12 Boats arrived at Northampton Sailing Club last Saturday to light winds and drizzle ... Keep an eye on the Lark websit
June 2010
Better late than never! What can we say? It’s been a very busy year for all of us. The plan had been to produce Lark eNews on a regular basis, every month over the Sailing season and every couple of months over the Winter. All being well eNews should now be back on track. eNews is about providing a regular shot of Lark event previews, reports and anything else in a handy PDF format. If you have any content for the next issue then please send it to us ASAP for inclusion.
2010 Lark AGM Whilst we are all down in Teignmouth for this year’s national champs, the 2010 Annual General Meeting will be held. The meeting is for all members to voice their opinion in all aspects of the way the class is run and the direction its travelling, but also to hear about any resolutions or changes. Class members have the opportunity to vote on any resolutions, and also confirm who the class representatives are going to be in forming next year’s committee. The class constitution requires us to give formal notice of the AGM and any resolutions that are to be decided upon, so could I ask you all to contact me at
[email protected] if you have any matters that you may wish to raise, so that if necessary they may be added to this notice. All matters to be received by July 1st. Can I also take the opportunity to point out that there will be a number of vacancies on the committee which need to be filled. Now is your chance to step up and get involved in shaping the future of class and help ensure its continued success. Please give Chairman, John Crooks a call on 07717 325193.
Call for New Committee Members The Lark class needs your skills. Do you have a skill, experience or just a few ideas that you think would be useful for the Lark Class. If so, we could do with your help on the Lark Committee. We are currently short of a couple of positions on the committee, but would also like to give out certain small tasks to the membership at large. We recognise that our diverse memberships hold a wide variety of skills and specialities that the Lark Class could well benefit from. So if you think you could help in any way then we would really like to hear from you. Email
[email protected] or have a chat to any one of the current committee members.
2010 Lark Class Clothing The New 2010 Lark Class Clothing Design is available NOW. The Larks have again teamed up with Crest of a Wave to produce a new range so you can stand out from the crowd that is available to purchase NOW from Crest of a Wave. We have listened to the feedback from the 2009 version and simplified the design and have included some new distinctive colours. We've also given the design a "Gig list" look with the 2010 fixtures printed on the back. And have a separate shirt for the different series, so whether you're concentrating on the Belle Isle or Midland & North Circuits we have the design for you. Check out the Crest of a Wave website for more details and all the options available. http://www.crestofawave.co.uk/html/prodtype.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=96&numRecordPosition=1
Trying a Lark Here are some handy tips from theaa.com about buying a car: A test drive is vital – it's your way of making sure you're comfortable, that you'll enjoy driving the car and that it's right for your needs. If you're buying a second–hand car, the test drive is even more important. It's your main opportunity to make sure everything's in good working order – unless you've arranged for an engineer to look over the car for you. So what does this have to do with Larks? Very simply - to get someone interested in sailing a Lark, it's vital that they take one for a spin! With this in mind the LCOA committee has been actively trying to get the Lark noticed and sailed by others outside of the current membership. At the beginning of the year the new Ovington demo boat was open for all to use during the 2010 Icicle series. This was continued with the demo boat available for all to use - a “Try-a-Lark” section was added to the website with a simple reservations process. Further advertising of this boat’s availability was done at the 2010 Dinghy Show, which generated some very positive interest from outside of the class, that included several bookings. Alongside the invitation for using the Ovington Lark, the committee have been looking into building relations with youth dinghy classes, most notably the Cadet class which has bred some well known Olympic sailors and some of our best (and worst!) Lark sailors of the modern era. In fact at least 6 ex-cadet helms have been in the top ten in each of the past five National Championships. The preferred RYA option for Cadet sailors is the 420, but of course there are only a certain amount of elite places and intense competition to get them. The Lark is a natural alternative for any of these sailors who aren't already working towards an Olympic campaign, and we're trying to get the Lark noticed at Cadet events and have advertised the Try-a-Lark days at Cadet clubs, to Cadet sailors. So far the Try-a-Lark roadshow has been to Fishers Green (twice), Rutland and Frensham with rapidly increasing success, already culminating in two second hand boats sales to Fishers Green members, Cadet sailors gaining a 5th place at the Frensham Lark open and generally a great deal of interest taken up by various cadet sailors. But we mustn’t stop here - there is more to come, with the Lark and Cadets sharing the Open Meeting at Thorpe Bay on 10th/11th July. We really hope that the Cadets will get a feel of the whole Lark experience and witness the fun we
all have both on and off the water. Furthermore, it is proposed that an extra race on Saturday be held for cadet sailors to race each other in our Larks. This will give these talented sailors a chance to put a Lark through its paces in a competitive environment. We hope you can all help us with this by lending your ships to these potential Lark sailors. We also ask you to please do your bit where you can by encouraging young sailors to Test Drive a Lark, lend them a boat and help get them started in Lark class that you know and love. When looking for a new or emergency crew for a weekend why not give that young sailor down your club a go? Maybe someone you may not have thought of before – you never know how promising they could be. The committee have taken a lead on this but it is up to all of us to help get more sailors interested in sailing our favourite boat. Getting more sailors to Test Drive a Lark will grow the class and we’ll all have an even better time of it - which is what Lark sailing is all about.
