his dad (Jim) and they were not going to come in behind us were they? – and we took a similar view of them.

So, 3rd race saw self-tacking shifts kicking in, further anglo-saxon from both of us, and a late recovery to finish one behind our Datchet rivals in 4th. All to play for tomorrow.

Sunday brought stronger winds, but still self-tacking shifts! The first race was a complete shambles for us – up front a hideously knotted spinnaker ensured a lively debate, compounded by hideous decision making from both of us, saw us dribble in 7th – our worst result, but only one behind Andy and Jim. A frank exchange of views cleared the air, with going ashore being option one! But we tried one more start, which went well; we popped around the top mark first – bloody hell – no one to follow! Tim Tomlinson in 2433 helped by doing turns behind us, and Bobby Salmond was busy fighting Bob Tait in 2606, leaving us comfortably in the lead. From this moment, everything went well; the spinnaker was driving before it was fully up; a chatty Phil exchanged badinage with the race team as we planed past them; the self tacking shifts were favourable; and we held on for Mike’s first ever Open meeting bullet, after 50 plus years sailing.

A wise man once said finish a regatta on a high and it will feel great – start with a bullet and trail off and it’s a long drive home. De-rigging was a breeze, first pint a joy, lunch splendid and winning the Silver section meant a happy drive home.

Thanks to all at Broxbourne for a really enjoyable event; for making otherwise frustrating sailing a joy to experience! We will be back for more shifts in 2010. Broxbourne was the 5th leg of the newly restored Southern Travelers Series, with all to play for at the final event at South Cerney on 12/13 September. Philip Tinsley (mostly) and Mike Firth 3385

Flying Fifteen Northern Championships
June 27 and 28 – Ullswater Yacht Club

THIRTY-NINE Flying Fifteens enjoyed five great races at the Northern championships held at Ullswater Yacht Club, despite a less than promising weather forecast.
The weekend forecast was a race officer’s nightmare – light easterlies on a North-South lake surrounded by hills.
With entries from all over the country, there was disappointment when race one on Saturday had to be postponed and all the boats returned to shore after drifting around the lake in no wind for more than an hour. It was good practise for the shore team who were rapidly perfecting their ‘high speed launch and recovery’ technique at the one-slip club.

But race officer John Robson’s patience paid off and later in the afternoon there was enough breeze from the top of the lake to set a traditional Olympic triangle/sausage course. So the boats launched again for race one. The winds were fickle and unpredictable and several ‘superstars’ found themselves stuck down the fleet.

Race two followed in the late afternoon and consistency paid off for Flying Fifteen gurus Steve Goacher and Phil Evans of Royal Windermere Yacht Club who were overnight leaders with two thirds. First places went to Dave McKee and Chris Hewkin from Dovestone SC and Mike Hart and Richard Rigg from Port Dinorwic SC.
Sunday brought more of the same easterlies and the fleet spent some time following the committee boat up and down Ullswater waiting for the wind to settle. This was an opportunity for newcomers to see more of the lake with its magnificent views to the south towards Helvellyn as well as wondering whether three back-to-back races would be possible.

Race three finally got under way with a windward/leeward course which saw Mike Hart take another first place. But that blue, white and yellow spinnaker was still up there and even though conditions were better suited to slightly more sylph-like crews, the Goacher/Evans team took a second place to keep them in the running.
The wind freshened a little although it was still very unpredictable but Steve Goacher managed to find his way around the holes and shifts and won race four and five, both traditional Olympic courses, to take the championships.
His Royal Windermere clubmates Nigel and Gavin Tullett sailed consistently all weekend to take second place. Veteran Fifteen sailor John Hardisty of Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club, crewed by Roger Errington, showed the ‘youngsters’ the way round by coming third.

The sun had come out, the shore team’s boat recovery was slick, and an afternoon tea of sandwiches and home made cakes and scones rounded off a great weekend’s sailing.

