Day 2 began with totally different conditions to Saturday. The breeze had swung around and was blowing (even at 8:30) at 5 to 8 mph from the clubhouse end and pretty straight down the lake, although we did start with light rain which dampened things down a bit. The format followed that on Day 1 with a 4 race group followed by a break with the aim of completing an additional 16 races by the end.
After moving the start and changing the spacing of the new windward marks and gate, racing got underway soon after 9:30, with Peter Baldwin having a good first session taking three of the four wins, whilst Nigel Barrow took the remaining one. Podium places were shared between Nigel, Bill Culshaw, Simon Robinson and Roger Errington. As usual for Birkenhead, there were some good shifts in the breeze which could help or hinder you around the course and some made better use of them than others.
In the second session (after biscuits and more sweet treats from Jocelyn Watkinson) the rain had stopped and the wins were shared around more with Nigel, Alan Watkinson, Simon Robinson and Roger Crates all taking one each. Podium places also shared around with Simon, Roger, Peter and Nigel all picking up good places.
At the lunch break and with 24 races now completed, Nigel was leading, 13 points clear of Peter in second and Roger Crates in third some 30 points further back.
The weather changed again after lunch with steady drizzle that continued through until the end of the day, although the only good part was that the wind held up, although did soften slightly towards the end of the final session. Suitably refreshed by lunch, Peter took two wins in this session, with one each to Nigel and Bill. Podium places were taken by most of the previous names, with David Adam now picking up a third.
Onto the final four races, Nigel was well clear barring any disasters. The races this time were shared between Roger E, David Adam, Roger C and Bill with Nigel, Simon, Peter and Graham Whalley with podium places.
So when the final results were entered, Nigel Barrow became the new Veterans Champion 2023 with Peter Baldwin in second and Roger Crates in third. Bill Culshaw took fourth place from Simon Robinson on countback.
At the prizegiving, Nigel thanked the Birkenhead Club for hosting the event and all of the volunteers – Martin Roberts as RO assisted by Neil Westbrook and Dave Williams (our photographer) and Bernie McNulty in the galley, who all helped make the event a very enjoyable weekends sailing. Thanks were also given to all competitors for attending and sailing the event in a competitive but non confrontational manner.
All the photos taken by Dave Williams are available in the Gallery here
A report for Day 1 is here
The forecasts for this the first day of the Championship were not looking very hopeful, although with bright sun forecast for most of the day, there was a good chance of a light sea breeze forming. There were some short lived breeze from the right direction early on, but it was very short lived. We did however, manage to start soon after 10:00 after a short briefing from Race Officer Martin Roberts. The initial breeze did not last and the first race was one where there was breeze, but plenty of holes and changes in direction and two laps of the lake took 20 minutes to complete, with Roger Errington taking the first race win from Nigel Barrow and Roger Crates. Nigel then strung a series of three wins before the first break for “coffee” with homemade biscuits courtesy of Jocelyn Watkinson. There were good performances in these initial races from Graham Whalley, Roger C, Peter Baldwin, Alan Watkinson and Simon Robinson.
So at the end of Day 1, Nigel leads on 20 points, now 8 points clear of Peter with Roger C a further 20 points adrift. All still to play for tomorrow on day 2 when we will hopefully complete a further 16 races in the available time. A cloudy day is forecast with a light SE breeze of 6-7mph, so the course is likely to be rotated by 180 degrees, giving a further test for everyone to choose the right way around a new course.
A bright and warm Spring day with a shifty breeze from the Clubhouse greeted the large turnout of 9 boats for this first in the Summer Series for the RG65. Bill Culshaw put his new Ivy hull on the water for the first time adding to the regular RG65 fleet at Birkenhead and even with Martin away, Chris Elliott joined us to help boost the turnout.
With National Champion Graham Elliott sailing the electronica, it was always going to be hard to gain a race win and so it proved. In the first session, Graham took six out of seven wins, with only Peter Baldwin snatching one win after a fortunate leeward gate split. John Brierley was usually in the podium group, but didn’t get any luck to pick up a win with Bill also getting some good results for a first time on the water.
After a break, the wind was also having a rest and switched to being more over the houses at times along with some long term holes. Chris had a great second session with three wins, although the Ivy in the hands of Brad was well up there for a potential (non-counting) win in 4 of the races. John continued his consistent form, still no wins and Peter fell out of contention after his rudder servo failed soon after the start of race 9. There was also close racing through the rest of the fleet with Alan and Neil tied for 5th and 6th place, split only on the basis of Neil’s two third places. The final result was no surprise with Graham in first, followed by the consistent John in second and Chris taking third spot.
A great day on the water thanks to the combined efforts of Bernie, Bill and Brad for running the racing, Bill and Brad for the photos and Bernie for manning the galley at “half-time”.
