Round 2 of this year’s Spring Splash was held with
the minimum five skippers competing in typical Bridlington winds.
Although supposedly easterly in direction, the breeze swirled in all
directions at different times, making sailing both difficult and
unpredictable.
A narrow triangular course was
set from between Buoys 1 and 2 o Buoy 7 and back to Buoy 1 for two full
laps before finishing at Buoy 8 as usual.
Brian Hartley sped
off to a very healthy lead in Race 1, only to lose control mysteriously
at Buoy 2 on his second lap and was unable to finish.
Phil capitalised on Brian’s misfortune, and completed the race in first
place. With his boat recovered and no faults found.
Brian then easily dominated
Races 2 and 3 and again had a good lead in Race 4 before the same
mysterious loss of control occurred in exactly
the same place as he rounded Buoy 2, again on his second lap. No
apparent fault was found after recovery, and he completed the Round with
victories in Races 4 and 5 making him the clear winner for the day. Phil
was consistent throughout the day and ended up in second place in the
round with George narrowly claiming third place.
ROUND THREE
A warm sunny Spring morning saw
half a dozen helmsmen take to the lake for Round 3 of this year’s Spring
Splash series. The usual triangular course around Buoys 7, 2 and 1
seemed the best option in the SE breeze.
Roger Monks had a cracking start
from the off, cruising to victory in Race 1 and was followed over the
line by Brian Hartley and Paul Beardshaw. In Race 2 it was Brian in
first place with Roger third behind Paul.
Roger was the winner in Races 3
and 4 but Races 5 and 6 again went to Skipper Hartley.
Unsurprisingly, he took the
honours for the day with Roger and Paul 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The bad luck of the day award went to Phil
Parsons who failed to finish any races
at all due to a recurring electrical fault
causing loss of receiver contact.
ROUND FOUR
Round 4 of this years Spring
Splash was held over the same course as last week around Buoys 7, 3 and
1,
after starting from between
Buoys 1 and 2.
Current Series leader, Brian
Hartley started the day strongly in the first race but after an error at
the final buoy, was passed by the three pursuing boats and finished
fourth, with Roger Monks claiming the victory in front of Paul Beardshaw
and George Younger. Having learnt from hiss error he went on to win
Races 2, 3, 5 and 6 despite some close racing. Roger was the victor in
Race 4 with Brian 2nd, Paul 3rd and Stuart Axon 4th. John Wray made a
welcome return but suffered an intermittent radio problem resulting in a
few non-finishes and non-starts.
Brian’s dominance on the day
gave him the maximum points and confirmed him as the Series winner so
hearty congratulations to him. Paul ended up in a comfortable 2nd place
on the day ahead of Roger in 3rd.
Although the Series champion has
already been decided, the second and third places are open to the rest
of the fleet so the final two rounds could prove to be exciting.
ROUND FIVE
The promised excitement of Round 5 of the 2019 Spring
Splash Series was a bit of a let down due only to the lack of wind. With
Brian Hartley virtually confirmed as Series Champion, second and third
places were obtainable by most of the fleet. A triangular course was set
around Buoys 1, 5 and 7 after the start from between Buoys 6 and 7.
George Younger got off to a great start and led Race 1
from the off, but let his lead slip on the second lap when Roger Monks
outmanoeuvred him to be first over the line with Paul Beardshaw in
third. Champion elect Brian Hartley struggled into 6th place sporting
his new sails, while Stuart Axon failed to finish with technical
adjustments needed.
Paul won races 2, 3 and 4 with Roger and Brian in
second and third places. In Race 5, George once again took the lead, and
held on to it this time ahead of Paul and Brian but the first two
positions were reversed in the final race, giving Paul the maximum
points for the day. The next three boats all ended up on equal points
but on the countback system, George finished up 2nd overall and Roger
3rd with Brian just edged into 4th.
Stuart’s set up problems continued throughout the day
which hampered his performance until the final race when he stayed in
the mix with the fleet. There was some competitive sailing (and a lot of
shouting ) resulting in close finishes between Phil, John and Stuart.
With only first place confirmed, second and third
places are still to be fought for so make no mistake, the final round
should be a thriller!
ROUND SIX
The sixth and final round of the 2019 Spring Splash
tournament got under way today with the final placings to be decided and
what a torturous event it turned out to be.
The sun was shining and the temperature was probably
in the mid twenties. A perfect day for sunbathing but alas there was
very little wind and determining a suitable course proved difficult.
After starting from the podium and Buoy 7, the first mark was Buoy 3,
then Buoy 5 and back to Buoy 7 with the usual finish at Buoy 8. The
original plan was to complete the normal two laps but the serious lack
of breeze soon proved that only one lap would be possible within the
time available.
With Brian Hartley already confirmed as the Champion
for the series, the second and third places were to be contested between
Roger Monks and Paul Beardshaw who both had exactly the same points
total before this Round. Paul got off to a great start winning Race 1
win a splendid second place for Stuart Axon. Roger surprisingly finished
in sixth place. George Younger won the second race with fellow Chuckle
Brother Phil Parsons just behind him and Stuart in third. Brian won Race
3 after a poor placing in the previous race. After two good results,
Stuart Axon suffered from a rudder problem and became a reluctant
spectator for the remaining races.
The runner up spot for the Series was confirmed in the
second half of the day when Paul won all three races with Brian in
second in the fourth race, John Wray second in the fifth ( his best
result of the day ) and Roger second in the final race.
Congratulations once again to Brian Hartley for
winning yet another valuable piece of silverware for his trophy cabinet,
and to Paul Beardshaw for securing the runner-up spot.
|
Spring Splash 2019 |
|
|
|
Rounds in Series |
6 |
|
|
|
|
No. Best Scores |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BEST 4 TOTAL POINTS |
|
|
POINTS IN ROUND |
POSITION |
SKIPPER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
Brian Hartley |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
39 |
2 |
Paul Beardshaw |
8 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
37 |
3 |
Roger Monks |
10 |
|
9 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
35 |
4 |
George Younger |
|
8 |
7 |
7 |
9 |
7 |
31 |
5 |
Phil Parsons |
|
9 |
5 |
|
6 |
6 |
26 |
6 |
Stuart Axon |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
24 |
7 |
John Wray |
7 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
5 |
22 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|