Osprey Open at Hornsea Sailing Club
by Dave Metcalfe 17 May 2008 08:00 BST
10-11 May 2008
Only five boats turned out for Hornsea’s Osprey Open Meeting – three home boats and two visitors from Kielder and Coniston, but with a fine, sunny weekend forecast, everyone was in good spirits. The wind was easterly, and on the Saturday hovered around a decent force 2.
The first race was dominated by the two visiting boats, both of them getting away into a commanding lead. Alec and Angela Mamwell, 1276, gradually pulled away from Paddy Lewis and Tim, 1337, with Dave Metcalfe and Dave Berger, in their borrowed glass Mark 3 a long way back in third place.
In Race 2 the result looked for some time as though it would be the same, but Metcalfe and Berger had done a bit of tweaking between races and pulled through to second behind the Mamwells, with Lewis in third, Steve Sharp and Dave Forth, 1288 in fourth and Les Green and Alan Mills in fifth.
On Sunday morning the wind was slightly stronger, and built steadily through the day. PRO Ray Brooks set a course which used the whole of the lake, and after a shaky start, Metcalfe and Berger came through from last to first after the two visitors had fallen foul of the shallow ground. They were never challenged for the rest of the race and pulled away into a big lead. Mamwell eventually passed Lewis for the second.
Race 4 saw Metcalfe take the lead, with Mamwell again the chasing boat. Those places remained to the finish, with Green and Mills beating Sharp and Forth for third place, and Paddy Lewis, making running repairs, down in fifth.
The result of the meeting hinged on the final race. A traditional triangle sausage course was set, and Metcalfe/Berger took an early lead, followed by Lewis and Mamwell. Lewis hit a mark, which let Mamwell through to take up the chase. As the wind built, it became obvious that Mamwell had greater boat speed, picking up and planing easier and earlier than Metcalfe. Metcalfe made the mistake of not applying tight enough cover on one beat, which let Mamwell through at the windward mark. The result was Mamwell first, Metcalfe second, Lewis third, Green fourth.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm / Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1276 | A Mamwell/A Mamwell | Coniston | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 1263 | D Metcalfe/D Berger | Hornsea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 1337 | P Lewis/Tim | Kielder | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | 1288 | S Sharp/D Forth | Hornsea | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | DNS | 16 |
| 5 | 1238 | L Green/A Mills | Hornsea | 5 | 5 | DNS | 3 | 4 | 17 |