Burton Home Win!

Report by Adam Kenney

Well it was the last event in 2013 but this year the UK 505 fleet’s first open meeting was held at the world renowned Burton Sailing Club.

Glorious sunshine and a good 15knots of breeze greeted the competitors on Saturday morning and actually, if you squinted so much your eyes were nearly shut, it looked remarkably like we were back in Barbados!

Race one got underway in near perfect conditions. Andy Davis and Norman Byrd took the honors after a good scrap with Mike Sims and Adam Kenney.

Race two saw more of the same, a great scrap between Andy/Norman, Mike/Adam and Russell and Andy Short meant it wasn’t until the final run when Mike/Adam were rolled by Andy/Norman thus meaning the latter had taken their second win. Things were looking a bit samey until…

Race three saw one of the tightest races Burton has seen in its long history of hosting the 505s. To the windward mark Ben Iliffe and Carl Gibbon showed us the speed that had won them the event in 2013 and rounded comfortably in first, chased by Mike/Adam and Russell/Andy. After sitting in a hole for a while the latter had ended up in fifth position by the leeward mark and were of course relishing the joys of inland sailing. The beat saw many place changes with Stuart Turnbull and Andy George showing that local knowledge certainly pays as they came storming through the fleet. It was they who took the honors at the second windward mark with the rest of the pack frantically chasing. Russ/Andy and Mike/Adam provided a very tense finish with the two boats crossing the line almost at the same time, a rare photo finish!

Truth be told, I can’t remember much about Saturday night, beer and Curry was involved.

Sunday saw the competitors wake to a misty morning. A steady 7-8 knots breeze with a chill confirmed that it was still March in Derbyshire. Unfortunately due to other commitments Andy/Norm were not with us.

Race 4 saw local heroes Bill and Tom Hooton lead the pack for 2 laps. Investment in 8906 was proving to be a wise move! It was the second downwind leg that saw Mike/Adam overhaul Bill/Tom and put them out front. After another few laps of incredible wind variation its was the three Burton boats who took the podium places Mike/Adam who took first, Bill/Tom sailed very consistently to finish 2nd and Stuart/Andy in 3rd.

Race 5 was as always the Ross Kenney Memorial Race. It is actually hard to believe this is the sixth year this has been sailed, where does the time go!! Russ/Andy Short sailed an absolute blinder to lead the race with a more than comfortable lead! Stuart/Andy & Mike/Adam fought literally all the way round but it was the latter that took second place with the former in 3rd. Fantastic racing all round.
So, where were you? Excuses on the back of a post card please.

Big thanks to PRO John Howlett/Alan Stone for setting good courses and being efficient in the turn around. Also thanks should definitely go to Neil Rabbitts and Dennis Cartwright for some quality photos.

Next event: training at Stone SC on April 12/13th

The coach will be 505 legend Neil Fulcher who will be covering many aspects of 505 sailing. This will be an ideal opportunity to have a Q&A with one of the fleet’s top crews. BE THERE!

Burton SC open meeting overall results:

1st – GBR 9104 Mike Sims & Adam Kenney BSC
2nd – GBR 8935 Russ & Andy Short OSC
3rd – GBR 9063 Andy Davis & Norman Byrd Blithfield SC
4th- GBR 8905 Stuart Turnbull & Andy George BSC
5th- GBR 8514 Ben Iliffe & Carl Gibbon/Rich Nurse KGSC
6th – GBR 8906 Bill Hooton & Tom Hooton BSC
7th – GBR 8780 Martin Wright & Jeff Powell NSC
8th – GBR 8511 Neil Smith & Dave MPSC
9th – GBR 8591 Dave Bell & Ian Merryfield BSC