This was Ullswater Yacht Club’s first Flying Fifteen open event and could not have been possible without the help of dozens of volunteers from other fleets in the club who gave up their weekend’s sailing to make it a success.
Full results can be found on the UYC website at www.ullswateryachtclub.org

Results:
1. Steve Goacher and Phil Evans, RWYC, 7 points.
2. Nigel and Gavin Tullett, RWYC, 15.
3. John Hardisty and Roger Errington, DRSC, 18.
4. Jeremy Davy and Dave Lucas, Draycote Water SC, 20.
5. Terry Crumpton and John Mathie, DRSC, 21.
6. Mike Hart and Richard Rigg, Port Dinorwic SC, 23.
1st UYC boat: Dave and Sue Giles, 8th, 32.
1st Classic: Graham Lamond and Scott Train, Ripon SC, 10th, 41.
1st Silver:  Andy Clark and Nadia Melnikova,  Datchet Water SC, 13th, 53.

Sue Giles

Flying Fifteens Open at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club

20^th&21^st June 2009

Eleven Flying Fifteens Classics and Silvers entered the Flying Fifteen Cardiff Open with visitors from as far as Northampton to fight it out for the famous Dragon trophy.

Day 1 Race 1

Race officer team Helen and Andrew Phillips patiently waited for the wind to settle in shifty F3/F4 before starting race 1.

With all boats pushing hard for the line we saw some interesting and competitive jostling with World Classic champions Simon Dangerfield/ Dave Hemingway

in 2663 and Ian Horton/Nathan Bailey in 2655 both OCS. Horton returned but Dangerfield carried on this left early leaders John Craddock and Kendal Paul in 2695 to fight it out with Neil and Stuart Bartholomey with the Bartholomeys’ eventually winning  and Horton/Bailey third just passing Nick Sawyer/Simon Thomas on the last run.

Race 2

More pushing the line with Sawyer/ Thomas, Mike Jones/ Gilles Yzambart and once again Horton/Bailey OCS, all went back. The Bartholomeys in 2700 lead the race for most of the way being piped on the last lap by Dangerfield Hemingway for line honours with Horton/Bailey third.

Race 3

The now familiar pushing the line keeping the race officers busy, this time several boats over and a general re-call.

Dangerfield Hemingway 1^st Bartholomeys second 2^nd Horton/Bailey 3rd

Race 4

A port biased line and big wind shifts caused tough jostling for position. 2700 Bartholomeys and other boats were sailed outside the ODM starting last. Whilst the fleet followed the predictable and paying left side of the course the Bartholomeys were forced to go right and picked up a big wind shift as the wind moved to the NW making it first to the windward mark, with Craddock/Paul in second.

Eventually Dangerfield/Hemingway sailed their way to the front

Beer and a meal followed in the clubhouse and an entertaining evening.

Day 2

Race 5

The race officers gave Bill Turton in 2492 special permission to change his crew. Being Sunday his son in law Roger who is a member of the clergy had to go to work.

In Light winds at F2 forecast the race order was speculated to change and indeed it did. Craddock/Paul winning ahead of Dangerfield/ Hemingway Horton/Bailey third.

Race 6

Two boats OCS and once again Dangerfield/Hemingway taking line honours followed by Craddock/Paul and Horton/Bailey

Final result

1.    2663 Dangerfield/Hemingway

2.    2695 Craddock/Paul

3.    2700 Bartolomey/ Bartholomey

Click here for full results table

Click here for Southern Travellers table

Northampton Sailing Club – June 6 – 7 2009

Click here for results

Congratulations to Jeremy Davy and Jon Mildred, who made the best of shifty conditions to beat a field of eighteen boats at NSC’s first FF open meeting in ten years.

Boats from as far afield as Yorkshire and Hayling Island made the trek, and enjoyed great sailing, especially on Saturday when wind speeds remained above force three. However, Sunday morning brought torrential rain and very light winds. A strengthening breeze slowly kicked in, but failed to bring Saturday’s excitement.