Second Hand Boat Market – Rondar Larks Available Now! There is still huge demand for good second hand Larks. If you are considering selling your boat, upgrading to an Ovington Lark or your boat just doesn't get the use it deserves then please put it up for sale - there are buyers out there! Right now there has never been a better time to trade up to a Rondar Lark, with some great deals available on boats many of which come with an eveyable record on the Open and Nationals circuit. Although exactly the same hull shape as all Larks the Rondar is stiffer due to bulk-heads used in construction, and the foam sandwich hull, as well as coming up drier from a capsize and enabling more extreme roll tacking without shipping water. The boats currently looking for new owners are: 2464 “Rocket Ronny” - Twice Nationals winner in 2009 and 2006, twice Belle Isle winner, four times Winters and Inlands winner, this boat has won the lot. Comes with all the gear. Alan is selling her as he has a new Ovington and needs to pay for a cot for his baby! 2481 “Blue Jay Way” - 2nd at Exmouth 2003 this great ship was Mark Ampleford's pride and joy (well actually maintained by Lee) until it was sold to its current owner in 2005 who has sailed it very little in club races. Comes with all the gear. Martin is keen to sell and has changed nothing since he bought the boat. 2474 - Has been completely refurbished by former Lark Class Chairman, Simon Cox at Synergy Marine and brought up to a high racing spec, and has all the gear. If you buy it you can even specify the layout of some of the control lines as Simon tailors it to your taste. Lark 2475 will also be available soon through Synergy Marine. Check out the classifieds pages of the Lark website (http://www.larkclass.org/classifieds/forsale.php) to find out details and prices of all these boats and many others. If you act fast you could be the proud owner of one of these boats ready for the 2010 Lark Nationals in July the highlight of the annual Lark calendar. If you are considering a trade up from an old Parker Lark, then there is also a healthy market for second hand Parkers with a number of people actively seeking boats around £1000-2000. Go on treat yourself!
Lark Class Specialist Repairs, Refurbishments, Fit-outs CNC Machined Foils, Lark Parts, Covers Second Hand and New Ovington Lark Supplier
Contact Simon on 01473 809298 or visit our website – www.synergymarine.co.uk Synergy Marine, Unit 8, Anson Road, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 3RG
Cathy Foster Training Weekend 12 Boats arrived at Northampton Sailing Club last Saturday to light winds and drizzle for a training weekend run by Ex Olympian and world famous Coach Cathy Foster, assisted by National Championship runners up team Steve Hall and Simon Haighton. A 10.45am rigged and ready briefing in the club house was followed by a warm up session on the water consisting of some short races to give everyone a chance to get into the swing of things and also for Cathy to have a look at the abilities of the group. During the lunch break we were instructed to split into groups of two boats ideally of similar standard to work on a number of techniques throughout the afternoon. These techniques included working together sailing up wind whilst scoring each other marks out of 10 for keeping the boat at the optimum upright position for the conditions. Staying in our pairs we moved on to slowing down and stopping techniques, getting out of irons and various accelerating techniques, all with a focus on improving the groups starting ability. All these exercises were extremely useful and a marked improvement was seen all-round. A thorough de-brief from the days training was given by Cathy giving everyone a chance to share their findings from the day and also hear what was in store for the next day. An excellent day on the water and in the classroom was washed down by some nice food cooked by the Sailing Club galley and a couple of pints of well-deserved beer. The 12 teams were met by rain and 25+knot gusts on Sunday morning upon arrival to the club but this was not going to put anyone off and we all quickly set to rigging our ships and meeting in the club to find out what Cathy had in store for us for the day. An excellent question and answer session in the class room which involved some useful miming which resembled the YMCA dance from Steve and Simon to demonstrate their gybing techniques as well as a session of Cathy’s infamous musical chairs was followed by everyone hitting the water and splitting into 2 groups to practice breezy weather tacking and gybing on the whistle. The gybing part made for some good wipe outs but all who did take a swim were quickly righting their boats and getting back into the training. The fleet came back together for a short race before heading in for lunch to re-fuel the energy levels. The afternoon session was run in even more breeze than in the morning and was a chance for all the teams to put everything they had learnt over the weekend into practice around a square or sausage course depending on which end of the reservoir they had chosen. The options were the consistently breezy end or the gusty shifty end!!) Again there were plenty of impressive capsizes all round but a lot of fun along with them. The weekend was a brilliant success and all the sailors gained a huge amount from Cathy’s training and the top tips from Steve and Simon. A big thank you to all the staff at Northampton Sailing club for keeping the sailors full off food and cold beer and more importantly safe on the water on the Sunday. A big thank you also to Mark Ampleford the Lark Class’s very own Training Coordinator for organising the weekend.
