Results / Open Notts County SC - 21/09/2013

Notts County Open – 21/22 September 2013

RS Grand Prix / RS400 Northern Tour  



In glorious late summer sunshine 32 boats rigged in a steady 6-8 knot south westerly breeze all eager to experience the famous Notts County hospitality.

It proved to be a nail biting finish to the last Northern Tour event of the year, with the result undecided until the last race of this keenly contested open meeting. Travelers from the South coast to Scotland took part in some thrilling and close racing.

The windward / leeward courses duly delivered some congestion at the mark rounding’s which proved a challenge for both boat handling & nerves but made for a great spectacle for those with a grand stand view from the club house.  Thankfully, all emerged unscathed, just a little horse in the throat.

The strength and consistency of the competition was shown in the first 3 races on Saturday with the first four places of every race being shared by only 6 boats.  On top, Wayne and Deb Fletcher were sitting pretty with 3 first places.

The day was rounded off with a Hawaiian themed evening complete with limbo dancing and floral shirts aplenty. The laughter & frolics typified a good RS gathering and bar receipts reached new heights.

Overnight the wind veered to westerly and looked promising early on for the 10 am start.  However it proved shifty and kept the race officer on his toes executing some last minute changes to lines and marks.  The leading boats continued to share the spoils, with three different winners in the three Sunday races. Wayne & Deb Fletcher (Scaling Dam) secured their fouth 1st place and proved worthy winners of the Open. Hamish Gledhill and Simon Dowse (West Riding SC) took overall 2nd , with Chris Pickles & Matt Sharman (Delph SC) 3rd , and David Exley & Richard Brown 4th ( Leigh & Lowton). These rankings meant that Wayne & Deb Fletcher also retained the Northern Tour Silver Platter having lain in 4th place before the event.

Additional prizes provided by Morton Boats and Pryde Sailing were awarded to Molly Desorgher as the youngest competitor (14) & top lady helm Caroline Exley ( Leigh & Lowton). The prize for the “best improver” over last year went to Jonathan Lye (Notts County) and the “high scorer” award went to Tim & Tor Harrison ( Notts County).