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ELITE 32 CB

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Jeanneau 36 Sunsail Championship Finals - Boathow.com Report


Author: Sam Stephens, Boathow.com

24th Nov. 2001

Sunsail Regatta Final


The Sunsail Sunfast 36 Finals, where the top 18 teams from the Sunsail series' and other key Sunfast 36 class racing events compete to find a class champion and winner of the Sunsail Beach Club Holiday, were held around Gleeds Buoy in the eastern Solent on Saturday the 24th November. The three race event was welcomed by a 7 to 10 knot north westerly breeze and a clear sunny day.

The courses set by race officer Clive Vaughn were all windward - leeward type courses and the first one got underway at 1030hrs with a clean start. The east going tide made it tempting to go right off the start and into less tide, but the wind looked to be stronger offshore causing the fleet to split. Team Boathow.com skippered by Samuel Stephens held the left whilst Sunsail Eagle Star, Jeremy Troughton and Sunsail 4, Dan Bridger had gone hard right and looked to be making gains ahead of the pack along the shore. Stephens now clear ahead of the offshore pack tacked to see if his gamble had paid off against the inshore boats. Team Boathow.com cleared the fleet and put a covering tack on Sunsail 4 who just led Sunsail Eagle Star, to secure their position into the windward mark. Tactics around the windward mark were clear as the best wind and tide were offshore for the run. Team Boathow.com extended their lead down to the leeward mark and covered up the short beat to the finish in front of Dan Bridger (Sunsail 4) closely followed by Jeremy Troughton (Sunsail Eagle Star).


A little more breeze at the start of race two allowed some more aggressive leeward starters to force Dan Bridger (Sunsail 4) and Norman McCrum (Norfolk & Clew Racing) into being OCS. Team Boathow.com confident after race 1 went left again but the breeze had picked up inshore and when they came back they found that Innogy (Alan Moore) and Pennant 9 YC Vall Dam Jo’Berg (Roger Packman in Sunsail 6) had made the right pay. However, Team Boathow.com tacked onto starboard underneath them on the lay-line and just managed to shoot the mark to get in front. But it was short lived as they had no boatspeed and were covered by the chasing pack, putting them back into 4th. A closely fought run put Innogy in 1st, Team Boathow.com had worked hard to recover down the run and once again got the inside slot at the mark, this time with plenty of pace putting herself back into 2nd overlapped with Roger Packman and Allan Fraser. Boathow pointing higher and going faster soon slipped away from 3rd and 4th and started to threaten Innogy’s lead. Innogy put a covering tack on Boathow initiating a tacking match which gave Boathow the opportunity, with more speed out of the tacks, to get ahead and they led around the windward mark and held their lead to the finish. Innogy was clear of the pack in 2nd and Roger Packman took 3rd by the narrowest of margins from Allan Fraser. Dan Bridger had done well to come back to 7th after his restart.

A slightly biased line and a little more pressure with a ‘header’ to the right caused congestion at the starboard end of the line, amongst the shouting there was a minor collision and Mark Oaten, National Grid was forced out allowing Stephens (Team Boathow.com) to be one of the starboard-most starters. After ‘rolling’ Roger Packman from leeward, Boathow were able to tack and take the favoured right. Dan Bridger (Sunsail 4) had had a cleaner start away from the favoured end and was now able to get right. Boathow got the ‘header’ first and tacked going behind Tim Law (Sunsail 1), but crossing the remainder of the fleet led by Dan Bridger (Sunsail 4). Tim Law (Sunsail 1) not taking advantage of the ‘header’ had slipped into 2nd behind Stephens (Team Boathow.com) by the windward mark. Dan Bridger managed to slip through Tim law down the run, all the time allowing Team Boathow.com to further strengthen their lead and go on the get their 3rd bullet in a row Taking the Championship title and a well deserved Sunsail Beach Club Holiday with only 3 series points.

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More Information:

  • Boathow - The Ultimate Boating Resource

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