Event Previews Royal Harwich Open Meeting East meets the Wild West at Royal Harwich this year, as the club Supersizes and takes on an American theme to celebrate England playing USA in the World Cup. The game will be played out on a big screen, after the sailing and there'll be a big ol' American Barbeque on the go and a World cup party into the night. The sailing again takes place on the river Orwell with 5 races over the 2 days. Briefing at 10am and first race at 11am with a £20 entry fee, and there's free camping onsite. The popularity of this event increases every year, and is becoming one of the permanent features of the Lark fixtures list, and you can see why, with such fun events being held in and amongst the sailing and having our friends from the Fireflies and N12 as drinking buddies for the weekend.
Royal Lymington Open Meeting After a year’s absence, the Lark Class are returning to Royal Lymington Yacht Club as part of their Summer Dinghy Open which is again shared with the Scorpions and Fireflies. The club have specially rearranged this event, from it’s late August slot, to align with the Lark fixture list as we build towards this year’s Nationals. Two days of first-rate sea sailing
and excellent race management in the heart of the Solent is just what’s needed at this time of the season. Lymington is also a great central location for our southern-based sailors, so make the most of this opportunity to have tremendous lark fleet sailing on your doorstep. For the rest of you Lymington is in easy reach, and only 10miles from the M27. Six races over the course of the two days and a social in the excellent sailing club facilities and sharing a pint and a story with our scorpion and firefly friends. There are plenty of B&Bs in the local area and a campsite on 2 miles away. Keep an eye on the Lark website for details of the racing and start times.
Thorpe Bay Open Meeting The Larks are venturing to pastures new with an Open Meeting at Thorpe Bay on 10th/11th July. This event is also being shared with Cadets which is another first. The weekend is intended to match the fun had at Royal Harwich opens by having competition with adjoining fleets both on and off the water. There is even a optional fleet swapping race, after Saturday’s formal races, whereby cadet sailors give the Lark a go in a separate 30min race and vice versa with Lark sailors attempting to squeeze into a Cadet. This should be a lot of fun and hopefully give these great Cadet sailors a chance to competitively sail the best sailing dinghy around, and you could end up bagging a highly talented new crew – you never know! Off the water a massive Larks v Cadets rounders match is scheduled and there’ll be a full-on barbeque, all included in the entry price of only £35. Oh, and on-site camping is also included, so that should be your whole weekend sorted. Keep an eye on the Lark website for details of the racing and start times.
Lark National Championships - Teign Corinthian YC - 24th-30th July 2010 Well, summer is just about with us, Rock is a matter of days away, and I 'm sitting here typing away wearing my favourite shorts and slightly pinkened skin from bimbling on Prudence in the sunshine at the weekend! It most certainly is time to start gearing up for the main event of the year! I’ve been asked by many people ‘Where will we store the boats’, ‘Where will we launch’ and ‘Where is the club house’. So, these questions in mind, I suggest you read the following whilst perusing Google Maps at a 200ft scale of Teignmouth. The boats will be stored along Den Promenade starting from the south west end of the road & working towards the club. The club is situated at the North east end of Den Promenade, and not at Coombe Cellars as had been previously published on the website – we must have visited Coombe Cellars at some point in history??!! Launching will be from the south end of Den Promenade – if you look at Google maps, you can find the slip way if you draw an imaginary line from the kidney shaped sand bank, along the sandy spit about to skewer it, up to the sea wall.
