Crewsaver Tipsy Icicle Week 5 – A sunny and breezy blast

Results link > Crewsaver’ Tipsy Icicle series at Leigh & Lowton sailing club
Races 9 & 10

Coinciding with the launch of the ‘Crewsaver’ Phase2 dinghy range of clothing the ‘Crewsaver’ sponsored Tipsy Icicle series at Leigh & Lowton sailing club at Pennington Flash continued on the 2nd February with 76 boats turning out for races 9 & 10 in the series.

Once again strong winds had been forecast but the competitors arrived to find a clear blue sky and a chilly 14 knot breeze from the south.

As per the norm the first fleet away was the 22 strong Laser fleet and it was Greg Marshall (WLYC) who rounded the windward mark first and headed down the run with the fleet breathing down his neck. By the gybe mark he still held the lead and then proceeded to pull away even further as he powered away on the long reach, which was almost the entire length of the Flash, as the wind began to gust 28 knots and he held this lead to the end. In the struggle behind it was series leader Jack Hopkins (Delph SC) who climbed to finish second, third was Graham McWhirter (UKLA) and fourth Neil Skellam (LLSC)

Second away was the ever eager 29 boat handicap fleet which included 14 Solos (the results of which are taken separately from the handicap finish) and so excited were they to get away that it resulted in a general recall. To the back of the starting sequence they went and when it was their turn again the black flag was flying. In the restart it was Gareth Williams (Europe – LLSC) who played safe at the favoured end to start in the second row but then tacked and powered off into clear air and sailed fast to take the win on corrected time. Second was Andy Flitcroft (Supernova – Bolton SC) third Mike Banner/Mark Cuthbert (Albacore – LLSC) and fourth, and enjoying the breezier conditions, was the X1 of Alex ‘nose dive’ Morrison/Steve White (LLSC)

In the Solo fleet it was Andy Tunnicliffe (Royal Windermere YC) who took an early lead but then, just to show he is human, capsized and allowed Patrick Hamilton (Burwain SC) and Phil Barnes (Budworth SC) to overtake him. Tunnicliffe recovered and then reeled them both in to overtake them before the finish to take the win. Hamilton took second, Barnes third and Chris Robinson (Blackpool & Fleetwood SC) fourth.

Next away were the 15 boat Asymmetric fleet once who again, due to the wind direction, had to sail ‘around the cans’ During the early part of the race it was very close but it was the two RS400’s of Dave Exley/Nigel Hall and Paul/Mike Allen who pulled away from the main fleet and proceeded to engage in a close battle. The Allens eventually managed to squeeze past Exley/Hall just before the finish to snatch the win. Exley/Hall were a comfortable second with Chris Pickles/Matt Sharman (RS400 – Delph SC) third and Louise McKeand/Cathy Partington (RS200 – LLSC) in fourth.

In the boat 13 junior fleet the close sailing continued as Oliver Blackburn (Topper – LLSC) finished first from Sam Platt (Topper – Bolton SC) in second. Third home was first time out in the series Archie Leckie (Optimist – LLSC) while Harvey Leigh (Optimist – LLSC) sailed well into fourth.

During lunch the wind stayed the same but as the fleet launched it began to drop slightly giving an average wind speed of 10 knots during race 2 with an occasional 18 knot gusts.

In the Laser fleet it was that feeling of de-ja-vu at the front as Marshall took another win and Hopkins another second. Skellam managed one better than the first race to finish third as did Glynn Purnell (LLSC) to finish fourth. Overall Hopkins still leads the series with 6 points while Marshall has climbed to second with 8 points. Skellam has dropped to third with 12 points, five clear of McWhirter in fourth.

In the handicap fleet it was Andy Flitcroft who finished one place better to take the win. Morrison/White took second in the X1, Banner/Cuthbert third in the Albacore and Peter Mackin (RS300 – Bolton SC) had a better second race to finish fourth, Overall Flitcroft still heads the pack with 7 points. Williams and the absent Richard Catchpole are tied on 11 points and Mackin is fourth with 13 points.

There was also a sense of de-ja-vu in the Solo fleet as the top three stayed the same with Paul Heath (LLSC) managing one place better to finish in fourth. In this fleet Hamilton leads with 5 points and a long way behind in second is Heath with 18.8 points. Steve Ferrington (West Kirby) is third on 19 points and Brian Sprague fourth with 22 points.

The asymmetric fleet was once again headed home by the Allen brothers. Going one place better to finish second was Pickles/Sharman while Martin/Liam parker (RS400 – LLSC) climbed into third place. Fourth on corrected time was the consistent RS200 of McKeand/Partington. Overall the Allens lead the series on 5 points while Pickles/Sharman are second with 13 points, Exley/hall on 14 points and McKeand/Partington on 17 points.

After using race 1 as a warm up Archie Leckie then went out to take first place in race two. Optimists also took second and third with Drew Gibbons (Redesmere SC) and Olivia Cuthbert (LLSC) finishing in that order while fourth was the Topper of Steph Wingeatt. Overall it is close at the top with Gibbons leading the series with 6.5 points from Blackburn with 7 points. Steph Wingeatt and Sam Platt are tied at third and fourth on 11 points.

So after a fantastic days sailing a big thanks go to the safety boat crews who had a very busy day on a cold gusty and boat busy day.

With 6 new entries to the series this weekend it means that the total number of boats we have had on the water and crossing the start line during the ‘Crewsaver’ Tipsy Icicle series is 149 so far.

The ‘Crewsaver’ Tipsy Icicle is the largest dinghy winter series in the country and runs until the 16th March. First race starts at midday and full details on how to enter are on the club website and can be done via webcollect or pay per day at the reception desk. Come and join us this coming Sunday for races 11 & 12 in the series we look forward to seeing you.

LLSC website and photographs of the days racing: https://llsc.org.uk

Sponsors website: http://www.crewsaver.co.uk/

Full results can be found on:https://llsc.org.uk/LLSC/Results/2014Tipsy.htm