12/07/2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rooster Super Series12 July - day 1by Alan Gillard
Stone Sailing Club welcomed a record entry of 65 boats to the Blackwater estuary for the Noble Marine Streaker National Championships. The bumper entry this year is not such a surprise to Streaker sailors as they looked forward to a competitive but friendly event, on and off the water.
The Streaker class over recent years has seen an increase in interest leading to new boats being purchased from both Hartley Boats and Butler Boats. This has led to a very buoyant second-hand market for Streakers, boats being snapped up very quickly as soon as advertised.
The first race was held in a force 2-3 Northerly coming across the estuary. The windward mark was set over towards the northern shore and seemed like a black dot for some, as sailors searched the horizon. Everybody behaved well for the 1st start, the pin end being favourite as Rachael Gray tacked to cross the fleet on port. Those off the start that were able to tack immediately benefitted from a good port tack away, along with a strong flooding tide. Also away well was Rachael's husband, Pete, along with Tom Gillard and Richard Hanby. The long port tack paid as Tom and then Pete came around the 1st mark in first and 2nd and Richard Hanby 3rd. These three were clear as they headed down the sausage leg of the course, Richard pulling through Pete on the 2nd beat. Tom extended his lead to the finish. Bringing up the chasing pack Martin Penty (2023 Streaker National Champion) pulled through to 4th.
The second race was sailed in similar conditions to race 1, the wind though was beginning to back towards the west. As such the pin end became very popular, such that the race officer called a general recall allowing us all to try again. It still seemed like a bit of a rugby scrum at the pin end, but the fleet was away under a U flag. Again, getting away onto port was key, but the wind was starting to shift. Tom again rounded 1st followed by Pete, Dave Adams and Martin Penty. Pete went low on the run and lost 2 places to Dave and Martin. Pete pulled back a place on the next beat, by which time Tom and Martin battled for the lead, which Tom held until the final beat, where Martin, on splitting tacks with Tom, picked up a nice lift on port. Even so, they came very close together at the last windward mark. Tom nipped around Martin's transom on starboard and rounded the mark first. Tom then held Martin at bay to the finish.
So, at the end of day one, Tom Gillard is in pole position, with Pete Gray and Martin Penty in hot pursuit.
13 July - day 2by Richard Hanby
It's day two of the Noble Marine Streaker Nationals! As the fleet takes to the water, the wind is up and the sun is out.
As 60 boats line up at the start line of race three, the port end gets a little crowded, so much so the line vanishes as most of the fleet are too eager and cross the line before the gun. At the second attempt, Tom Gillard got off to a good start heading off on port and was first to the windward mark. There was a slight gap in the fleet between the first 4 boats (Tom, Martin Penty, Rich Hanby and Lee Goodey) and the rest of the fleet, leaving a battle for 5th place, eventually won by Giles Therkelson-Smith.
Race four saw a repeat of the race three start, with most of the fleet over the line. As the wind shifted the start was not as port biased as before. With the fleet split up the first beat it looked quite even at first, until a lift for the left looked promising. Then a massive lull and shift swung it for the right who ended up reaching into the mark. The fight for 3rd and 4th (Martin and Rich) was rudely interrupted at the windward mark by one of the Thames Barges also racing on the Blackwater, which made tactics a little different. Luckily it passed by quickly and there were no changes to the results. First in was Tom, followed by James Sinclair.
There was a change of course for race five and only one start was needed this time round. A crowded port end meant everyone was hustling for the pin end. As Rich lined up for a good start next to Martin, Rachael Gray decided the only option was to wipe out the competition by using the bow to pull on the main sheet, almost capsizing Rich. Meanwhile, further up the line Dave Adams decided toe straps were too last year and decided to fall out of the boat causing chaos to unfold. Martin had a clean start, opening and extending his lead for a very comfortable win. Meanwhile, Tom had to recover from a poor start to finish in fourth. This opened up an opportunity for some newcomers to pop up in the results, with Alex Butler taking second and Roger Wilson third.
After two days' racing, Tom Gillard has opened up a good lead over Martin Penty, with Rich Hanby in third and Alex Butler a close fourth. Lee Goodey is in fifth and leading the silver fleet.