Accommodation looks a little tight this year as the Teignmouth Carnival takes place the same week. So if like me you are looking for a house for ten, then you might also want to consider the small town of Shaldon, across the river for accommodation which also has a caravan park. By road, I measure the distance from there to be about 2 miles, which should make a nice 20-30 min stroll to warm up in the morning. Or if you’re feeling lazy, then that would be a couple of mins in the car. Another alternative if you have a camper van may be to park this in the town – I was told last year that Teignmouth were relaxing its bye laws & parking tarriff for camper van parking in an attempt to woe European tourism to the area. I don’t currently have clarification on the specifics of this yet, so keep an eye on the forum for developments. I think the Carnival will generate a great atmosphere for the week and give the family plenty to see and do. For the night types, there is also a cheesy looking discotheque in Teignmouth – something I think we’ve missed the last couple of years...
Racing There will be 9 championship points races running Sun – Mon with Olympic & trapezoid courses and gate & line starts. Practice race will be on the Saturday afternoon for those who have measured, and a crews race will also feature during the week. This year we may also have an on the water umpire for some of the races. Again, details are being refined at present, so keep an eye on the forum.
Scrutineering We have to be strict here – we simply can’t allow anyone to compete who has not been measured. It is your responsibility to get your boat measured on registration day in a timely fashion. Failure to do this may mean you are unable to compete in the first race. Chris Bigglin runs an efficient measuring regime, so no excuses. More detail on what to do on the day will follow closer to the time.
Socials If you’ve been following the forum, then you will have seen that the theme for fancy dress this year has been decided. Having been proposed by Mr Nigel Scott, ‘Under the Sea’ got a wealth of support – take a look at the forum to read the banter! We understand that Michael-John has something special planned. As well as trying to outdo one another with crazy costumes, the week will also include Games Night, the infamous Crews Union & Board of Directors meeting, a BBQ evening (Weather permitting), oh, and an AGM (Yawn!!)
How to Enter There will again be 2 periods of entry, where entries received before 27th June will be subjected to a lower rate. Entries received before 27th June after 27th June
£150 £175
Discouted Rate £100 Discounted Rate 125
Entries received after this date will be charged at full price. A discount will also be available as indicated in the table above for a boat that meets either of the following criteria: 1) It is the Helm’s first Lark Nationals or 2) Both Helm AND Crew are in full time education during the academic year to June 2010 Entry is again available on the Lark Nationals Website – www.larknationals.org.
I had only a small hand full of paper entries last year – I wonder if this may be our first paperless year??!! So don’t delay – Get online and Enter Today! As always we need help during the week to make sure things like Crews Union & Games Night run smoothly and that any dullards that don’t make it to Teignmouth can be kept informed with the weeks progress via the press and the web site. If you would like to help during the week, then please make yourself known. I will likely be located somewhere near the bar at Rock next weekend, waiting to hear from you, so don’t be shy!! Steve Chatten Team ‘Prudence’ (2330)
2010 Short Course Championships Report With aching limbs from Sunday’s heavy weather training session, 12 boats entered for the 2010 Lark Short Course Championships held at Northampton Sailing Club with a more gentle force 1-2 forecast. The main aim of the day was to have fun on the water with a succession of short 6-10mins races, putting in boat handling and starting regimes learnt from the previous two-day Cathy Foster training camp into full practice. The event started with a random allocation of the participants into 6 pairings, with each of the pairings fighting it out in 5 rounds of races (15 races in total) in the morning session. There were some notable race results with Chris Whitehouse, crewed by Chris Robinson, obtaining 4 wins and a 2nd place and taking the morning session overall. But also newbies to the Lark fleet, Chris and Verity Hopkins sailing a 25 year old boat, beat their training tutors (Steve Hall and Simon Haighton) in Round 4, and they also led Race 5 round the windward mark. The previous day’s training was already paying off!! During the lunchtime break the fleets were split into gold and silver fleets, based on the morning results. The gold fleet included the usual suspects and also Adrian Padro who achieved a strong set of consistent results in the morning to put himself into this elite bunch of sailors. In the afternoon a succession of races were completed alternating between the gold fleets and silver fleets, with the winning silver fleet finishers promoted to gold and the two last place finishers in the gold fleet races being relegated to silver. This led to some furious racing and culminated in the morning leaders (Whitehouse/Robinson) being surprisingly knocked out of the competition by being relegated in their last gold race only to be OCS in the silver fleet showdown. The Silver fleet honours were taken by 2nd place Darren Padro, crewed by son Ryan, with the winning silver fleet boat (Stuart and Julia Allen) given the chance to fight with the gold fleet and the chance to become Short Course Champions, but alas it was not to be … with the Grand Final race going with form and being won by Steve Hall and Simon Haighton sailing their new Ovington Lark to Short Course success. A fantastic event was had by all with a great day of race experience gained for new and experienced sailors alike. The Lark class would like to send it’s thanks to Northampton Sailing Club for hosting the event, along with the preceding training camp, and for Dan Watson who stepped in at the last minute to take on the OOD responsibilities.
Belle Isle 2010: May Update Rock Open Meeting "Ah, there's nothing quite like that first pint of Doom!" was all that was on the minds, and lips, of the 54 Lark sailors as they arrived in Rock, Cornwall - just in time for last orders at the bar. Despite the previously gloomy forecast, the competitors were in for a treat. Whilst the rest of the country spent the first May bank holiday weekend sheltering from downpours, the Camel Estuary served up champagne sailing conditions. The first race of the open meeting kicked off with Chris Holliman and Kate Hutchins as pathfinders - opening the gate for the fleet to make their way up to the windward mark in a light F2 but, with the course set outside the Doom Bar, in a lumpy sea state. Nigel Hufton and Andy Douglas were quickest out of the gate. However, the excitement was a little too much for Nigel, who treated the sailors to his finest backward double pike dive over the side of the boat, and into the water, whilst port tacking the entire fleet. He claimed his toestrap broke... Chris Whitehouse and Chris Robinson made the best of the tricky conditions to lead the fleet round, but were pushed all the way by Stuart Hydon and Ryan Padro who found some extra speed as the wind dropped. Nigel recovered well from his earlier mishap to take third. Nigel also went on to take the bullet in the second race of the day held in similarly light and lumpy conditions. Again, Stuart and Ryan were second with Stuart and Julia Allen – revelling in the conditions – coming in third. Saturday night saw everyone enjoying the ‘formal’ meal with Si Haighton again winning, the now traditional, ‘eat dessert with your face’ race. Sunday morning dawned sunny, but windy – very windy – and VERY lumpy... The race officer, Martin Huff, deemed discretion to be the better part of valour and postponed racing until 5pm. This gave the Larks time to enjoy a day trip to Padstow, where May Day celebrations were complemented with a spot of shopping and some fish and chips by the harbour side. Very civilised, until... Launching into the relative calm of the estuary, the waves and wind grew as the fleet sailed out over the Doom Bar... to be presented with huge walls of water. This time there was to be no let off. Martin set the fleet away with Ross Kearny and Ally Dart as pathfinders. To stem the adverse tide the choice was simple; head over to the breaking waves and rocks on the right, or to the sheer cliffs on the left, urm... In the event, the choice was even, with Steve Hall and Si Haighton leading in from the right and Jane Alexander and Rachel Rhodes, in second, from the left. The race saw many a thrill and plenty of spills, but ultimately it was the steady hands, and heads, of Harry Pynn and M.J. Gifford who took the spoils in what was deemed by many an “epic” race. Going into the final day, all was still to play for. This time sailing in the Estuary, the bright and breezy conditions were ideal for final showdown. With Dougal and Helen Scott as pathfinders, the Larks got away into a shifty F4. Whilst the whole fleet were enjoying the fast and wet racing, it was the front three who pulled out from the pack.
Steve & Si, Harry & M.J, and Chris & Chris were locked in an incredibly tight three-way duel at the front of the fleet. Steve & Si just sneaking past Harry & M.J who in turn were only seconds ahead of Chris & Chris. With each of the three boats still in contention, and within a point of each other, the stage was perfectly set for the final race. Holly Hewitt and Ruth Johnson lead round the first mark – having consolidated their pathfinder’s prerogative - hotly pursued by the three contenders for overall honours. Four laps of tight racing ensued, with the lead changing hands regularly. On the final lap, Chris & Chris took a shift on the right of the course and were able to seize the initiative, and ultimately the race and the event. A great time was had by all competitors, and the Larks would like to extend their thanks to Rock Sailing & Waterski Club for hosting us, and to Martin Hough and his family for running the fantastic racing.
