BIFFA

FINAL ROUND OF THE TNT TRAVELLERS TROPHY

Draycote Water Sailing Club hosted the final round of the TNT travellers trophy as part  of  its annual open meeting on the 18th and 19th October 2008. Twenty-four boats took to the water, with 13 visitors travelling to join the 11 club boats on Saturday 18th  October. The wind was westerly force 3 to 4 with sunshine.
The first race was keenly fought, with Jeremy Davy and Dave Lucas taking first place from Mark Darling and Greg Wells, with Simon Patterson and Simon Thompson third.
The second race was also won by Davy and Lucas, with Justin Waples and Jamie Roberts second, followed home by Darling and Wells in third. At the end of the day, neither Richard Hope and Scott Smith or Chris Swallow and Matt Pallet, the two leading contenders in the TNT travellers trophy had struck a decisive blow. The fleet retired to the shore to enjoy a barrel of beer and wine, before the evening meal.
Sunday was forecast to be breezy and early signs were that it looked similar to Saturday. The fleet set out in a steadily increasing wind to begin three races back to back. Race three saw a new winner, with Patterson and Thompson first, followed home by Davy and Tom Hall, while the leading TNT travellers competitors, in FF 3642, Richard Hope and Scott Smith made their move to secure the TNT series, in third.
Race four saw Davy and Hall win the race and the overall meeting, while Patterson and Thompson were second. Darling and Wells came home in third. Race five was held in strong winds gusting force 5 to 6, with many capsizes and broken  boats. The winners were Patterson and Thompson, second Darling and Wells, and  Hope and Smith third. Only half of the fleet actually finished the last race.
Open meeting prizes were supported by Speed Sails, while TNT provided the Travellers Series prizes.

Overall

1st FF3922  J Davy – D Lucas/T Hall DWSC 5pts
2nd FF 3795 S Patterson and S Thompson DWSC  7pts
3rd FF 3920  M Darling and G Wells  Hayling Island SC 10pts

1st Silver Fleet FF 3327 P Slater and J Edwards   DWSC

1st Classic FF 2660 P Needham and B West    Burton SC

1st Vintage FF 1035  J Dinnie and R Chaplin      DWSC

Richard Hope and Scott Smith from Draycote Water SC retained the TNT Travellers Trophy for the second year in succession and Chris Swallow and Matt Pallet from Burton SC were second. P Needham and B West won the TNT Travellers Classic prize.

Chris Avery