We
left home at about 6.30 am for the three hour drive (130 miles) up to Alton Water,
a few miles south of Ipswich, for the final races (and Southern Area
Championship) of the Pinnell and Bax sponsored
Streaker Southern Area Series. After
a brief ‘comfort stop’ at Lakeside we arrived at about 9.30am. It was sunny,
though none too warm, but with a decided
lack of breeze. By the time the first race was due the breeze had filled in a
little to about a force 2.
The
course was set as a basic triangle using, nice big easy to see, orange coloured
inflatable marks and a Committee boat start not far off the clubhouse. The
first leg was a short beat towards the dam at the eastern end of the water.
At
the start of Race 1 all seven boats of the small fleet were tight on the line
but it was Alex Reindorp (Chipstead SC) who found that little bit of extra
clear wind and saw him first around the windward mark. He was followed by
Veronica Falat (Waveney & Oulton Broad YC) and close on her heels Ian
Bradley (Ouse ASC). These two had a constant battle in the early stages of the
race until Veronica eventually began to pull ahead but such was Alex’s lead she
was unable to catch him. Back in fourth place after the first lap Mark Langston
(Beccles SC) was in a fight with Ian Mansfield (Alton Water SC) whilst Alan
Simmons(LSC) was just holding off Nick Carter (Butghfield SC). In the second
lap Mark.L managed to miss the gate on the windward leg and effectively retired
raising Alan.S to 5th place and Nick.C to 6th, the four
front runners, Alex.R, Veronica.F, Ian.B. and Ian.M holding to that order.
Race
two was held back to back over the same basic course, with minor mark re-positioning
and again the fleet were all close to the line at the gun. This time Ian.B was
first to round the windward mark followed by Mark.L then Veronica.F. By the end
of the first lap Ian.B was still in front of Mark.M, Veronica.F and then Alan.S
in fourth ahead of Ian.M, Alex.R and Nick.C. By the end of the second lap
Mark.L was in the lead ahead of Ian.B then Ian.M, Veronica.F and Alan.S having
dropped back one place whilst Alex.R and Nick.C were just behind. Lap 3 saw Ian.B
back in front of Mark.L who stayed ahead of Veronica.F who in turn had passed
Ian.M. Alex.R had also passed Alan.S but Nick.C still brought up the rear.
The
only change in the final lap was when Alan.S passed Alex.R to get back to 5th
place with Ian.B taking the gun from Mark.L, Veronica.F and Ian.M.
After
a short lunch break the final race was eventually started after a lack of any
breeze made the RO wonder if it would be possible at all. After a short delay, with
all seven Streakers on the water a faint breeze re-established itself from the
same previous direction. First lap went to Veronica.F with Ian.B close behind
and Mark.L 3rd, Alex.R 4th, Nick.C 5th, Alan.S 6th and Ian.M 7th.
Lap 2 saw the only change at the top where Ian. B overtook Veronica to lead the
fleet. In the third lap Ian.B and Veronica.F still fought out the lead whilst
Alex.R passed Mark.L and Alan.S pulled ahead of Nick.C with Ian.M still at the
back. There were no further place changes in the fourth and final lap.
As
can be seen from the overall results below Ian Bradley’s two wins earned him
the title of Southern Area Champion and also winner of the Southern Paddle
Series for 2013.
At
the prize giving the ‘Southern Area Paddle’ was awarded to Ian Bradley with
Veronica Falat as runner up, Mark
Langston in third place and Alan Simmons in fourth. Prizes were awarded to all those
who qualified for the Paddle Series and for the otherwise non prize winner at
the Championships.
Additionally
there was a prize draw – a ticket for each race per competitor for the Series - for a free Streaker sail from the sponsors
Pinnell and Bax. The lucky winner of this year’s prize was, yours truly, Alan.Simmons
Pos
|
Helm
|
Sail No
|
Club
|
R1
|
R2
|
R3
|
Pts
|
1
|
Ian Bradley
|
1817
|
Ouse Amateur SC
|
‑3
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
Alex Reindorp
|
1819
|
Chipstead SC
|
1
|
‑6
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
Veronica Falat
|
1654
|
Waveney & Oulton Broad YC
|
2
|
‑3
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
Mark Langston
|
1789
|
Beccles Amateur SC
|
(RET)
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
5
|
Ian Mansfield
|
1723
|
Alton Water SC
|
4
|
4
|
‑7
|
8
|
6
|
Alan Simmons
|
1700
|
Lancing SC
|
‑5
|
5
|
5
|
10
|
7
|
Nick Carter
|
1828
|
Burghfield SC
|
6
|
‑7
|
6
|
12
|
The
photographs accompanying this blog/report are posted with the kind permission
of Karen Langston.
Alan.S
1700
