Sextant Trophy
2002T R2
Lee Valley MYC
24th July 2016
REPORT BY Henry Farley
Seventeen skippers entered the Sextant Trophy event but for various reasons 3 were unable to make it on the day.
Perhaps the most spectacular was Terry Burton when his car had an altercation with a deer while on the way to the event.
Both car and deer suffered terminal injury though fortunately Terry was OK.
Like many lakes at this time of year, Clayton Hill grows weed 'nicely' but with strenuous efforts by the club members, the tall stuff most likely to interfere with sailing had been removed. That left small amounts of floating bits, mainly brought up by the abundant bird population, for boats to catch. It is doubtful that many suffered seriously and as seems usual the best combinations of skipper and boat came to the top.
Those that have been to Clayton Hill before know to expect tricky winds with shifts, gusts and holes to test the skippers skill. As is often said, anyone can sail n a consistent wind but to master the tricky conditions takes skill and patience. That came as a bit of a shock to some
.
When we stopped for lunch after Race 3 John Davies was leading with 4 points with Dave Andrews on 7 and Cliff Daniels on 8 not too far behind. It soon became clear that the top spot was always going to be a close fought contest between John and Dave. Cliff's boat while excellent in the very light winds suffers a bit as it perks up so began to fall behind but still stayed ahead of most of the fleet.
Shaun Holbeche started well but suffered a rig failure in Race 3 and didn't manage to get back to the A heat until Race 5 and thereafter was always in contention.
Bernie Guest had mixed fortunes but got near the front of the fleet on a few occasions managing to win one race.
Many had their moments of glory one way or another and perhaps none enjoyed them more than Liz Browne who was delighted to get to the A heat, stay there for a couple of races, fall back then climb up again.
In the end the top two finished on equal points, equal 1sts, equal 2nds with John retaining the title with two 3rds to Dave's one 3rd and a 4th.
Perhaps all the more remarkable when John obviously knows the lake well while Dave has never sailed there before.
It was sad to find the several of the skippers didn't understand the 'fore triangle rule' to governs jib positioning so some boats had to be adjusted before continuing to sail.
Seventeen skippers entered the Sextant Trophy event but for various reasons 3 were unable to make it on the day.
Perhaps the most spectacular was Terry Burton when his car had an altercation with a deer while on the way to the event.
Both car and deer suffered terminal injury though fortunately Terry was OK.
Like many lakes at this time of year, Clayton Hill grows weed 'nicely' but with strenuous efforts by the club members, the tall stuff most likely to interfere with sailing had been removed. That left small amounts of floating bits, mainly brought up by the abundant bird population, for boats to catch. It is doubtful that many suffered seriously and as seems usual the best combinations of skipper and boat came to the top.
Those that have been to Clayton Hill before know to expect tricky winds with shifts, gusts and holes to test the skippers skill. As is often said, anyone can sail n a consistent wind but to master the tricky conditions takes skill and patience. That came as a bit of a shock to some
.
When we stopped for lunch after Race 3 John Davies was leading with 4 points with Dave Andrews on 7 and Cliff Daniels on 8 not too far behind. It soon became clear that the top spot was always going to be a close fought contest between John and Dave. Cliff's boat while excellent in the very light winds suffers a bit as it perks up so began to fall behind but still stayed ahead of most of the fleet.
Shaun Holbeche started well but suffered a rig failure in Race 3 and didn't manage to get back to the A heat until Race 5 and thereafter was always in contention.
Bernie Guest had mixed fortunes but got near the front of the fleet on a few occasions managing to win one race.
Many had their moments of glory one way or another and perhaps none enjoyed them more than Liz Browne who was delighted to get to the A heat, stay there for a couple of races, fall back then climb up again.
In the end the top two finished on equal points, equal 1sts, equal 2nds with John retaining the title with two 3rds to Dave's one 3rd and a 4th.
Perhaps all the more remarkable when John obviously knows the lake well while Dave has never sailed there before.
It was sad to find the several of the skippers didn't understand the 'fore triangle rule' to governs jib positioning so some boats had to be adjusted before continuing to sail.