South Shields 2008
South Shields 19th -
20th April 2008
Gareth Williams leads Richard Eagleton and Katie Mapplebeck round the leeward mark
As race time approached on Saturday morning, the discussions were whether to race inside or outside the harbour. The decision was taken when a very damp and slightly green-faced race officer returned from a course inspection and inside the harbour it was. A triangular course was set with the upwind section in the relative shelter of the south pier and two screaming reaches across the deep water channel, with excellent surfing opportunities on the rollers running up the river.
Race 1 started with Stacey Rowell and Gareth Williams heading left, leaving Katie Mapplebeck and Richard Eagleton to escape out of the tide and into flatter water. The order at the first mark was Richard, Gareth, Katie and Stacey. With no overtaking opportunities on the reaches, Gareth had to wait for the next beat to choose the right side of the course and pass Richard. Stacey's bravery at the gybe mark gave her third place from Katie. Round 1 of the local derby between Kieran Alcock and Joanne Ramsay went to Kieran.
With hardly time to finish a chocolate bar, race 2 was away. This time Gareth found the right way up the beat and led from start to finish; Richard took second and Stacey rounded out the top three. Joanne made amends for race 1 taking the round 2 of the local derby in fifth place behind Katie. The final race of the day finished in the same order, except a quick swim by Stacey allowed Katie through to take third place.
Sunday dawned with the same conditions as the Saturday - 18 knots of North Sea Easterlies - so it was an easy decision to stay inside the harbour. This time a trapezoid course was laid to add a dead run down the rollers in the channel to the challenge. After a general recall, race 4 was under way. Gareth decided, for reasons only he knew, that the port-biased line wasn't that port-biased and getting right out of the nearly non-existent tide was more important. So, in a repeat of the first race, he had to bide his time until the second beat to pass Richard. Stacey took third ahead of Katie. This left Joanne wondering if it was wise to have let Richard set up her mast rake, as Kieran passed her for round 4 of the derby match.
With 1st and 2nd places decided for Gareth and Richard respectively, the final race was a 3rd, 4th shoot out between Stacey and Katie and the local derby match showdown for Joanne and Kieran. Gareth led the final race from start to finish to make it a clean sweep. Richard looked secure in second place until an untimely swim on the run put him at the back of the fleet. Katie then made sure of second place but needed Richard to pass Stacey for Katie to secure third place overall. Richard worked hard to recover from the capsize, but Stacey held on to third place to take the final podium position for the event. Richard escaped another embarrassment as Joanne recovered to take the derby battle from Kieran - maybe Richard's mast rake tinkering didn't do too much damage!
Thanks must go to all at South Shields for such a great weekend's sailing, superb race management from the Race Officer and the safety crews, who kept waiting between races to an absolute minimum, which was much appreciated in the Easterly breeze.
Gareth Williams GBR 391
Before: Richard Eagleton, Gareth Williams, Katie Mapplebeck and Stacewy Rowell appropriately kitted out for the occasion (the locals, who knew better than to venture out too early, stayed inside)
After:
Stacey Rowell, Katie Mapplebeck, Richard Eagleton, Kieran Alcock,
Joanne Ramsay and Gareth Williams in warmer surroundings
Overall Results
| Sail no | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
R5 | Total | Place |
| 391 | Gareth Williams | Leigh & Lowton | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 330 | Richard Eagleton | Bexhill | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 339 | Stacey Rowell | Derwent Reservoir | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 3 |
| 385 | Katie Mapplebeck | Ogston | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 4 |
| 350 | Joanne Ramsay | South Shields | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 5 |
| 269/372 | Kieran Alcock | South Shields | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 6 |