Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 M600 LEADERBOARD

Sutton Bingham Icicle: SSW Winter Series Round 8

by Jon Miles 15 Mar 2018 07:12 PDT 10 March 2018
D-Zeros and Phantoms fighting it out during the Sutton Bingham Icicle: SSW Winter Series Round 8 © Lottie Miles

A warm spring day dawned over the Sutton Bingham Reservoir, near Yeovil, with a 10-15kn Southerly wind building with some sharp gusts. It looked like a challenging day out on the water and so it proved...

A mix of locals and series travellers arrived for the inaugural Sutton Bingham Icicle, a 3-hour pursuit race. The race team set a long beat down the lake with some challenging gybe marks and a reach to the final buoy. Several competitors went afloat early to test the conditions and the gusts saw a few taking an early swim.

Nevertheless 32 competitors made it out onto the water. First off were Angus and Alfie Cook in their Firefly, who were also sitting 2nd in the SSW Lakes Series after an excellent performance at the Roadford Rocket. The Cook's eked out a good lead in the early stages of the race with a Solo, GP14 and a few Lasers in hot pursuit. Sizable fleets of RS Aero 5s and 7s soon began to track them down, and it became evident that this was perhaps not going to be the Firefly's day.

While the RS Aeros continued to scrap between themselves, the starting sequence for the rest of the field unfolded. Nearly an hour into the race, a highly competitive fleet of 7 Phantoms took off to chase the pack down, starting with 3 D-Zeros just ahead of them. This 'ghostly fleet' seemed to hunt in packs, with Nutall, Orman and Hawkes breaking away from the others whilst they continued to squabble for the Phantom bragging rights lap after lap!

Eventually the faster boats were away, with the Downs' Merlin Rocket starting more than a lap behind the leaders, the RS400 of the Horlocks further back still. The last competitor off the line was Chris Hampe in his International Canoe, starting his pursuit of the field from nearly a full 2 laps behind the Firefly! Chris seemed to be working his socks off throughout the race, but he just couldn't quite find the steady wind to blast through the field as he has done in previous races in the series.

At the front, RS Aero 5 World Champion Andrew Frost had finally tracked down and passed the Firefly to take the race lead. Frost continued to move away from the field, building up a huge advantage on his home water, but he wouldn't have it his own way in the closing stages. Having closely followed local RS Aero 7 sailor Chris Jones for a lap or two, RS Aero 7 World Champion and (perhaps more importantly, the 2018 Roadford Rocket winner!), Steve Cockerill turned on the afterburners in his pursuit of Frost.

The series front-runners, Tim and Sarah Parsons in a Scoprion had a quiet start to the race, but by now they were gathering serious momentum. As the latter stages of the Icicle unfolded, the Parsons from Lyme Regis SC began to really master this tricky course, passing boats at regular intervals. The Phantom race was unfolding too, with Hawkes finally able to establish a narrow lead over the other two. He wasn't able however to haul in Terry Curtis who had a very solid race in the OK or Chris Jones in the RS Aero 7.

Further ahead, Steve Cockerill had bared right down on Andrew Frost in this marathon pursuit race. With just 5 minutes to go, Steve moved into first place, asserting his pedigree over a very talented field.

Andrew Frost finished 2nd, Tim and Sarah Parsons took 3rd place from OK sailor Terry Curtis in 4th. 5th and top local sailor was Chris Jones in his RS Aero 7 and the first of the Phantoms was Simon Hawkes in 6th with Stephen Bailey in 7th in a Laser. It was a day for the single handers who were able to react to the challenging conditions in another fantastic winter pursuit race.

Free tea and cakes in the clubhouse were gratefully received by a tired contingent of sailors. There was a reshaping of the series overall, with Tim and Sarah Parsons knocking Ben Flower off his perch. Next up is the Exmoor Beastie at Wimbleball SC on the 18th March. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Full details of SSW series standings and Lakes series standings so far can be found at www.sailingsw.co.uk/sw-series

Sutton Bingham Icicle Results:

PosClassSail NoHelmCrewClubR1Pts
1stRS AERO 72319Steve Cockerill Stokes Bay SC11
2ndRS AERO 51312Andrew Frost Sutton Bingham SC22
3rdSCORPION2041Tim ParsonsSarah ParsonsLyme Regis SC33
4thOK69Terry Curtis Castle Cove SC44
5thRS AERO 71817Chris Jones Sutton Bingham SC55
6thPHANTOM1454Simon Hawkes Castle Cove SC66
7thLASER164660Steve Bailey Starcross YC77
8thPHANTOM1446Nick Orman Castle Cove SC88
9thPHANTOM1451John Nuttall Tenby SC99
10thRS AERO 72320Sarah Cockerill Stokes Bay SC1010
11thLASER203910Ben Hawkes Castle Cove SC1111
12thFINN666Ian jay Sutton Bingham SC1212
13thSOLO4901Richard Frost Sutton Bingham SC1313
14thDEVOTI D‑ZERO260Stacey Bray Porthpean SC1414
15thBLAZE713Eric Evans North Devon YC1515
16thFIREFLY3595Angus CookEllie HopperNorth Devon YC1616
17thPHANTOM1419Paul Birbeck Wimbleball SC1717
18thBLAZE803Hugh Kingdon North Devon YC1818
19thRS 4001280Iain HorlockCharlotte HorlockExe SC1919
20thLASER RADIAL136020Kelsey Green Sutton Bingham SC2020
21stINTERNATIONAL CANOE340Chris Hampe RYA2121
22ndMERLIN‑ROCKET3544David DownsRos DownsTata steel SC2222
23rdSCORPION2015Jo MahyEmily GreenSutton Bingham SC2323
24thKESTREL1594Mike BurkeRoger DaviesSutton Bingham SC2424
25thRS AERO 72270Andrew Petter Littleton SC2525
26thPHANTOM1373Pete Barnstable Sutton Bingham SCDNF38
26thDEVOTI D‑ZERO142Jeremy Carey Sutton Bingham SCDNF38
26thDEVOTI D‑ZERO153Chris Bottomley Sutton Bingham SCDNF38
26thPHANTOM1348Richard Cumberbatch Sutton Bingham SCDNF38
26thPHANTOM1339Dave Elston Castle Cove SCDNF38
26thGP1411312Tony ElgarCallum SeggieSutton Bingham SCDNF38
26thRS AERO 51296Maggie Dunn LRSCDNF38

Related Articles

On board the SY62 3-Deck Closed
Maryline and Toon, from Belgium, chose the new yacht in the owner's suite version There are plenty of reasons to choose Silent Yachts. Maryline and Toon, from Belgium, chose the new SY62 3-Deck Closed, in the owner's suite version, for three main reasons. Posted on 23 Nov
Another VisionF 82 catamaran is sold
The sale of the third hull of the highly successful 82ft (24,7m) model Luxury Turkish catamaran specialist VisionF Yachts is celebrating after the sale of the third hull of the highly successful 82ft (24,7m) model. Posted on 23 Nov
How navigation tech is protecting our seabeds
Seagrass meadows store 10% of the ocean's carbon Just under two years into partnering together and more responsible sailing and seagrass conservation has been put on the map by Clean Sailors, the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) and Savvy Navvy. Posted on 21 Nov
The launch of the Two Oceans 870 Power Catamaran
An 87-foot custom designed and built luxury power catamaran Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing proudly announces the successful launch of the Two Oceans 870 Power Catamaran. Posted on 20 Nov
Marine Auctions: November Online Auction
Bidding to Open on Friday 22 November and Close on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 2pm AEST Bidding to Open on Friday 22 November and Close on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 2pm AEST. Posted on 19 Nov
Vision Marine partners with a pontoon manufacturer
A new production initiative with Smoker Craft Inc Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (the "Company", "Vision Marine", "we", "us", "our") (Nasdaq: VMAR), a pioneer in electric marine propulsion, is pleased to announce a new production initiative with Smoker Craft Inc., Posted on 19 Nov
Sunreef Yachts unveils interiors of the Ultima 111
36.25m luxury vessel showcases a unique design collaboration with Phathom Studio Sunreef Yachts is thrilled to present a first look at the interiors of its ultramodern catamaran, the ULTIMA 111. Posted on 18 Nov
Benetti launches M/Y Juno's 7, the first Class 44M
Natural settings on four decks which recall the brand's heritage The first unit of Benetti's Class 44M launched from Viareggio, revealing the work of Cassetta Yacht Designers and informal, natural settings on four decks which recall the brand's Heritage. Posted on 16 Nov
Numarine reveals interiors for new Numarine 45XP
There's a lot to be said for ongoing collaborations There's a lot to be said for ongoing collaborations, particularly between shipyard and design studio. It not only speaks to the success of previous projects and the trust that exists between partners Posted on 15 Nov
Pershing unveils the GTX70
The most compact and sporty, in perfect Pershing tradition Pershing unveils Pershing GTX70, the third model in the Sport Utility Yacht range and a perfect combination of the innovations and comfort introduced by the series and the two previous models. Posted on 13 Nov
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay