Please select your home edition
Edition
Trinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay

ILCA / Laser Big Monday at Parkstone Yacht Club

by John Keates 2 Jul 2021 09:31 PDT 28 June 2021
Big Monday for the ILCA / Laser fleet at Parkstone © Chris Whalley

There's four months still to go before the Eve of St Crispin, but when Parkstone's ILCA and Laser sailors invited their friends from Poole Yacht Club to join them for our traditional Big Monday, this happy band of brothers (and sisters!), 62 in number, (an all-time record, beating the previous one of 54), faced weather conditions that threatened to be more suited to the fields of Agincourt than Poole Harbour.

Thunder and Lightning was never very far away and during race two it was dark enough for the ribs to switch on their nav. Lights! And then there was the wind, always making its presence felt but never to be relied upon, a bit like some politicians I could name.

Luckily for us, the race team led by Bob Jennings was well up to the job. The fact that Race 1 started in 7 knots from the south east and finished in 10 from the south west gives you an idea of how much they needed to be on their toes. None of this would have bothered Peter Gordon in the standard rig and Natalie Annels in the radial, both of whom stormed to victory in that race.

For those of you reading this who don't know, Monday races are started by using one of the competitors as a gate-boat. On this occasion Colston Nichols offered his services, using a Rooster 8.1 rig to separate him from the rest. As Nigel Hawthorne might have commented, in 'Yes Minister', taking up such an office when faced with over 60 boats trying to cut past his stern, all within a gap of 75 seconds, was indeed a brave decision! Most people seemed to have managed the task of starting without mishap, although reports have reached the ears of this scribe that one, Iain Reid, wasn't quite so successful. Although he manged to avoid hitting the gate boat he did come into contact with several fellow competitors and also made the schoolboy error of mucking up the Fleet Captain's start; worse still, like Margaret Thatcher, Iain was not for turning, (at least not enough to exonerate himself!).

Considering the number of boats sailing in a relatively confined space, there were few other mishaps in race 1, apart from the abrupt wind change which caught out a lot of people who had sailed to the right on the second reach in order to avoid the worst of the tide. Changing fortunes resulted in these podium placings; Standard fleet: 1st, Peter Gordon, 2nd, Jon Gorringe and 3rd, Hywel Roberts; Radial fleet: 1st, Natalie Annels, 2nd, Henry Keegan and 3rd, Robbie Phipps.

Underneath a lowering sky but rising wind, a nifty course change was desired by competitors and achieved by an experienced race team. Race 2 started uneventfully, and with a slightly more consistent wind strength and direction some of the more familiar fleet leaders began to show their quality. Mark roundings for the leaders were, as usual, fairly calm affairs, but for the majority it was a perilous business. Those who desire greater evidence of such a claim will have their wish granted if they were to visit Simon Foster's Face Book posting where they will be able to enjoy magnificent footage of the race if not of our 'trouser-less' cameraman!

Although darkness was now approaching, there was still sufficient light for almost everyone to enjoy the sight of Harry Cowell capsizing in knee deep water. Mind you, the spectacle did not last long; the Red Bull F1 team would have been impressed by Harry's righting speed. The enjoyment of the spectators was swiftly followed by much raising of centre boards! Those of you who have had the pleasure of recording the finish of single-handed dinghies most of which have 6-digit numbers will appreciate the fine efforts of the recorders of this night. It's my far simpler task to note the podium finishers in each fleet. They were; Radials: 1st, Eve Kennedy 2nd, Ann Keates and 3rd, Rob Penson; Standards: 1st, Giles Kuzyk 2nd, Chris Whalley and 3rd, Neil Davies.

Over sixty boats on the water for a Monday night's sail is difficult to beat for impact, but there were some other statistics of note. Some might consider it old-fashioned of me to mention it but the fact that we had 17 lady single-handed sailors racing is worthy of note in my book. Natalie Annels (1st and 4th) and Jon Gorringe (2nd and 4th) had the lowest combined scores in their respective fleets. Colston Nichols had an even lower combined score (1st&1st), but he was, as he always has been in my opinion, in a class of his own! Arguably more impressive, given the very contrasting nature of the 1st and 2nd races, we had two sailors who managed to finish in exactly the same place in their fleets, David Pratt in the Radial fleet (12th) and Richard Strang in the Standard fleet (28th).

