6M news from the Eastern District

Shearwater Trophy & 2002T 1

Sunday April 14^th 2013 saw an entry of 7 skippers convene at the Broads for the 2013 Shearwater Trophy & 2002T Series 1 .It was good to see more skippers supporting the 6m and we welcomed Geoff Earle from Harwich & Dovercourt.

The forecast conditions soon proved to be correct a light southerly wind picking up throughout the morning to end up quite gusty force 5 to 6.Not ideal but it’s become the norm at this event to provide challenging winds for 6m sailing!

Race officer Peter Sutton aided by Tom Wilkinson set a running close in start and a gate course out in the broad with a beat back up to port round of the nearside start to then provide a run down to the gate and a final beat back to the finish. The course soon provided for a couple of good windward beats and provided tacking to enable competitive close racing. Factor in the wind gusting it soon became challenging.

The one fleet sailing saw early race wins from Vernon Appleton with his Renaissance, plus Broad’s skipper Terry Burton’s Ravenna. Also with Broad’s member Bernie Guest sailing a Ravenna posting regular second and third finishes.

The morning turned out to be largely of four boats Vernon, Bernie and Terry all having race wins. Swale Pit skipper John Alexander’s Rococo sailing into consistent 4^th place. We must not forget to mention H&D’s Malcolm Button who managed a well deserved race victory in race 7.

The afternoon saw no let up in the strong gusty wind out in middle of the course, but closer to the sailing areas one managed to get away with top rig. This time John Alexander sailed to victory in three races to exert pressure on Vernon and Bernie. Not to forget Geoff Appleton who was always there ready to take the fourth place.

Prevailing conditions slowly began to affect boats with several skippers needing regular adjustments or minor on going rigging repairs after each race. Sadly Geoff Earle after making notable improvements throughout the day along with his victory in race 12 was the first retirement with rigging failure.

After 19 races time had to be called and the final scores, calculated by scorer David Grint, produced a victory for Broad’s skipper Terry Burton. An excellent second place was taken by John Alexander and his Rococo with Vernon Appleton taking third.

Broad’s member Bernie Guest taking a well deserved 4^th prize after battling against the Appleton’s for much of the event. A mention goes to Malcolm Button whose 6m was constantly taking on water throughout the event but battled onto to the finish.

Conditions played a big part throughout the day and whilst at times very challenging for the race committee, skippers and boats alike we were fortunate in no major damage was sustained.

Thanks again to all those who supported the event.

DAVID GRINT, BRYC.

Final Scores: