Over the weekend of September 30-October 1 a fleet of 34 OKs contested their inland championship over to four races in light and shifty breezes at Burton SC. After an hour postponement to wait for the wind, race one started with a shift to the left on the gun that left a big pile up at the pin end. Will Turner got from the line away cleanly to open up a small lead followed by Dave Carroll and Hedley Fletcher. The order remained the same until the last beat when the wind died completely to allow Paul Scoles to overhaul Fletcher’s bulk to take third on the line. All racing was then abandoned for the day due to the normally windy Foremark Reservoir resembling a millpond.

Race two on Sunday was in the similar light conditions with loads of juicy shifts to get stuck into. The short beats made for dash and burn racing and plenty of place changes. Dave Carroll made the better start and held on to his slim lead to win at the finish. Andy Rushworth chased hard to finish second with the Dane Peter Wibroe coming in third after a close tacking duel with Alistair Deaves on the last beat.

Race three started in fresher and gusting conditions. The wind again swung at the start and the fleet ended up on having a drag race round the course with the distance between groups expanding and contracting in the gusts and lulls. Carroll won the dash to the first mark with Fletcher second, Terry Curtis third and Alan Atkin forth. The wind gradually swung back right but it didnt effect the positions and they were the same at the finish.

Race four was the best by far with a challenging first beat and a difficult port-biased start in fresh sitting-out conditions. Fletcher made the best start with Rushworth breathing down his neck at the top mark. Will Turner found his feet again in third and rounded close behind the pair. Fletcher and Rushworth had a close battle to the finish but the order remained the same. Peter Wibroe and Deaves gave Turner a good run for his money but he had done enough to steal take the third place.

Overall Results

1st GBR-2094, Dave Carroll (Deben YC) 4 pts

2nd GBR-2073, Hedley Fletcher (Blithfield SC) 7pts

3rd GBR-2045, Will Turner (Overy Staithe SC) 10pts

4th GBR-2097, Rover Rushworth (Christchurch SC) 10 pts

5th DEN-1292, Peter Wibroe. (Denmark) 12pts

6th GBR-2046, Alistair Deaves (Waldringfield SC) 17pts