Quirk and Reffold third at 505 UK Championships

'International 505 Nationals 2008' Richard Phillips

Forty International 505's arrived at Lymington Town Sailing Club on Wednesday evening with the hope that the forecast was wrong, but unfortunately it turned out to be spot on. In a series reduced to two days by the gale force winds, Ian Pinnell and Carl Gibbon from HISC were the eventual winners. Second were Terry Scutcher and Christian Diebitsch from Shotley SC.

Two races per day were planned with the first race scheduled for 13:00 on Thursday 3 July. As the fleet launched and set off down the river and into the Solent the 3-4 forecast was clearly understated as the wind built and built. Racing got underway 30 minutes later than scheduled with Charlie Walters and Dougal Cram as the Gate boat.

As the fleet made it's way up the beat conditions worsened as the tide changed against the wind direction. This created extremely difficult conditions that started to take its toll. By the end of the race the wind had risen to 29 knots with even the leading boats deciding that their kites were better off remaining in their chutes.

Five broken masts, three broken booms and two spinnaker poles was the toll as only 14 finished the race. As the fleet tallied off to a complementary beer its spirits were high as tools, fittings and expertise were shared to ensure that all boats were ready for the following day. That evening after the daily prize giving, the first social took place in the clubhouse and it soon became apparent that LTSC were going to be excellent hosts.

International 505 Nationals 2008 - Richard Phillips Click Here to view large photo

Friday dawned bringing sunshine and a plan for three races. It is unusual for the fleet to hold three races in a day, but the forecast of gales over the weekend made it essential to ensure that enough races were held to validate the championship. Conditions were pleasant, but very variable with the breeze building and moving throughout the afternoon.

The excellent hospitality enjoyed at LTSC was further enhanced during the 505 dinner held in the clubroom that evening. Charlie Walters did a sterling job with the daily prize giving and the night carried on late into the evening with nearly the whole fleet in attendance.

The class AGM was held early on Saturday, which was interrupted with the news that sailing for the day was abandoned due to the 30+ knot winds. LTSC kindly produced a list of local activities available and very soon competitors were either working on their boats or visiting the local tourist attractions.

Unfortunately, Sunday saw conditions worsen with winds being recorded at 49 Knots and so the prize giving was brought forward to 11.30am.

The British 505 fleet now has two remaining UK fixtures this year, Shotley on the 26 and 27 July and Torbay 23 - 25 August before the years finale' at the Worlds in Palermo, Sicily in October.

505 Nationals - Final positions (40 entries)

1st GBR 8960 Ian Pinnell Carl Gibbon HISC 1 1 -2 2 6 4pts
2nd GBR 8881 Terry SCUTCHER Christian Diebitsch Shotley Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 4 4 1 50 9
3rd AUS 8920 Michael Quirk Simon ReffoldWSC (41.0 DNF) 7 1 3 52 11
4th IRL 8961 Ewen BARRY Charles Dwyer Mbsc (41.0 DNF) 2 6 4 53 12
5th GBR 8963 Martin Hodgson Adrian Miles (41.0 DNF) 3 3 10 57 16
6th GBR 8694 Matt HART Craig Hurrell Shotley Sailing Club 8 -13 5 6 32 19
7th GBR 8908 Norman BYRD Steve Hunt Dwsc 4 11 -15 5 35 20
8th GBR 8835 Charlie WALTERS Dougal Cram Datchet Water 2 10 -19 12 43 24
9th GBR 8935 Russell Short Andrew Short Rotherham Sailing Club 3 8 -27 13 51 24
10th GBR 8906 Harry BRIDDON Simon Briddon Carsington 6 9 12 (41.0 DNF) 68 27
11th GBR 8741 Toby Barsley-Dale Gareth Russell Weston SC (41.0 DNF) 6 13 11 71 30
12th GBR 8701 Rob NAPIER Graeme Willcox Bowmoor SC 12 5 -16 16 49 33
13th GBR 8836 Dave Wood Neil Fulcher Stone SC 5 -26 22 8 61 35
14th IRL 8511 Brian GOGGIN Brendan Dwyer Monkstown Bay Sailing Club 7 19 -37 9 72 35
15th GBR 8384 Charlie STEWART John Gibson Blackwater Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 14 7 17 79 38
16th GBR 8774 John Webster Robert Burdekin Carsington Sailing Club 11 17 14 -27 69 42
17th IRL 8514 Peter SCANNELL Paul O'Sullivan Monkstown Bay Sailing Club 9 16 -25 18 68 43
18th GBR 8526 Timothy BIRD Richard Nurse Burton SC 13 15 18 -19 65 46
19th GBR 8955 Ben ILIFFE Simon Lake Rya (41.0 DNF) 12 11 25 89 48
20th GBR 8313 Richard LORD Alex Cull Seahorse S C (Number on Spinny 8331) (41.0 DNF) 25 9 15 90 49
21st IRL 8408 Alex BARRY Andrew Lane Monkstown Bay Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 23 21 7 92 51
22nd GBR 8905 Stuart TURNBULL Jason Lunn Rya (41.0 DNS) 20 10 21 92 51
23rd GBR 8909 Christopher DANDO Donald Sloan Stone SC (41.0 DNS) 18 8 26 93 52
24th GBR 8460 Mike Pickles John Driscoll Southwold (Number on Spinny 8835) 14 24 -36 23 97 61
25th GBR 8556 Brett TOWNSEND Andy Denniss Blackwater Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 21 20 20 102 61
26th GBR 8650 Terry SELFE Alan Montague Stone Sailing Club (41.0 DNS) 22 31 14 108 67
27th GBR 8423 Martin WRIGHT TBA Burton Sailing Club 10 31 -35 30 106 71
28th GBR 8780 John HAYHURST Adrian Coates Carsington S C (41.0 DNF) 32 17 28 118 77
29th GBR 8419 Steve PERKINS James Brown Blackwater Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 27 33 22 123 82
30th GBR 8907 Jim BERRY David Barnes Portishead Y & SC (41.0 DNF) 29 23 31 124 83
31st GBR 8945 Ross KENNEY Adam Kenny Burton SC (41.0 DNF) 28 32 24 125 84
32nd GBR 8490 H Felden TBA (41.0 DNF) 36 26 29 132 91
33rd GBR 8749 Alastair MILTON Laurence Milton Helensburgh Sailing Club (41.0 DNF) 35 24 33 133 92
34th IRL 835 Michael O'BRIEN John O'Gorman Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Cork (41.0 DNF) 33 29 32 135 94
35th IRL 7852 Brian JONES Gary Frost Monkstownbay Sailing Club (41.0 DNS) 30 30 35 136 95
36th GBR 8591 Dave Bell Pete Ward (41.0 DNS) 37 28 36 142 101
37th GBR 8497 Arthur GEORGE Dennis Cartwright Burton SC (41.0 DNF) 34 34 34 143 102
38th GBR 8429 Alex Browne TBA (41.0 DNS) 41.0 DNF 41.0 DNF 37 160 119
39th GBR 8323 Neil Smith Tim Rains Chasewater (41.0 DNS) 41.0 DNC 41.0 DNC 41.0 DNC 164 123
39th GBR 8685 Richard Sims Simon Wood Carsington Water (41.0 DNF) 41.0 DNF 41.0 DNC 41.0 DNF 164 123

by 505/Ross