Results / Winter Championships Northampton SC - 19/02/2005

For the second year running the RS400 circuit curtain raiser; the Gul Winter Championships kicked off with some big conditions at Northampton SC. Competitors arrived on Saturday to find a patchy 15 knot breeze blowing directly across the lake which somewhat restricted the available space, however in the first of a number of excellent decisions the race management team opted to offset the line upwind, leaving space for a compact course which coupled with the shifty conditions was clearly going to reward those who�d been getting the practice in over the winter. The first race was one for the scrapbook with the rare sight of the fleet getting away cleanly without the use of the standard black. Determined not to let anyone in on their local knowledge Craig Burlton and Andy Bonsey saw the world turn green on their second tack of the season, before staging an impressive recovery to finish fourth. At the front of the fleet a race-long dogfight between Mark and Sam Littlejohn and Nick Craig, crewed by Toby Lewis saw Nick sneak it, followed by Chris Jennings and Ed Nicklin. After a short break for lunch the second race got away following a recall and the return of the black flag. This saw a convincing win for Craig / Lewis, followed by Burlton / Bonsey and Jennings / Nicklin, with Tom Halhead and Ruth Johnson sneaking past the Littlejohns on the final leg for fourth. The third race was held in decreasing breeze and saw a win for Burlton / Bonsey with Craig / Lewis staging a late comeback for second, Jennings and Nicklin showing real consistency with their third 3rd. Another excellent decision by the race team saw the close of play called just as the first of the days snowfall descended. Saturday night saw certain members of the fleet going �on tour�, arriving back at Pitsford to find the conditions had got a bit more frisky. Clearly the previous nights rum and coke consumption had made some a bit jumpy with Craig / Lewis and the Littlejohns too eager to get across the line, and Halhead / Johnson too eager to survey the lake temperature. Craig and Lewis recovered to win by a large margin, with Burlton / Bonsey in second and Jennings / Nicklin in third. The fifth race was a similar story with Craig / Lewis off over the horizon, Jennings / Nicklin ruining their scoreline with a second and Hywel Roberts / Hugh Sims Williams in third. With the conditions worsening a much depleted fleet turned out for the last race. Again Craig / Lewis showed their dominance in big breeze with their third win of the day to take the event, Burlton / Bonsey finishing close behind for second overall followed by Jennings / Nicklin in third. Thanks must go to the hosts, Northampton SC for delivering a masterclass in race management, and to Gul for their ongoing class sponsorship. The 11th / 12th of March sees the Fat Face circuit kick off at Bristol Corinthian YC with the 200�s also in attendance � it promises to be a huge event!