Hansa TT at Midland Sailing Club
by Phil Reeves 18 Sep 2023 09:01 PDT
30 August 2023
Hansa TT at Midland SC © Phil Reeves
Midland Sailing Club were honoured to host another Hansa TT event on Wednesday 30th August 2023, with sailors from all over the country. The weather was changeable with a couple of showers before launching but then we had some mixed wind making for some good tactical decision making.
There were 22 entries over 4 classes which was an increase from the year before and they were the Hansa Liberty class, the Hansa 303 singlehanded class, the Hansa 303 doublehanded class and the Hansa 2.3 class. The most popular class this year was the Hansa 303 singlehanded class with 9 boats.
After a busy morning of rigging and launching, 3 races were run back to back, each with 3 starts; first the Libertys, followed by the 303 singlehanded and the 303 doublehanded fleet and then the 2.3s. The race management team in the committee boat were hard at work setting a course that despite the classic MSC constantly shifting wind direction would provide the sailors with a solid course.
The first race kicked off at around 11:15 as planned, with a competitive start from the Liberty sailors. The five competitors had some high level racing, with Paul Phillips Frensham Pond Sailing Club taking the win, closely followed by David Durston in second and Paul Pearson in third. The second race was similarly close - David Durston took first place again, with Paul Phillips and Chris Emmet in third..
The wind kept building throughout the day with some swirling gusts coming down at the windward mark, making for some exciting close finishes. This was evident at the finish of the third race, where David Durston finished 4th which was enough to take the Liberty fleet win with Paul Phillips second. Chris Emmet won the final race but that was not enough to catch David or Paul, finishing 3rd on the day, with Paul Pearson & Ric Cassell rounding out the other places.
The 303 singlehanded fleet was as competitive as ever, with some exciting starts and close finishes. Rory McKinna of Clyde Cruising Club took the lead with clear first place finishes in the first, second and third race, while James Woosnam and Mike Everitt, both from Frensham Pond, battled it out for the other podium places; while Mike was ahead in the second race, James managed to snag the second place finish in the third race, giving him second in the fleet results.
The 303 doublehanded fleet was smaller with only five entries, but some from the home Club which was great to see. Rick & Sue Jillings from Carsington SC took the first two races and finished second in the last race giving them the fleet 1st place. They were followed by Paula Roddy & Chris Weston from Northampton Sailing Club and Ian & Enid Chearman from Swarkestone
The 2.3 fleet similarly had three entries; series leader Lindsay Burns of Frensham Pond took the clear lead and finished first in the first two races; having secured her win, she chose to retire in the last race and discard the DNC, allowing the other two competitors to battle it out in her absence. Khiaan-Paul Schild and newcomer Deidrike Donyina, both from Midland SC, had a close day of racing but ended their competition with Deidrike in second place behind Lindsay and Khiaan in third.
This was the penultimate event in the series and the results leave the battle for the top place finely poised in three of the fleets. In the Liberty fleet Paul Phillips is 1 point behind David Durston, so a first place at Frensham Pond would give him the series. The position in the 303 one person fleet is the same, with Mike Everitt gunning for Rory McKinna in the top spot. In the 2 person fleet Nick and Harry Holland lead on 9 points, with Rick and Sue Holland in 2nd place on 11. However a good result in the final event could seal the victory for either once discards have been applied. Frensham Ponds will host the final event and prize-giving on 20th September.
In conclusion the Hansa TT event was very successful as the sailors left happy with the way the Club organised the event. It was a really enjoyable day of racing and ended with lunch onshore out in the sun as the competitors enjoyed the gorgeous weather.
To find the results from the event and for the series so far, go to www.hansaclass.org.uk/page-results.html