Tipsy Week 8

With several weather forecasts for Sunday predicting 30 knot winds, snow and freezing cold temperatures it was little wonder quite a few competitors decided to make alternate plans for Sunday.  The die-hards who did decide to turn up found that two thirds of the forecast was right as 30 minutes before the start they witnessed (and sailed in) a blizzard and the air temperature dropped significantly.  Undeterred by all of this 49 boats braved the elements and took to the water for races 15 & 16 in the ‘Crewsaver’ sponsored Tipsy Icicle series at Leigh & Lowton sailing club.

The first race of the day started in 9 knots of an unsteady south easterly breeze that built as the day went on with gusts of 21 knots recorded.  Given the wind direction it was very shifty as the boats neared the south shore, as a few boats found out to their cost with capsizes to windward, but they were compensated by one particular downwind legs which, when the big gusts hit them, made for many a happy sailor.

Largest fleet of the day was the 16 boat Lasers fleet.  Gareth Staple Jones (LLSC) who took the win from Stuart Belfield (LLSC) in second but the real race was just behind them as the two boats that would appear to be battling it out for the top place in the series, Mark Lunn (LLSC) and Greg Marshall (WLYC) raced each other into third and fourth respectively.

Second fleet away was the 11 boat handicap fleet which included 5 Solos (the results of which are taken separately) With the series leading X1 crew missing on childcare duties and second in the series Supernova away at their winter champs it gave third in the series Peter Mackin (Supernova – Bolton SC) a chance to close the gap which he duly did with a win.  Second on corrected time was the 420 of Mark Platt/Emma McClusky (LLSC), third was the new to the series Fireball of Alex Taylor/Geoff Edwards (Budworth SC) who early in the race appeared to have it wrapped up but came unstuck with a major capsize.  Fourth was Mark Cuthbert (LLSC) in his Supernova.

In the Solos there was close racing at the front of the fleet as both boats had a go in the lead but in the end Andy Tunnicliffe (RWYC) took the win from Paul Heath (LLSC) by a matter of seconds.  Steve Ferrington (WKSC) continued his steady climb up the series board when he came home in third with Dave Welch (LLSC) fourth.

The 9 boat Asymmetric fleet were next away and given the strong breeze and long tight downwind legs in both races it was no surprise that the top four places were all taken by RS400’s.  Chris Pickles/Matt Sharman (Delph SC) carried on from where they left off last week.  They pulled out such a large lead that even the snapping of their kite halyard, as they hoisted for the last long downwind leg, didn’t stop them from taking the win.  In second was the series leader Hamish Gledhill/Simon Dowse (WRYC), third Bill Kenyon/Andy Dawson (Budworth SC) third and Richard Catchpole/Gary Coop (LLSC) fourth.

The racing was as close and competitive as ever in the 13 boat junior with the top five boats in the series out on the water and Topper dominance was the order of the first race as they took the top four positions.  Series leader Samuel Cooper (WLYC) had an excellent day as he took the win from Lorcan Knowles (LLSC) while Toby Cope (Rudyard Lake SC) third and George Williams (Chester SC) fourth.

After lunch, having had a chance to thaw out and get some feeling back in your fingers, the severe cold seemed to have taken its toll on some as a reduced number of boats went out for the second race.  Those that went out were grateful that the snow had stopped but they could not help but notice the big gusts across the water and that the temperature dropped even lower.

In the Lasers Marshall and Lunn upped their game and battled it out at the top end of the fleet with Marshall this time getting the better of Lunn.  Third home was the dark horse of the series, Howard Green (LLSC), while Belfield had to settle for fourth.

The handicap fleet had a new winner as Taylor/Edwards in the Fireball managed to stay upright and disappeared into the distance to take the win.  Mackin came home in second with Platt/McClusky third and Mark Dingsdale (Phantom – LLSC) fourth.

Tunnicliffe didn’t go out for the second race in the Solos as Mrs Tunnicliffe told him he had to go home and do  house work.  Heath went out and had a capsizing competition with Ferrington.  Both had a go at the lead but Ferrington spent more time in the water and allowed Heath to take the win.  Ferrington recovered to take second while the only other Solo that went out, Dave Welch, finished, you guessed it, third.

With no time to rethread a kite halyard Pickles/Sharman borrowed another RS40 and went on to take the win.  Kenyon/Dawson went one better to take a second while Gledhill/Dowse made do with third and Caroline Exley/Chris Hill (LLSC) fourth.  Mention should be made of Catchpole/Coop who were comfortable in third but capsized.  All was well, boat righted and still in third but a faulty zip found Coop with the legs of his ‘dry’suit full of freezing cold water from hip to toe which explains their retirement.  Another mention goes to the RS200 crew of Gareth Williams/Jen Turner.  As they rounded the leeward mark to start what would have been their final beat their main halyard snapped, gravity took over and the main fell down.  After a few choice words, and while still downwind of the finish line (which they would have crossed had the main not fell down) they began to roll the main up.  As they were doing this the lead junior boat approaching the leeward mark was given the shortened course signal.  Once the main was rolled and the junior boat finished Williams managed to finish under jib and got a result to count rather that a DNF.  Some people are so lucky.

Cooper recorded his second win of the day in the junior fleet while Drew Gibbons (Optimist – Redesmere SC) and George Graham (Topper – Burwain SC) could not be separated on handicap for second place so shared it.  Cope in his Topper was fourth.

With three weekends and a possible 6 races to go before the end of the series there is still plenty to play for and prizes to be won in all fleets so come along and join us as the ‘Crewsaver’ Tipsy Icicle series begins to draw to a close.
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Full results can be found on:  https://llsc.org.uk/LLSC/Results/2015/Tipsy.htm