14 July - day 3/overallby Neil Firth
Tom Gillard came to Stone Sailing Club on a mission: to put his name on the Streaker National Champion's trophy for the tenth time... mission accomplished!
The Noble Marine Streaker National Championships attracted a record entry of 65 boats, all warmly welcomed by Stone Sailing Club who put on a fabulous event, both on and off the water. Race Officer, Neil Fulcher, gave us a full series of seven races over three days, with the sausage-triangle courses ensuring tight racing and plenty of overtaking opportunities, up and downwind.
As previously reported, the five races across days 1 and 2 had left Tom Gillard (Sheffield Viking SC / Staunton Harold SC) with a strong lead over Martin Penty (Beaver SC) in second and Richard Hanby (Beaver SC) in third. Alex Butler (Hayling Island SC), fourth overall, was the leading youth and Lee Goodey (Broadstairs SC) was leading the silver fleet in fifth overall.
Two races were scheduled for the deciding final day, with sunshine and a gentle 8 - 10 knots of breeze; just right after the tribulations of Saturday night's Hartley Boats BINGO and Stone SC Games Night.
Race 6 got away cleanly at the second attempt, with a little encouragement from the now familiar U flag. James Sinclair (East Lothian YC) managed to avoid the worst of the outgoing tide to lead at the windward mark, with Tom close behind. These two stretched their lead, with James holding Tom at bay for two long beats against the tide, but in the end, even with the course shortened from the usual three laps to two, Tom found a way past to take the win.
Meanwhile Lee was continuing to defy his silver fleet status, holding third for much of the race until pushed back to fourth by Martin, who managed to recover from a poor first beat. This was still enough for Lee to secure the silver fleet trophy with a race to spare.
At this point Tom had also done enough to secure the national title with a race to spare. In fact, all three podium places were already decided. Nonetheless, Tom, Martin and Richard all stayed out to make the most of the fantastic racing.
Race 7 might have been a 'victory parade' for these three, as they led the fleet around the first lap. However, Giles Therkelson-Smith (Beaver SC) had other ideas, saving his best race until last. He broke up the leading trio, finishing third ahead of Martin and also giving him the edge over Alex in the overall standings for first youth. Meanwhile, Tom won the race to tidy up his scorecard, leaving him to count six bullets.
Going into the final day, Rachael Gray was odds on favourite for First Lady. However, a broken halyard in race 6 gave her two non-scoring races and left the door open for Veronica Falat (Waveney & Oulton Broad YC) who was very surprised to learn that she had retained her title.
Stone 2024 was also a fantastic Nationals for all the silver and bronze fleet sailors, with the vast majority completing all seven races. This was an achievement in itself as the wind and short chop proved challenging at times, particularly on the longer second day, when there were plenty of capsizes across all three fleets.
In a new innovation for the class, sailors were issued with mast stickers, supported by Allen Brothers, to show their allocated fleet; yellow for gold, blue for silver and red for bronze. The stickers enabled everyone to easily identify the boats around them which was much appreciated... unless you were in the gold fleet and having a bad race!
Alan Bennett (Staunton Harold) had the opposite problem, with his red bronze fleet sticker regularly amongst the supposedly faster blue stickers... with the odd gold fleet laggard for company! At 77, Alan was the oldest competitor at the event, making his bronze fleet victory especially notable.
As we reported in our preview, Beaver SC was always going to be a strong contender for the Altogether Shield; the team trophy for the three best-placed boats from the same club. It was possible that Staunton Harold could have given them a run for their money but in the end, with three boats in the top four, Beaver were just too strong.
So, in conclusion, Stone 2024 was a hugely successful and memorable Nationals for the Streaker Class. Stone SC were the perfect hosts and it was clear that they enjoyed putting on a show for us. The Streaker is gaining in popularity across a broad demographic, with male and female Nationals entrants, aged 14 to 77, first timers and old hands, all supporting each other in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Next year's Noble Marine Streaker National Championships will be at Rutland Sailing Club on 11-13 July 2025, when the class will be celebrating their 50th anniversary and aiming to go one bigger and one better; if that's even possible!
The Streaker Nationals is generously sponsored by Noble Marine, Hartley Boats, Allen Brothers and Fernhurst Books.
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