2003 British International 420 Class Inland Championship

2003 British International 420 Class Inland Championship

Queen Mary Sailing Club

October 25-26

N Martin

Despite the very low water level at Queen Mary Reservoir the club were run a full weekends racing for the 420 Inlands. The wind was predominantly from the north and north east and variable in strength from force 1 to 3. Hardly surprising when you are some 20 metres below bank level. Jonathan McGovern and Jon Fraser sailed the most consistent weekend with 7 races between 3^rd and 7^th to count, holding off Alison Martin and Bethan Carden who finished strongly with 1,2,1.Callum Macdonald and Stuart Bithell did just enough on Sunday to hold off the challenge of sister Joanne sailing with Laurie Marsden for third and 4^th places.

On Saturday the racing was held on the smaller part of the reservoir. The courses were very short with the beginning of the first run blanketed by the high reservoir walls. There was a huge premium on getting to the first mark in clear air and escaping away from the pack. Although Luke Patience and Adam Wagner, Joanne Macdonald and Marsden, Tom Mallandine and Ian Hayward� and Ian Dobson and Andrew Tunnicliffe all won races, it was the more consistent teams of McGovern and Fraser, Callum Macdonald and Bithell and Martin and Carden who were leading at the end of the day.

On Sunday the racing was more predictable. .There was a little more wind. The Race Officer, High Brooman,� moved the racing to the larger part of the reservoir and lengthened the course. The wind was still shifting around a lot. In race 5 it moved so much that Nikki and Christian led the fleet to the wrong mark on the second beat. He and Martin and Carden were the worst losers dropping from 1 and 2 to 13 and 17. Callum Macdonald took the big gain to take first place.

The final three races were more consistent, with the girl teams repeating their performance at the Weymouth selectors with most of the top 3 positions. Martin and Carden took races 6 and 8 with Joanne Macdonald taking race 7.

Thank you Queen Mary for taking on the event at short notice..