A record-breaking night like this doesn't happen by chance. Thanks to the efforts of our Fleet Captain, Chris Whalley, the regular Monday night sailors were joined by sailors from our youth section, helms from our Thursday ladies' group and six sailors from Poole Yacht Club all of whom, incidentally accredited themselves well with finishes ranging from 7th to 27th. Doubly impressive when you consider that Gate boat starting was a new venture for them.

As a reward for coping with the trickiness of returning to shore in very shallow water amongst capsizing and gybing boats, and at least one very experienced lady sailor (who is far too close to me to name), losing her tiller in one of the above-mentioned manoeuvres, returning sailors were rewarded with a free drink. The speediness of return was largely helped by the policing efforts of our Commodore who decided to direct traffic after his own capsize! Thirty lucky souls of those returning to the club were also booked in for a sailor's supper organised by our energetic and highly efficient social secretary, Fiona Wall.

So, definitely a night to remember. Those of us who were forced by circumstance to miss this event may appreciate the words Henry V might have uttered on the eve of St Crispin:

"Laser sailors of the UK now abed shall think themselves accursed that they were not there and hold their sailing credibility cheap while any speak that sailed with us on Parkstone's Big Monday!"

Full results can be found here...

Related Articles

Affordable Precision: How Atto Changes the Game
Weighing just 75g and capable of measuring 250 kg working load Digitalisation has changed sailing. Technologies once reserved for Grand-Prix are permeating every level of the sport, giving sailors the ability to adopt elite racing and training practices - elevating the game across the board. Posted on 4 Nov
Dutch Olympic Team Head Coach Opportunity
Are you the head coach ready to take on this challenge? We welcome candidates from both the Netherlands and abroad, whether from sailing or another sport. Applications can be submitted until 5 November. Posted on 3 Nov
Are you a head coach ready to take on a challenge?
Top-3 Olympic nation in sailing, kite- and windsurfing In elite sports, the details are decisive, and the timing of innovative impulses is crucial. Are you convinced that you can make a difference for the Netherlands as a watersports nation with your unique vision and approach on the road to Los Angeles 2028? Posted on 1 Nov
Single Handed Regatta at Big River Sailing Club
The regatta at Clarence River at Harwood attracted 62 entrants Tucked away in the cane fields on the northern bank of the Clarence River at Harwood, Northern NSW, lies the beautifully groomed parkland and grounds of the Big River Sailing Club. Posted on 1 Nov
ILCAuk ILCA 7 Masters Inlands at Rutland
Typical optimism from the fleet, despite the forecast In the days leading up to this final Masters event of 2024, the forecast was, at best, unpredictable. As the weekend neared, however, predictions started aligning — unfortunately, in a rather bleak direction. Posted on 31 Oct
ILCA 7 Rooster / Noble Marine Qualifier 5 at WPNSA
41 competitors have an exciting Saturday of racing Of the 170 entries, 41 ILCA 7s registered for the ILCA UK Qualifier 5 at WPNSA, the competitors were all set for an exciting weekend of racing. Posted on 25 Oct
Sailingfast Wessex ILCA Open at South Cerney
Warm, quite sunny and generally a reasonable wind speed The final event in the Sailingfast sponsored Wessex ILCA Series took place on Saturday 19th October at South Cerney Sailing Club. Fortunately the date chosen meant the weather gods were friendly. Posted on 24 Oct
ILCA Lakeland & Borders GP at Derwent Reservoir
Five back to back races in strong winds for the fleet of 19 helms Nineteen ILCAs entered for the Lakeland & Borders Grand Prix at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club on 12th October 2024. The forecast of 12 to 28 knots meant some uncertainty over what conditions would be expected. Posted on 18 Oct
Olympian raises £18k by raffling Paris 2024 boat
All the £18,053 raised will go to the Andrew Simpson Foundation Olympic sailor Micky Beckett has raised over £18,000 to help kids get on the water by raffling the boat he raced at Paris 2024. Posted on 14 Oct
SailingFast Northern ILCA Circuit at Dovestone
Turnout was strong across the year, averaging 17 boats per event The Sailingfast Northern ILCA Circuit completed the 2024 season at Dovestone SC on Sunday 13th October. The 2024 season was conducted across 15 venues across the North, and saw 131 competitors from 27 different clubs sailing between March and October. Posted on 14 Oct
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay