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P&B Northern Paddle Seriesby Stuart Burnett
Beaver Sailing Club boasts one of the biggest Streaker fleets in the UK and so, despite the windless forecast, a total of 25 competitors turned up, all praying for wind at the P&B Northern Paddle Series open meeting on 29 April. On arrival, the visitors rigged their boats while the locals looked on, fearing the worst. After a 10.30 briefing from Race Officer Oliver Groves, partnered up with grandfather Roy Moxam, the committee boat set off up the lake, anticipating a slight breeze as the ripples on the water gave all the right signs. The sailors attempted to follow but it was soon clear they were going nowhere, so they drifted, paddled or were towed back to the club for an early lunch; spag bol and garlic bread followed by hot custard and sponge! After lunch, everyone's patience was finally rewarded, with a gentle breeze filling in and continuing to build through the afternoon, allowing three back to back races to be completed. The first was certainly no walk in the park, with everyone struggling to make headway up the first beat. However, there was a breakaway pack fronted by Beaver's own Martin Penty, with Giles Therkelson-Smith, Richard Hanby (both Beaver) and Yorkshire Dales' Phil Priestley in hot pursuit. Sheffield Viking's very own Alan Gillard in his vintage 1551 was also in the mix, proving that both boat and helm were certainly not past it. Into the second race and, with another level of wind, all the strugglers of the previous race came into contention. Martin gained another potential winning position, although Alan did hold the lead for a short spell. However, Martin pulled clear on the run along with Giles's father Dave Smith who settled nicely into second place. Giles pushed hard to take 4th just ahead of Phil, with Beaver's Dave Borrett edging father and son, Steve and Richard Hanby also from Beaver, who were slightly off the pace after poor starts. In other notable Beaver performances, the gritty Nigel Robinson held off a barrage of attacks to hold ninth and the three ladies, Catherine Bradley, Nicole Rühmann and Lianne Therkelson, all fought well in their personal battles. Nicole was in the top six before relinquishing her position with an unlucky wind shift bringing others back into the game. The final race could change the leader board dramatically. Beaver's dominance continued, with Alan being the only visitor in the leading pack. Jon Aldhous, Stuart Burnett and Richard Hanby eased their way through the fleet and opened a gap to the rest who were left struggling with a shifty tactical beat. Meanwhile at the front, Steve and Giles battled with each other but were unable to catch Martin who wrapped up the event with another straight ace. A big thank you to all those that took part, especially the travelling visitors who, it turns out, were right to ignore the forecast! Thanks also to our Race Officer (Oliver Groves with a helping hand from grandad), the safety boat crew (Dave Nicklin/Thomas Penty) and Helen Penty with her gang of helpers who kept everyone fed and watered. The Streaker circuit moves on to Downs after the Coronation weekend, then back up north to Hornsea...
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Overall Results:
Sailed: 3, Discards: 1, To count: 2, Rating system: PY, Entries: 25, Scoring system: Appendix A
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