Sailing - high winds deter 17-footers (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Sailing - high winds deter 17-footers

4:18pm Thursday 8th July 2004 in Sport By Dennis Aris

ONLY nine of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club 17-foot class fleet braved a day of heavy squalls sweeping across the lake.

The race was held in the north lake and the first leg was a close fetch to Wray where Gay Crossley's Whisper arrived first closely followed by Mark Omerod's Pilgrim, helmed by Steve Goacher, and James Nield's Amira.

Pilgrim got away downwind and was never again challenged. Whisper became a comfortable second, but the race for third was a close contest between Amira, Mike Craddock's Vanity and Paul Harkness' Naiad.

Amira shook off the other two to finish third with Vanity fourth and Naiad fifth.

On Saturday, with a medium north-westerly wind, the RWYC Flying Fifteen fleet sailed a north lake course with a long first beat to Wray and a zig-zag run back to Fisherfield via Whitecross Bay on the east shore and Red Nab to the west.

Nigel Tullett and Sam Rayner in Kiffs took an early lead, chased by Frank Kelly and Carole Berry in Fiscal Folly and Terry Tinn and his son Tristan in Flying Ferret.

On the final round Michael Bentley and David Hawkes in Folly came through the fleet to finish third.

With the wind from the west on Sunday and drier conditions, a north lake course took the fleet from the east shore near Adelaide to the FBA South mark, with a spinnaker reach to Millerground in the east, then a beat back across the lake to Claife, followed by a run to Adelaide.

Nigel Tullett and Sam Rayner in Kiffs again took an early lead, followed closely by Frank Kelly and Brian Garvey in Fiscal Folly and Michael Bentley and David Hawkes in Folly.

A drop in the wind at Claife allowed some changes in position and Andrew Kirk and Litton Ledger in Zephyr came through the fleet into second place.