Hayling Island Open Meeting 18 Larks made the trip to Hayling to share an open with the Merlin Rockets. They were greeted by a force 2-3 and a tricky chop. Race one, Steve Hall/Simon Haighton led at the windward mark after playing the shifts on the left hand side of the course, James Stewart/Katrina Gilbert were second after working the right hand side of the course. Hall/Haighton extended to a comfortable lead through the race, followed by Stewart/Gilbert, and also Paul Gardner/Ally Dart. Race two and the wind had built to a force 3-4, and the chop was now turning in to proper waves. Hall/Haighton again led round at the first mark after starting at the pin end, they were followed by Simon Cox/Adam Owens and Harry Pynn/Michael John Gifford. Hall/Haighton consolidated their lead gradually through the short race to take the win, with Pynn/Gifford soaking low on the final run to sneak past Cox/Owens. Race three was started in a steady force 4, after a long wait while the Merlins had 3 general recalls. The Lark fleet followed suit with a general recall of their own under black flag, the Race Officer managed to catch 9 boats in all, leading to a much reduced fleet. Once the race got underway, Steve Chatten/Kirsty Phipps managed to port tack the fleet, however Pynn/Gifford lead at the windward mark, and consolidated to the finish. They were followed by Hufton/Douglas and Holly Hewat/Ruth Johnson. The Lark class would like to thank Hayling Island SC for hosting them, and look forward to returning in the near future for some proper sea sailing again. st
1 Steve Hall & Simon Haighton, Northampton nd 2 Harry Pynn & Micheal John Gifford, Waldringfield rd 3 James Stewart & Katrina Gilbert, Weston th 4 Nigel Hufton & Andy Douglas, Frensham Pond th 5 Simon Cox & Adam Owens, Waldringfield
Midlands & North Region: The Story So Far Would you believe we are nearly half way through the season and the Nationals are fast approaching! I am sure another great week can be anticipated when all the practice both home and away can be put to the test. For those campaigning for the MNRC there have been a selection of events covering both small waters right up to the sea! As ever the season got going at Northampton way back in November with the usual great turnout for the last race of the year. (That doesn’t sound like the start of the season but it is!!!) Anyway the first event of 2010 was the South Staffs and Shustoke weekend. As an experiment the next two events were also over a weekend at Barnt Green and Shropshire Sailing Clubs. With the exception of Shropshire when Stuart Hydon decided to sail his Solo at another event, he won the lot! Mind you John & Sue Billington have not been far behind and won Shropshire, so that should encourage Stuart back into the Lark!
What does everyone think about the weekend format? Are there too many events or too few to attract the ardent Open Meeting sailors? Is there enough publicity on the forthcoming events or do you get swamped and then only pick out the essentials? As the season has progressed the turnouts have dropped and it was a real shame that the last sea event in the North at Filey, before the Nationals only attracted a small fleet. However, as part of their Annual Regatta there was plenty of competition and the rain all day Sunday didn’t dampen the spirits too much as there was plenty of wind! The next MNRC event is again in Yorkshire at West Riding SC on Sunday 5th September (not 6th as printed in the Year Book). Don’t miss it. Tony Hotchkiss
Barnt Green Open Meeting Report With a forecast of 3 knot winds, baking hot sunshine and no chance of a sea breeze this open was bound to test the skills Rob Lennox the race officer for the day. Fortunately, the breeze was more than forecast although there were some significant shifts throughout the day. The first race saw a battle emerge between John and Sue Billington and Stuart and Becca Hydon. Whilst content to leave Adrian Padro and Hannah Hydon to their own devices this was later to prove a dangerous tactic as Padro pulled through from third to first by taking the opposite tack. Billington nearly regained the lead but infringed Padro at a leeward mark rounding. After a 720 this put billington back to third. Hydon later took Padro to win race one. Race two began and it was Hydon that nudged ahead from the committee boat end. By the second leg Hydon had extended his lead as the rest of the fleet parked up with no wind. Hydon went on to win with Billington second and Padro third. The final race saw the Hydons sitting it out, but leaving fellow club members Kevin Rose and Gemma Glasspole to reach the windward mark first. Second round was Dave Lynch and Nic Hydon. The lead was short lived as the Billington’s and Chris and Ann Biglin pulled past. Billington soon establish a good lead only to nearly lose it near the end of the race when Biglin and Stuart and Charlotte Norris came storming up from behind. The race was to finish, Billington, Biglin and Norris. The final race was a single handed race, which was typically won by Bob Suggitt who seems to have mastered this event over the years. Self steering gadgets were spotted on the Padro boat to enable kite hoisting without broaching. A clever device which looked remarkably similar to the elastic used to hold his number board on!. The race was led from start to finish by Hydon. st
1 2500 Stuart & Becca Hydon, Shustoke nd 2 2499 John & Sue Billington, South Staffs rd 3 2515 Adrian Padro & Hannah Hydon, Shustoke th 4 2501 Chris & Ann Biglin, Shustoke
Shropshire Open Report Not only was a warm welcome given to the three visitors that made the visit to this beautiful Mere, but also the weather added its own blistering heat. To cap it all there appeared to be some wind. With the wind swinging there was a close fight for pole position from the start line of the first race. However, by the first mark it proved that it had not been crucial as all the fleet went down the following run side by side. After some to and fro, it was Tony and Brenda Hotchkiss that took and established a substantial lead with the others fighting it out behind. Eventually John and Sue Billington broke away to catch up in one of the mighty wind shifts to finish a close second at the finish. Race 2 gave a change of course with another close start. This time John & Sue were in a close battle with Chris & Ann Biglin for the duration of the race. These two kept changing places whilst pulling well away from the rest of the fleet.
