Round 3 of the fat face circuit took place at Northampton Sailing Club on the 28/29^th April. A rather disappointing 17 boats turned out but those who made the effort were blessed with “gourmet” sailing conditions over the weekend with sunshine and much better breeze than windguru had forecasted!

The 15-18kt NE breeze was from the perfect direction running the length of the lake but it became increasingly shifty on the approach to the windward mark by the shore. It was Spod Olive/Guy Fillmore (Sola/Harken) who got these shifts right to lead round the windward mark and in clear breeze they extended their lead to take line honours. Behind them it was Charlie Roome and Steve Hall who managed to hold off Pete Barton and Roz Allen (Henri Lloyd) to second.

After a short break ashore for lunch the fleet got underway in race two and it was Olive/Fillmore who again led the fleet round the windward mark. The decent breeze and relatively small area of water meant for 5 lap courses which was hard work for the crews but also tricky for the helms to keep count! On the 5^th lap with a comfortable lead Spod rounded the leeward mark and headed back up wind taking Ian Martin/Claire Booth (Sail 4 Cancer) and James/Heather Ross with him. Barton/Allen capitalized on their error and took the victory followed by Roome/Hall and Ross/Ross who were the first to turn back.

Olive/Fillmore made sure they kept count in the third race and got it right from start to finish with a commanding lead. Barton/Allen sailed a great race to get up to second after getting the wrong side of a few shifts on the first beat and Roome/Hall followed them home in third.

Back ashore everyone was buzzing from a great days racing. The galley put on an excellent spread and then did a sterling job of manning the bar until close but after 15 (or 16!) laps of the course in “grunting” conditions, most teams had a quiet evening.

Contrary to the forecast Sunday dawned with a promising 8-12kt breeze from the same NE direction setting up another great day on the water. Off the line and it was Ben Schooling/Bonnie Moody who read the shifts right to lead around the windward mark but Olive/Fillmore showed great pace again to disappear into the distance and take line honours. Schooling/Moody held onto second after a good battle with Alex Cherry/John Clifton with Barton/Allen managing to squeeze through them to take the third on the last run. 

Race 5 was again a closely fought battle in the main fleet but the top three results mirrored those of race two with the fleet unable to match the pace of Olive/Fillmore. Despite their dominance, the extra lap in race two meant that the event could theoretically still be won by either Barton/Allen or Roome/Hall going into the last race. With nothing to lose with a secure third place, Roome/Hall were too eager on the start and were re-called ruining any chance of victory. Things were looking promising for Barton/Allen who led round the windward mark with Olive/Fillmore rounding in the pack. Some good shift awareness however saw Olive/Fillmore claw their way back to second by the finish with Schooling/Moody bringing it home in third.

Congratulations go to Spod Olive/Guy Fillmore (Sola/Harken) then for their first Fat Face victory of 2007 with Pete Barton/Roz Allen taking second and Charlie Roome/Steve Hall in third.

A big thank you to Northampton Sailing Club for running a great event on and off the water – it was just a shame more boats didn’t travel up to make it even better. Look forward to seeing you all at Beer on the 12/13^th!

Ben Schooling

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