A pessimistic weather forecast the previous afternoon depressed the number of entries for the Single Hander Open Meeting at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Sailing Club last Sunday. In the event they totaled 20 and those who made the start line were greeted with challenging sea conditions; a large swell with waves at 3-4 feet and a force 4 to 5 northerly wind. The testing weather conditions forced the race management team to set a sprint course knowing that they would have to run a quick series before the gale arrived. The decision whether to go ahead with the open meeting was close and the shrewd judgement of the race officers paid off as the day provided some of the best racing so far this season at the club. Credit for the well organized racing must go to the whole race management staff, including Tom Carr as OOD backed up by excellent safety cover both on the beach and on the sea. The staff were busy throughout the meeting, there were multiple capsizes and many boats were forced to abandon racing and head to land due to the adverse sea conditions.

The course consisted of alternating triangles and sausages; with mainly Phantom and Laser boats entered for the meeting these two classes were given separate starts. The plan was to run three back to back races in quick succession; the forecast predicted increasing wind speeds later in the day and it was hoped that three short races could be quickly completed.

In the event 7 phantoms received assisted launches off the beach and five completed their only race. The conditions were such that only the very experienced sailors were able to cope adequately with the combination of large waves and strong winds. Simon Fielden (1184) took the lead early on in the race but a capsize at the wing mark allowed Chris Sallis to take the gun followed by Rod Thorpe and Daren Pike in second and third respectively.

Phantom Race Result-

1 Chris Sallis (1116), 2 Rod Thorpe (1256), 3 Daren Pike (1183), 4 James Jarvey (1209), 5 Tim Travis (1241).

The Laser fleet found conditions more manageable; the majority of boats were from Oulton Broad Sailing Club and experience of the local conditions was a considerable advantage. The planned 3 races were completed by a fleet of 5 Lasers and the conditions tested these boats to their limits. An excellent performance over the three races from Ben Falat (149315) gave him an impressive two first places and a third place and he was overall winner of the Laser fleet.

Laser Race Results-

Race 1-1 Simon Becket (180288), 2 Richard Fryer (159392), 3 Ben Falat (149315), 4 J Jones (160428)

Race 2-1 B Falat,  2 S Becket, 3 R Fryer,    4 J Jones

Race 3-1 B Falat,  2 J Jones,   3 S Becket, 4 R Fryer

Laser Fleet Overall Result-

1. Ben Falat (149315)  2. Simon Becket (180288) 3. Richard Fryer (159392)

For entries to the meeting from other classes of boat, Nick Eastwood in his Finn sailed impressively upwind to successfully complete the course and club secretary Dick Roe sailed that most demanding of modern boats, the RS 300, with the poise of the well-practiced unicyclist! Although the day was cut short due to the weather conditions, it was finished with an excellent lunch and most went home feeling they had had an exhilarating day’s sailing.