Easter Cup 2018

Easter Cup 2018

The Easter Cup was contested over four races, two on Good Friday and two on Easter Monday, with the best three results to count.

Good Friday 30th March
With a fairly light wind of about 5 mph from the NE the OOD Team of Nev, Rick and Mike C used an Island Start with the first beat down to X, then 5, 9, 2, 4 and back through the start.

Race 1
There were 10 starters and first back through the line was Simon B (Blaze) followed by Ellen & Newton (RS200), Adrian (Rooster) and James (Laser). There was then a slight gap back to Will (Enterprise) leading a group consisting of Dave I (Laser), Dean & Nick (Vago), William (Radial) and Alistair (Laser), the latter two crossing the line together. Finally Rhys (Topper) the youngest competitor out today came through the line.
On the second lap, Dave I passed Will to move up to 5th place and Alistair gained two places getting past Dean & Nick and William. Rhys received the gun at the end of this lap.
On the third and last lap, the only change was Dean & Nick who passed both Will and Alistair to move up to 6th place.
The final positions on handicap were –
1st Ellen & Newton; 2nd Simon; 3rd James; 4th Adrian; 5thDave I; 6th Will

Race 2
Dave I dropped out, so the fleet was down to 9 for the second race.
Predictably Simon was first back through the line followed again by Ellen & Newton with James in 3rd place about a minute further back. The rest of the fleet was spaced evenly at about 30 seconds intervals with Adrian 4th followed by William, Will, Dean & Nick, Alistair and Rhys.
On the second lap the whole fleet maintained station with no changes in position at all, which is quite unusual!
On the third lap Adrian passed James to move to 3rd, but that was the only change and Rhys received the gun at the end of the lap.
Again on the final lap there were no changes in position and Simon crossed the line in 1st place about a minute ahead of Ellen & Newton who were about three minutes ahead of Adrian in 3rd place.
The final positions on handicap were –
1st Ellen & Newton; 2nd Simon; 3rd William 4th James; 5th Adrian; 6th Will

Thanks to the OOD Team of Nev, Rick and Mike C.

Easter Monday 17th April
There was a bit more wind today, about 12-13 mph from the SSE. Richard H was SOOD today and set a first beat to 2, then 9, 4, X, 5 and back through the start.

Race 3
There were a number of absentees from Good Friday, but Steve S Aero) had joined the fleet to make 7 starters and he was first back through the line closely followed by Simon and Ellen & Newton. Then there was quite a gap back to James, Adrian and Dean & Nick in 4th, 5th and 6th places with Rhys coming through in 7th place.
By the end of the second lap Simon and Ellen & Newton had passed Steve to move up to 1st and 2nd with Adrian up to 4th. Rhys received the gun at the end of this lap.
The only change on the last lap was James regaining 4th spot from Adrian. Simon crossed the line well ahead in 1st place, but Ellen & Newton took 2nd place only just ahead of Steve.
The final positions on handicap were –
1st Simon; 2nd Ellen & Newton; 3rd Steve; 4th James; 5th Dean & Nick; 6th Adrian

Race 4
At the end of the first lap, Simon had a good lead over Steve in 2nd and Ellen & Newton in 3rd places. Adrian was 4th with James breathing down his neck and Dean & Nick further back in 7th were some way ahead of Rhys, who was gamely battling on.
On the second lap there was no change in the first three boats, but James had passed Adrian (here they go again) to move up to 4th. Rhys received the gun at the end of the lap.
The final lap saw no changes in position so the final positions on handicap were –
1st Simon; 2nd Steve; 3rd Ellen & Newton; 4th James; 5th Adrian; 6th Rhys

Thanks to Richard H, Sophie, Ron and Fran? (not sure of name) for running these races.

Easter Cup Overall Positions
1st Simon; 2nd Ellen & Newton; 3rd James; 4th Adrian; 5th Steve; 6th Dean & Nick

In fact it was very close for the final victory and Simon and Ellen & Newton finished with the same number of points, but Simon was awarded the overall victory on the last race rule.

Dean & Nick and Rhys should probably be awarded 5th and 6th places on my arbitrary leader board as Steve only actually sailed two races!

The overall turnout was somewhat disappointing and only six boats competed in all four races. It could be well worth considering running all four races on the same day with two back to back in the morning and the same in the afternoon immediately after lunch.