GJW 2013 Tipsy Icicle Week 1
The GJW Direct Insurance (GJW) sponsored Winter Season continued at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club on Sunday the 6th of January 2013 with the commencement of the GJW Tipsy Icicle Winter Series. A sunny & chilly day with a pleasant but shifty force 1-2 from the east greeted the 87 boats which arrived to take part in the first weekend of the 2013 series. The race teams for the day consisted of Peter Baldwin on the water and Anne Baldwin in the galley. Peter Baldwin is the Club’s full time PRO for the GJW Tipsy Icicle Winter Series and is training club members on his and the RYA processes and methods for running successful racing.
A briefing was held at 11:00hrs as per the plan. The wind direction made things difficult for the PRO with the breeze coming across the Flash. The fleets were given a fair chance to get away clearly but the tricky conditions did call for the use of the black flag in the end. Race 1 started at 12 noon on the dot with the asymmetric fleet. The fleet was led by Chris Pickles & Matt Sharman (Yorkshire Dales SC/RS400), Paul & Jude Allen (Leigh & Lowton SC/RS400) and Louise Mckeand & Cathy Partington (Leigh & Lowton SC/RS200). The first race in the Laser fleet was dominated by Tom Keegan (Leigh & Lowton SC), Isaac Marsh (Scammonden Water SC) and Andy Stott (Redesmere SC) who all showed great boat speed and consistency. The handicap fleet was dominated by Christian Day & Sophie Richards (Leigh & Lowton SC/National 12) and Richard Catchpole (Leigh & Lowton SC/RS300).
After a fantastic lunch the second race of the day was sailed in a shifting southerly breeze. The asymmetric fleet was led this time by Paul & Jude Allen (Leigh & Lowton SC/RS400), Chris Pickles & Matt Sharman (Yorkshire Dales SC/RS400) and Mike Hart & Sally Kilpatrick (Leigh & Lowton SC/RS400). Race 2 in the laser fleet witnessed Tom doing another horizon job. The handicap fleet was led by Ed Thomas (Pilkington SC/Phantom).
The Solo fleet (starting as part of the handicap fleet start) was given a master class by Steve White (Leigh & Lowton SC) with new boy Paul Heath (Leigh & Lowton SC) in second and Malcolm Waddington (Leigh & Lowton SC) and Graeme Bristow (Leigh & Lowton SC) all in close attendance.
All in all it was a fantastic day at the club with close racing throughout the fleets. 87 boats on one day made the Flash look fabulous. The Club would like to say a big thank you to all the visitors for coming to the Club and to everyone from the club who helped to run the day. See you all on 13th January 2013 for round two – visit www.llsc.org.uk for the results.
GJW offers one of the most comprehensive boat insurance policies on the market, at a very competitive price. For a quote in under 30 seconds, visit, www.gjwdirect.co.uk/dinghy