2004 National Championships, Isle's of Scilly, 29th August to 3rd September 2004

Full Results

Plymouth Hoe Challenge Cup / City of Plymouth Trophy / Chris Crockford Memorial Trophy / Babbacombe Trophy / West of England Conference Trophy / Looe Sailing Club Challenge Trophy
Boat No. / Boat Name / Helm / Crew / Race 1 / Race 2 / Race 3 / Race 4 / Race 5 / Race 6
Position / Points / Position / Points / Position / Points / Position / Points with discard / Position / Points with discard / Position / Points with discard / Overall Positions
245 / Shy talk / Ben Crabb / John Crabb / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 5 / 1 / 4 / 2 / 6 / 2 / 8 / 1st
226 / Dodo / Mark Carnell / Rob Libby / 1 / 1 / 3 / 4 / 4 / 8 / 3 / 7 / 8 / 11 / 1 / 12 / 2nd
241 / Shamrock / Des Hocking / Colin Crabb / 3 / 3 / 2 / 5 / 1 / 6 / 2 / 5 / 4 / 8 / 5 / 12 / 3rd
212 / Jackatoo / Gareth Shaw / Dave Jackman / 4 / 4 / 5 / 9 / 3 / 12 / 4 / 11 / 3 / 14 / 4 / 18 / 4th
205 / Spirit of Redherring / Peter Kinver / Dave Currah / DNF / 14 / 4 / 18 / 6 / 24 / 5 / 15 / 1 / 16 / 7 / 23 / 5th
246 / Nightingale / Cecil DuValle / Francis Marshall / 7 / 7 / 8 / 15 / 9 / 24 / 9 / 24 / 5 / 29 / 3 / 32 / 6th
195 / Sallyforth / Mike Stace / Deanna Morton / 5 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 7 / 22 / 6 / 18 / 6 / 24 / 9 / 33 / 7th
242 / Cliffford / Dave Darloe / Dave Carlos / 6 / 6 / DSQ / 22 / 5 / 27 / 7 / 18 / 11 / 29 / 6 / 35 / 8th
244 / Dragon / Rolly Squibs / Mark Horne / 9 / 9 / 6 / 15 / 8 / 23 / 10 / 23 / 10 / 33 / 8 / 41 / 9th
166 / Rosewing / Richard Vassey / Sam Haines / 8 / 8 / 7 / 15 / 10 / 25 / 11 / 25 / 7 / 32 / 10 / 42 / 10th
183 / Chough / Geoff Godbolt / P Greenwood / 10 / 10 / 9 / 19 / 11 / 30 / 8 / 27 / 9 / 36 / 11 / 47 / 11th
201 / Condor / Marion Cole / Simon Cole / DNF / 14 / DNS / 29 / 12 / 41 / 12 / 38 / 13 / 51 / 12 / 63 / 12th
221 / Discretion / Dave Bowen / Helen Williams / DNF / 14 / DNS / 29 / DNS / 44 / 13 / 42 / 12 / 54 / DNS / 69 / 13th
(Click on any image for a better definition.)
The passage from Penzance to St Mary's saw most of the fleet board the Scillonian on Saturday morning.
2 Reds came with us on that day, carefully hoisted aboard.
The PRO, having heard and somewhat disregarded the shipping forecast, reached the Isles of Scilly in time to witness 11 Redwings that had arrived by cargo vessel on Friday. By various means of travel they were joined by their crews, hangers-on and 2 more Redwings on Saturday. All those boats that had arrived on Friday were already waiting at the beach.
The two that come on the passenger boat had to wait until all the passengers and the luggage were safely disembarked before they could be conveyed to Porthmellon beach in the evening. This left two Redwingers looking lost for a while as the rest of us busied ourselves rigging the boats which disgorged a vast array of items (including Looe baseball caps - thank you Andrew).
On Saturday evening we all met in the Scillonian Club for the briefing. The harbourmaster, Jeff Penhaligen, introduced us to his home waters by saying "If you see seaweed TACK. It's usually attached to a rock." He pointed out those rocks that might be of danger and suggested the best ways to avoid conflict with local boats. PRO Cary Rickards then ran through the Sailing Instructions and wished us all a good week.
Harbourmaster, Jeff Penhaligen / PRO, Cary Rickards

Race 1 - Sunday 29th August 2004

Racing started on Sunday on time in a moderate Westerly force 4. The start line was set in "The Roads" with pin end bias. R212 Gareth Shaw showed the way up the 1st beat after winning the start. 2nd and 3rd round were R241 Des Hocking & Colin Crabb and R226 Mark Carnell & Robert Libby, respectively. Good downwind performance saw Mark and crew Rob Libby take 2nd place just before rounding the gybe mark, and 1st immediately after. Also progressing through the pack were defending champions Ben & John Crabb. A good second beat and downwind legs saw the lead extended despite some interesting, if unplanned, course changes - there was no mention of a "free floating" gybe mark in the sailing instructions! With the wind now blowing 5-6, and a heavy rain squall obscuring most of the course, the race was shortened. Some impressive downwind sailing saw Ben cut the lead considerably, however R226 Mark Carnell & Rob Libby hung on to take 1st place, from 2nd R245 Ben & John Crabb. 3rd R212 Gareth Shaw & David Jackman.

