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THE AISTC (S) OPEN ASYMMETRIC REGATTA 2011

With the forecast set for high winds and competitors from the Royal Navy and Army from as far afield as Helensborough, Plymouth, Yeovilton, Sussex and Germany and Australia arriving at the Army Inshore Sail Training Centre, the scene was set for the annual Open Handicap Asymmetric Regatta.

The race briefing was conducted by Phil Brown from the JSASTC Gosport, who along with his assistant Vaughn and the safety boat crews laid an Upwind/Downwind course with a leeward gate in the waters of Chichester Harbour. There was a mixed bag of boats that entered the event, from the Laser 5000 high performance skiff, to RS 200s and the ubiquitous Laser 2000. All were racing against each other using the Portsmouth Yardstick system.

With the course set, the first race got underway at midday in an ebbing tide and despite the forecast, winds in the force 3 range with the odd force 4 gusts. With much of the fleet going left up the first beat, Simon and Clive in the Laser 2000, Sam and Clare in the RS 200 and Taff and Ben the Laser 5000 soon split away from the rest. As expected the Laser 5000 was the first to reach the windward mark, but not far behind, and to Taff’s surprise, Simon and Clive soon also rounded the windward mark! With a teasing angle between the mark and the spreader mark, the 2000s and 200s were able to hoist their kites in the medium winds but the angle was just too steep for the 5 tonner which had to wait until it could get downwind to hoist its spinnaker. Once it was up, the skiff shot off downwind to try and get the distance between it and the rest of the fleet that it required to overcome its PY disadvantage compared to the rest of the fleet.

Despite a healthy lead at the downwind gate, it soon became apparent that the upwind speed of the skiff was not as it should be, being unable to take full advantage of big winds and a VMG course; the rest of the fleet were soon catching up as they were able to point higher in the wind and so sail over a shorter distance. The Aussies, Rick and Daryl were also showing a good turn of speed in the upwind legs but were unable to catch Simon and Clive as they showed a magnificent turn of speed upwind and despite Taff and Ben’s best effort they were unable to get away from the rest of the fleet sufficiently and despite crossing the line first in each race, on handicap, the skiff came last in nearly every race except the 2nd, where the wind became a slightly stronger and more constant force 4.

Alex and Jane, in an Army Laser 2000 were also doing well and sailed pretty consistent regatta, posting good results throughout letting Simon and Clive know that the results were not a foregone conclusion! However, race 2 was not a good race for them, coming 6th in the final placings. Fortunately, the race officer managed to get 4 races in on the Saturday, meaning that the worst result of each boat would be discarded, making the racing much tighter! Unfortunately, Matt and Clare in the RS 200 discovered that they had a leak in the boat and were shipping water, meaning that there performance became worse and worse as the day went on.

As the 3rd race got underway, the winds had subsided slightly again and another Laser 2000 came on the scene, helmed by Brig Miles Wade and crewed by his wife Anderley, this put the cat amongst the pigeons and although having to post 2 DNS for the first two race, the team still managed to post 2 4th places, which was very consistent which became evident in the overall placing’s.
The 3 race however was characterised by the strength of the ebbing tide, and once again, the Laser 5000 was the first boat to discover that the depth of water around the upwind mark was no longer sufficient to get around without grounding, which was a bit of a shock! With a quick dive inboard to raise the dagger board and rudder, the boat managed to get around the spreader mark, but again the boats behind had closed the gap!

As a result, the race officer changed the course between the 3rd and 4th races, shortening the course in an attempt to make sure that all the boats would not be disadvantaged by the shallow water. Race 4 got underway, however, Rich and Chris in a Laser 2000 managed to capsize on the start line just as the start gun sounded, causing some chaos! The Laser 5000, having had to take avoiding action to miss the upturned boat was stuck behind the rest of the fleet and remaind behind many boats as they rounded the upwind mark. With the Laser 2000 sailing across the wind and with their kites up, the skiff could not bear away sufficiently to raise its kite until all the Laser 2000 had gybed away half way down the course, once again, far too late for the 5 tonner to take advantage of its massive spinnaker.

And so finished the last race, with Alex and Jane taking the gun, with Clive and Simon having to make do with a 2nd in the race. To their great credit, Rich and Chris, despite having capsized on the line, made it through the rest of the fleet to score a 3rd.

The fleet headed back to the ASA TISC Clubhouse, where a chilli dinner had been laid on and a disco (in the hope that Clive would strut his stuff – apparently not allowed for some sort of health and safety reason – his health and our safety!). It was great to see everybody there and a presentation was made to ASA Thorney Island Sailing Club in appreciation of all the help that they have provided to the ASA.

Sunday appeared and the promised winds finally arrived. After sending one of the safety ribs to conduct a recce of the sailing area, the race officer decided that conditions were too extreme to run any racing and the rest of the regatta was abandoned. A decision that was accepted (gratefully by those with hangovers from the day before) by all!

Final placing’s for the AISTC (S) Open Handicap Regatta were:

1st   Simon Horsefield/Clive Grant ASA Laser 2000 3 points
2nd   Alex Tucker/Jane Turner ASA Laser 2000 6 points
3rd   Darren Roach/Olly Bennett RNSA Laser 2000 10 points
4th   Rick Longbolton/Darryl Bentley RAN Laser 2000 10 points
5th   Richard Shingleon-Smith/Chris Haugvek RNSA/ASA Laser 2000 14 points
6th   Natalie Roach/Alex Pickles RNSA Laser 2000 16 points
7th   Sam Thompson/Clare Sanderson RNSA RS 200 17 points
8th   Miles Wade/Anderley Wade ASA Laser 2000 19 points
9th    Nolan Collins-Bent/Simon McGee RAFSA/RNSA RS 200 24 points
10th  Taff Owens/Ben Luckett ASA Laser 5000 25 points

Final placing’s for the ASA Individual Championships were

1st   Simon Horsefield/Clive Grant ASA Laser 2000 3 points
2nd   Alex Tucker/Jane Turner ASA Laser 2000 6 points
3rd   Miles Wade/Anderley Wade ASA Laser 2000 19 points