Results / Burghfield Open Burghfield SC - 12/03/2006
Sunday 12 March was a day of reckoning for Burghfield Sailing Club�s
RS200 and RS400 sailors. For the first time in several years, visiting
teams walked away with the top honours at the Club�s annual open event.
With a forecast for a light breeze and possible snow, the Club was not
expecting great things in terms of turnout. But on the day, conditions
were dry with a cold blustery easterly breeze rising to max force 4-5
around the middle of the day. A particularly tricky wind direction at
Burghfield, with the breeze coming down a wooded slope to provide sudden
shifts and gusts to catch out the unwary.
The 400 fleet at Burghfield has always been strong at the Club and 13
home boats were joined by 4 visitors. Roger Gilbert and James Stewart �
multiple National Champion and Endeavour Trophy Winner � came out of semi-
retirement to show a clean pair of heels to the local hot-shots. In races
one and two, they pulled away into a substantial lead, extracting max
benefit from every shift and gust in a demonstration of devastating
downwind sailing. The real battle was taking place behind them, and
whilst Tom Jones and Kris Gardner proved the top home team on the day
taking second place overall which included a well deserved 1st place in
the final race, Steve Middleton/Chris Rowland, Peter Jackson/James Dyas,
and John Cooper/Becci Wigley pushed them hard. But it was a day of
advantages lost as quickly as they were gained with Chris and Gill Jordan
and Andy Leigh/Hannah Burywood unable to maintain good early positions in
each of the races. Barney Goswell and Marc Sollars put in a particularly
stunning performance in race 2 when they claimed a second place by a
comfortable margin.
The 200 fleet at Burghfield is a work in progress and the Club was
delighted that 22 visiting 2s joined 6 Club teams on a stretch of water
that is particularly suited to the class. Clear favourites to retain top
honours were the home team of Jonathan Lewis and Katie Nichol although as
the entry sheet filled up it was clear that this was far from a done
deal: with the likes of Tom and Jo Hewitson, Trudie Danbury/Karen Baker,
and Pete Vincent/Tessa Nicholls all putting in an appearance a home team
triumph was far from certain. But the wildcard in the pack proved to be
Nick Charles and Juliet Kingsnorth of Bristol Corinthian SC who, having
gained much from the training day on the Saturday and the wise words of
venerable coach Jon Lewis (at 40 you�re venerable), then proceeded to
demonstrate in spectacular fashion how to put that training into action.
Winning both races one and two, they secured victory from Lewis/Nichol by
a single point and proved that ability + top coaching can really make the
difference. Next of the home boats were Rob Martin and stand-in crew
Nigel White who sailed well to score 8th overall. And George Kinsgnorth
and Vicky Fairhurst continuing to improve in 12th.
A gauge of a good event is the prize-giving turnout where there was
standing room only and much of the credit goes to Steve Burywood, RS400
Fleet Captain, for his tireless organisation, and Nick Martin and his
race team who got the races away promptly, managed not a single general
recall, and enhanced the reputation of Burghfield to stage well run
events. The club would also like to thank its sponsor, Fawcett�s Garage
(Volvo) Ltd of Newbury for their ongoing generous support. Competitiors
may wish to view a selection of excellent photographs taken by club
member Jeremy Carey on the Club�s website at BSC Gallery .
1st Roger Gilbert & James Stewart
2nd Tom Jones & Khris Gardner
3rd Steve Middleton & Chris Rowland
4th Peter Jackson & James Dyas
5th John Cooper & Becci Wiggley