On the final lap a 90 degree wind shift enabled Tony & Brenda to catch right up but John & Sue hung onto 1st with Chris & Ann 2nd. So it was all to play for in the last race. By now the wind had swung 180 degrees from the start of the day so yet again there was a change of course. Another tight start with the three visitors all determined to take the race and the meeting. On the first run it was apparent that John & Sue had a very tangled spinnaker but on the short leg they managed to keep control, sort it out and still be in front! They then pulled away from the other two who were involved in their own battle. Finally Chris & Ann broke away from Tony & Brenda and the race finished in rather a procession. With two wins John & Sue took the meeting with Tony & Brenda finishing second by virtue of their win in the first race. Although so few made the journey the day produced some great racing and a very enjoyable day was had by all. st
1 John & Sue Billington, South Staffs nd 2 Tony & Brenda Hotchkiss, South Staffs rd 3 Chris & Ann Biglin, Shustoke
Remaining 2010 Fixtures 12/13 June 26/27 June 10/11 July 24-30 July 1-6 August 15-20 August 20-23 August 28-30 August 5 September 11/12 September 18/19 September 25/26 September 9/10 October 16 October 23/24 October 30 October 31 October 20/21 November
Royal Harwich Open Meeting (BI10) Royal Lymington Open Meeting (BI10) Thorpe Bay Open Meeting (BI10) Lark National Championships Teign Corinthian YC Salcombe Week Camel Week Torbay Week Bala Regatta West Riding Open (M&NR) West Lancs 24 Hour Race Lark Inland Championships Grafham Water SC (BI10/M&NR) Waldringfield Cartoon Trophy Mayflower Open Meeting (BI10) Banbury Open (M&NR) Waldringfield Open Meeting (BI10) Lark Youth Championships Fishers Green SC Fishers Green Open Meeting (BI10) Lark Winter Championships Northampton Sailing Club (BI11)
Helen Krailing - 01394 380250 Sailing Secretary - 01590 672677 Chris Boshier - 01702 587563 Steve Chatten - 01626 772734 John Murrell - 01752 698122 Martin Hough - 01235 532257
Adrian Thear - 07515 620024 Mal Postance - 01704 530840 Mike De St Paer - 0845 6442548
Steve Proffitt - 01992 892505 Steve Proffitt - 01992 892505 Ian Castle - 01933 383254
For full details of future events please visit the Lark Class website – www.larkclass.org
Recommended Links Lark Class Owners Association – www.larkclass.org 2010 Lark National Championships Official Website – www.larknationals.org Crest of a Wave – www.crestofawave.com Ovington Boats – www.ovingtonboats.com Synergy Marine – www.synergymarine.co.uk
Next eNews… The next issue of Lark eNews will be released late June/early July. If you have any club news, event previews or other gossip then please email it to Dan Watson at
[email protected].
Copy date for next issue: 27th June
The Big Picture
John & Sue Billington enjoying the quality racing at the 2010 South Staffs Open Meeting
Contributors Dan Watson Tony Hotchkiss Steve Chatten John Crooks Simon Cox Not on this list of contributors? Well you know what to do. Send your news and articles to
[email protected].
