Warm sunshine, 10-15 knots of breeze, close racing and good race management helped make the perfect start to the K6 open meeting season last weekend (22-23 March). The GUL-sponsored championship at Queen Mary attracted boats from both the South and East coasts, as well as the Midlands. Queen Mary was the natural venue for the event – the K6 is the fastest growing fleet at the club, and it has become the de-facto inland ‘home’ for the class.

The battle for first and second place overall was between Fat Face – Martin Wadhams, crewed by Amanda and Claire – and new owner Nigel Grogan, crewed by Andy Budgen. The two boats never seemed much more than a bow-sprit apart with the lead changing frequently in each race. Andy Budgen even tried some of his well honed 49er skills to try and get the necessary advantage, trimming the kite standing on the foredeck. It was almost enough, and Martin Wadhams freely admitted they’d needed some of the infamous Queen Mary “get out of jail” wind shifts to secure a Fat Face win by just two points.

“Great racing” was the verdict wherever boats lay in the fleet, borne out by the fact that only four points separated the third place of Richard Sullivan and Roger Oldershaw (RAFSA) and sixth place. Jonathan Cameron was competition personified (and would have made hardened insurance men wince), coming into the leeward mark on starboard at 15 knots with the kite up against a line of boats rounding on port. However, a flawless gybe drop and accommodating sportsmanship from others kept the ink from the claim form. Martin Miller was deservedly awarded the GUL merit trophy. He flew in from his home in Tblisi (Georgia) and took delivery of his new boat on Friday, rigged it on Saturday, and sailed his first race to sixth place with son Hugh on Sunday (followed by a flight back to Tblis).

Overall Results

1st 102 Martin Wadhams, Amanda Davies, Claire Upton-Brown Medway YC

2nd 137 Nigel Grogan, Andy Budgen Burnham on Crouch

3rd 116 Richard Sullivan, Roger Oldershaw Royal Norfolk & Suffolk YC

4th 132 Paul Young, Ian Nicholson Hayling Island SC

5th 113 Bob Pearson, Ian Hibbert Carsington SC

6th 127 Jonathan Calascione, Piers Tucker Queen Mary SC

7th Peter Kirkby, Nicola Kirkby, Doug Brown Queen Mary SC

8th Michael Fawcett, Alisair Johnstone QMSC

9th Terry Wilkinson, Owain Franks QMSC

10th Jonathan Cameron, Peter Harvey Hayling Island SC

11th Malcolm Morley, Poppy Morley Hayling Island SC

12th M Dawson, A Smith Royal Lymington YC

13th Martin Miller, Hugh Miller