Race 2 - later Sunday 29th August 2004

The start was delayed for some time, following a heavy squall that left several casualties at the end of Race 1.
As the start flag fell the wind settled to a steady force 3-4 Westerly with the sun high in the sky. Cheating the tide the lead boats went to the right on the first beat and the race leaders R246 Cecil Du Valle & Francis Marshall and R241 rounded the mark with a reasonable lead before R245, R244 Rolly Squibs & Mark Horne, R212, R205 Peter Kinver & Dave Currah and R226. Identifying the next mark in an increasingly choppy sea proved difficult and positions changed at the gybe mark with R241 leading from R245 with R246 in third. These positions remained until the last reach to the gybe mark when further confusion on the location of the mark resulted in a further change of position.
Following three rounds the race officer had dried out from his earlier trip over the side and decided to shorten the course and finish on the leeward mark. At the finish R245 Ben & John Crabb won the race from R241 Des Hocking & Colin Crabb with R226 Mark Carnell & Rob Libby in third.
Following an excellent first day sailing the fleet returned to port to prepare for the evening's entertainment.

Race 3 - Monday 30th August

A bright sunny day on The Isles of Scilly saw the fleet take to the water in moderate conditions with the starting beat from St. Mary's to the island of Tresco. The start was delayed because of the lack of radio communication. The first beat saw those boats taking the port hand side of the course gain the initial advantage and at the first windward mark Des Hocking and Colin Crabb were first round in R241 leading Gareth Shaw and Dave Jackman in R212, Ben and John Crabb R245, Peter Kinver and Dave Currah R205, Dave Darlington and Dick Carlos R242 and Mark Carnell and Rob Libby R226. As the race progressed R245 moved up to second position and gradually began reducing the lead of R241 with those two boats pulling away from the rest of the fleet. The third position was being keenly contested with R242 Dave Darloe & Dave Carlos leading from R226 and R212.
By the end of the third round and in to the final beat R245 had reduced R241's lead to a few boat lengths and during the short tacking climax to the race the young Crabbs gave their father aboard R241 a stiff test of fitness, at one point passing the veteran crew. In a close finish Colin's fitness just held out and he and his sailing partner of 30 years Des Hocking just held on to take the honours by a few feet - most frustrating for the younger pairing.
The next three places were also closely fought right to the line, with R242 having held third for most of the race, loosing out after overlaying the finish line leaving R212 to just shade R226 into fourth.
Following some fine tuning......

Race 4 - Tuesday 31st August 2004

....was sailed in very light winds from the West. On the way to the start the Scillonian ferry acknowledged the fleet then docked on the pier at St Marys leaving the clear blue waters of the Scillys to the Redwings and the Tenacious sail training ship. Initially the tide pushed half the fleet over for a general recall - a rare occurrence for the Redwings!! The race was finally underway with the leaders again heading right towards Samson. At the first weather mark was R245 leading from R241, R205 and R226 with the rest of the fleet in hot pursuit.
The tide was now slack and positions changed little as the beat continued to favour the right hand side of the course. With still no increase in the wind speed the race officer shortened the race to two rounds resulting in R245 (Ben & John) clinching their second win from R241 (Des & Colin) in second and R226 (Mark & Rob) third. With the rest day tomorrow and a boat trip to Bryher and Tresco planned, for the more athletic, the fleet headed slowly to shore to enjoy the hospitality of the Scillonian Club.

Lay Day - Wednesday 1st September 2004

Gave us all the opportunity to explore the Islands in a little more detail....

Race 5 - Thursday 2nd September 2004

The fleet arrived at the course to find a light south westerly breeze on a beautiful, hot sunny day, ideal racing conditions once a 30 degree wind shift just before the start had been adjusted for. R195 Mike Stace and Deanna Morton arrived at the windward mark first with Peter Kinver and Dave Currah in R205, Spirit of Red Herring right on their transom. With pressure from Des Hocking and Colin Crabb, Mike Stace succumbed with the lead passing to Peter Kinver who took the lower course on the run from the gybe mark to the leeward mark. Once in the lead the win never looked in doubt and the pairing of Peter and Dave scored their first win together.
Dave, the locally famous Gig builder, was sailing his first ever championships having only ever crewed on a few previous occasions, and this was the first championship win for Peter who later received the championships slap head trophy from the underwater hull surveyor Geoff 'The Gannet' Godbolt.
The race also proved a success for R245 Ben & John Crabb who took 2nd place which was good enough to give them the honour of becoming the 2004 Championship winners.

Race 6 - Friday 3rd September 2004

The final race produced some very competitive sailing with the majority of the fleet finishing close together. The start was again in "The Roads" with pin end bias, the lead boats choosing the left hand side for the 1st beat. R212 Gareth Shaw and Dave Jackman rounded 1st having won the start, with R226 Mark Carnell and Rob Libby hot on their heels. Alert competitors will have noticed the excellent performance of Cecil DuValle, who chose to play shifts up the right hand side, rounding well up the fleet. The 1st reach saw the lead change, Mark Carnell in R226 showing good downwind form. Positions at the front of the fleet remained unaltered during the 2nd beat but saw championship winner Ben Crabb take 2nd place on the next reach. Having established a comfortable margin, the next 2 windward legs saw Mark Carnell and Rob Libby work the shifts up the right hand side to good effect, as did Cecil DuValle and Francis (The Hurricane) Marshall, who eventually finished 3rd
The NRDA are indebted to those members who gave up there time to organise a fantastic Championships, and also to the people of the Isles of Scilly without whose co-operation it would have been impossible. Thank you one and all.
Copy from the race winners edited by Helen Williams R221
Many thanks to Helen, BC and Bryn Draper for photographic contributions.

Click on any image for a better definition.

Any contributions gratefully received