Paxton Lakes SigneT Towy Nail Trophy 2009

Paxton Lakes SigneT Towy Nail Trophy Meeting 2009 Report and Results

Following the SigneT Social Gathering the night before Chez Overs, and the now-traditional Chinese, Sunday began with stronger sun but in contrast the wind had dropped and Michael Whiteside said he liked it enough to crew for Adad. ST919 was back in the boat park as Jonathan was detailed for revision at home. ST914 with Pat Overs at the helm took its place to give us SigneT’s on the start line. The club boats took a 2nd start to leave the line a bit clearer. ST368 was helmed by Rob with Richard as crew, ST690 helmed by Hannah with Will as crew and ST761 helmed by Roy and crewed by Lizzy. Pat found a crew from amongst the PLSC locals – Beth Sharpe bravely took the seat.

In the first race ST368, ST690 and ST914 all got away well and were then followed by ST522, ST761 and ST377. ST914 had their top batten on the wrong side falling to the rear of the fleet and allowed ST368 and ST690 to take 1st and 2nd place at the 1st mark. ST761 then went behind the island and took last place but ST522 did a penalty and ST761 gradually worked their way back up the fleet and by the end of the long beat from mark 5 down to mark 1 they were in 1st place ahead of ST368, ST377, ST914, ST522 and ST690 brought up the rear. ST368 slipped ahead of ST761 but ST761 pulled ahead again on the beat. ST368 did not give up though and took back 1st place for the start of the next lap. ST377 was pushed off course by a Solo sailing backwards. Aside from the lead 2 boats the SigneT fleet was much more spread out. ST914 were gaining on the top 2 and ST522 caught ST377 for a battle mid fleet. A well received shortened course signal saw ST761 lead ST368 over the line. ST914 fidgeted and started going backwards finally crossing in 3rd place with ST522, ST377 and finally ST690 in 6th place.

The 2nd race saw ST368 on the bank – the wind was just not exciting enough but was still perfect for Michael Whiteside in ST522. ST690 were seen bailing before the start. Not sure why – perhaps Hannah was trying to wake Will up. He looked so comfortable on the floor up front perhaps he was snoozing. The wind had died to nothing and the nothing was changing direction constantly. ST914 led the drift over the line. ST761 did a penalty for hitting the mark within the 4 minutes start time and ST522 also pirouetted for hitting the mark as they started. On the 1st lap ST914 pulled out a good lead and ST761 moved steadily up from the rear of the fleet. By lap 2 ST914 were 2 legs ahead of ST761 and ST377 who were followed by ST522 and ST690. A bit of wind caused some movement with ST914 pulling further ahead, ST377 passed ST761 who ran aground. By lap 3 the wind had dropped again. ST377 and ST761 were gaining on ST914. ST761 took 2 attempts to round the top mark but then caught a gust to catch back up with the 2 lead boats. All 3 arrived at the mark together with ST761 coming out 1st and ST914 dropping back to 3rd and had to do a penalty for hitting the mark. ST522 and ST690 were some way behind. As the shortened course flag was raised the leaders were coming up to lap ST690. At the last mark ST761 got water over ST914 and ST377 rounded with them. It turned into a sprint for the finish line with ST761 taking 1st over ST914, ST377, ST690 (lapped by all but ST522) and ST522.

The lake looked like a mirror as they headed out for the 3rd race. ST522 did not leave the bank this time – there’s a limit to how long Michael can sit still. Lizzy had briefed Hannah on getting more cooperation from her crew in the break and reminded Will about boat balance. ST690 looked better as they started. The first lap was very slow with ST761 pulling ahead of ST377 and ST914 and ST690. Lap 2 continued with periods of inactivity then brief gusts. The top 3 swapped about but it was not an exciting race. At the finish ST914 pulled ahead and crossed 1st and ST761 led ST377 with ST690 not too far behind.

At the end of the two days ST761 won both the Paxton Open for Saturday’s races and the Towy Nail trophy for Sunday.

Paxton Lakes Towy Nail Trophy 2009

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