Dell Quay Sailing Club
Dinghy Racing Race Reports
Early Helm 3 & 4 Race Report - 26th April
Races 3 and 4 of the Early Helm series were held on 26th April 2014.
Race 3: 1st - Warwick Hoddy & John Denyer (2000)
2nd - Graham & Lucy Dalton (2000)
3rd - Gordon Barclay (Solo)
Race 4: 1st - Graham & Lucy Dalton (2000)
2nd - Gordon Barclay (Solo)
3rd - Roger Francis & Ranjit Verghese (Buzz)
For full results Click Here and select:
Result Set - 2014 Results, Class - General Handicap, Series – Early Helm
A race report was published in the Chichester Observer on Thursday 24th April 2014.
To read earlier reports Click Here
The report was compiled from contributions provided by Roger Francis and Peter King and edited by Andrew Horne. See press cutting below.
An extended race report follows the press cutting.
Extended Race Report
Races 3 and 4 in the Dell Quay Early Helm series took place Saturday 26th April. 11 boats, which weren’t put off by the early start and forecast wind and rain, had some really exciting sailing, in full sunshine but with quite a few spills.
The third race of the series started in a fairly steady force 3 to 4 wind with a long beat to Copperas East. With the fleet staying close to the west shore to keep out of the tide a favourable wind shift allowed back markers who tacked out to catch up. With Ranjit on the wire, the Buzz of Roger Francis and Ranjit Verghese built a commanding lead, from the RS400s and 2000s, who were all enjoying the lively reaches.
By the second lap the Buzz was a full leg ahead of the following RS400s & 2000s, only to capsize on the last gybe mark. Two of the three RS400s not to be outdone quickly followed suit, leaving the upright, and very well sailed 2000 of Warwick Hoddy & John Denyer to take line honours and first on handicap almost two minutes ahead of Graham & Fiona Dalton in their new 2000. Gordon Barclay came third on handicap in his Solo, followed by Chris Wood taking fourth place in his Streaker.
A reduced fleet came to the line for race 4. With the wind now gusting force 5 to 6 this was a real hairy chested race with some tricky shifts throughout. Once again the Buzz and RS400s blasted off, with the 2000s in close pursuit. Francis and Verghese capsized early in the race to lose a great position. There were some screaming reaches throughout, with quite a few capsizes, particularly near the gybe mark.
A fouled spinnaker halyard approaching Quay mark allowed the sail to go right under Hoddy and Denyer's 2000, leading to the first of several retirements. Fastest on the water but sailing conservatively to stay upright were Peter King and Jamie Prescott in the leading 400 dropping to 4th place on handicap. The Daltons were close behind taking an easy win on handicap, with second place going to Barclay followed by Francis and Verghese in third place.
Photo: Roger Francis and Ranjit Verghese recovering their Buzz
