Last Chance Regatta 27 Oct 2009
Easy…but not that Easy!
Once again, the pleasant October weather and excitement of windward/leeward racing made the Last Chance Regatta a fantastic event and enticed ten Squibs to relaunch after the National Inland Championships. Visitors Dave White & Peter Ballam in Easy 83 won all five races and the Mike Flint Trophy, sponsored by Colman Coyle LLP. In a revised format to avoid conflict with the Dragon mini-series, Race Officer Edwin Buckley managed to get three races completed on Saturday afternoon and a further two on Sunday morning before the wind died away.
In a class of their own, Dave & Pete were rarely beaten to any mark although they were challenged by many of the local boats in every race. The closeness of the local boats gave rise to many place changes and several penalty turns. Andrew and Marc Knights, Seabright 19, ended 2nd overall after finishing every race on the podium.
Robert Coyle & Mel Titmus, Humphrey 823, were third overall and Micky Wright & Dean Beckwith, Lady Penelope 819, fourth. They had both threatened the leaders several times but ultimately pushed too hard and spun away. New combination Phil Aspinall & Chris Dunn, Electra 72, in a borrowed boat, were a model of consistency with a string of 4th places to finish 5th overall.
The dominance of Easy will no doubt result in much tweaking of local boats in the close season, particularly as Dave & Pete will be back for the Gold Cup 2010!