West Riding Sailing Club, Wakefield, Yorkshire

A foul forecast of low temperatures, lots of rain and zilch wind did not deter a good turnout, with as many as 17 starters on the line after lunch. Early morning rain soon started to disappear as the first race of the day got underway in a useful, if shift filled breeze, just the conditions in which one would expect Solos to flourish. Sure enough, although on the water there was a Laser presence at the head of the fleet, Solos were soon packing the front on handicap. Jonathan Gledhill initially held a short lead from Mark Weston and James Porter, with Howard Frear and John Gledhill a little further back. But it was James who found the conditions to his taste, and once he got his nose in front, sped away to an easy win from Mark, Jonathan, Howard and John. To complete a Solo whitewash, Roy Goodison and Mike Wallace filled 6th and 7th with Matt Velamail’s Laser the first non-Solo finisher in 8th. John Gledhill caused turmoil on the starting line of the second race, deciding to take out as many rivals as possible with some eccentric manoeuvring before doing turns and starting a bad last. At the front, Abi Morgan’s Fireball, Mike Woodhead’s Finn and Dave Baxter’s Vago set the pace, but on handicap it was the Solos who again dominated. Mark and James, with Howard dogging their tracks, were soon scrapping it out; but it was John who sniffed an opportunity and a big shift who came from nowhere to take an unexpected win. Mark was again 2nd, James 3rd and Howard 4th. Mike’s Finn was the first non-Solo, 6th behind Jonathan. More wind for the final race and again Abi’s Fireball hit the front with Mike’s Finn and Hamish Gledhill’s Laser well up. The Solos were locked in an even tighter battle than ever involving Howard, John, James and Mark in a 4-way struggle. Things were still tight up the last beat, but it was James who maintained his form with a second win from Howard, Mark and John. On handicap, however, it was closer than expected with Hamish in amongst the Solos to give a final order of James, Howard, Mark, Hamish and John, with Abi enjoying the stronger win to register 6th. So ends over 5 months of winter sailing, at times in testing conditions. Class racing resumes this coming Sunday with an 11 o’clock start, and it’s a Trophy Day for Lasers, Solos and Swordfish to encourage you to get the Spring Series off to a flying start. Let’s hope the wind blows and the temperature ratches up a few notches.

Full results can be viewed at  Early Spring Series 2008

and a summary viewed below...

Provisional Early Spring 2008

Overall

Scoring codes used