Ben McGrain and Jamie Stewart were consistent across both days, and held onto second place with Sam Mettam and Martin Grady just one point behind. Fourth place went to the local boat of Miles Odell sailing with his old co-driver, Paul Busby.

Thanks to all at Northampton SC for resurrecting the Gittins Trophy, now in its fiftieth year. As part of the TNT series it may well now become a regular part of the FF calendar.

Parkstone Yacht Club – May 23-24 2009

Click here for full results          Event pictures (thanks to Sailing Scenes)

FLYING FIFTEEN SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Flying Fifteen Southern Championship was hosted by Parkstone Yacht Club over the bank holiday weekend, 23 and 24 May. The event attracted 39 entries from all parts of the country. The entry list included thirteen Parkstone boats as well as many regular travellers but it was particularly encouraging to see a number of new faces who proved to be very competitive in what is a very strong class.

The Class association, BIFFA, and Parkstone Yacht Club had organised a training day on the Friday with professional coaching by Mike Hart who is an RYA coach and former Flying Fifteen World and National Champion. Conditions in Poole Harbour were perfect with sunshine and a stiff breeze.

The forecast for Saturday and Sunday was less favourable, with winds of five knots or less.  It was clear on Saturday that the forecast had been accurate. The day started fairly overcast with a very light easterly wind. PRO Bryan Drake set up the course in Poole Bay but, with the wind remaining light and fickle, it was some time before he could attempt the first start.

Two starts had to be abandoned as the wind was not sufficient for the boats to get away cleanly against a west going tide. After a long postponement, a weak sea breeze came in from the south to get the fleet away for what was to prove the only race which was possible that day. There were significant shifts up the beat and it was relative newcomers to the Class, Andy Clark and Nadia Melnikova, from Datchet SC, who played these correctly up the middle of the course who were first round the windward mark. They were closely followed by other newcomers to the Class, locals Pete and Jo Allam, who had chosen the right hand side of the beat. They gybed on to port early on the next leg of the windward – leeward course and this proved decisive. They took the lead and held on to it take the race, followed by David and Sally McKee, with Peter Slater and Adrian Simpson crossing the line third.

Sunday dawned with clear skies and bright sunshine. A light sea breeze arrived from south west just before midday and quickly stabilised. The decision was made to race in Poole Harbour as this offered a huge expanse of flat water but with less tide than in Poole Bay. The second race of the series was quickly under way in just over five knots of wind. The shifts up the beats of the windward – leeward course were all important and the Allams were in the lead at the first mark, followed by another local boat, Martin Lewis and Mike Riley who went on to take the lead by the second round and win the race. Charles Apthorp and Alan Green, who had been in close contention all the way round, crossed the line second.

The breeze had built a little more for the next race. By this time, the left hand side of the beat had begun to pay. Another newcomer to the Class and Parkstone boat, Jon Gorringe and Roger O’Gorman, led at the end of the first beat, followed by fellow newcomer Sam Nettam and Martin Gray of Hayling Island SC. Nettam and Gray took the lead by the next round and held it to cross the line first, followed by Gorringe and O’Gorman and then Henry Craven-Smith and James Grant in third place.

Race 4 was started in a good twelve knots plus breeze and in bright sunshine still. The left hand side of the beat was now the only way to go and the fleet powered off with some real hiking out. Mike Hart and RIcky Riggs took the lead, not to relinquish it. This race saw a little more of the old order re-established with long-time Class members at the front of the fleet. Newcomer Nettam, however, was amongst them to come second with Alan Bax and Bill Masterman third.

The racing throughout had been close and only one point separated the overall winners, Nettam and Grady, from the runners up, David and Sally McKee. Clark and Melnikova were first overall in the Silver Fleet. Guy Kippen and Emily McKee, Hayling Island SC took the Classic Fleet trophy and Gorringe and O’Gorman took the trophy for the first Parkstone boat.

A good day’s sailing on Sunday compensated for the frustrations of the Saturday caused by lack of wind and the event was marked by an influx of new names to stir up the established order.