Results / Gul Winter Championship Rutland Water SC - 19/02/2005

This years GUL winter championship was held at Rutland Water Sailing club. The weekend started off bright and sunny with a bitterly cold Force 4 to 5 wind, later developing snow flurries. The first race started with Charlie Stowe taking an early lead only to capsize at the windward mark. Richard Leech then led the fleet for much of the race until Andy Heissig over took him at the final windward mark as Richard went for a swim. This trend followed as Andy also took a swim followed by Jamie Mawson. This allowed Charlie to pull though and take first place followed by Andy and Jamie. Race 2 stated in slightly lighter winds which allowed Jamie having a good start to lead. Charlie after 2 laps caught Jamie up as the wind started to freshen again taking the lead on the third beat. Race 3 saw the fleet get a clean start, with a 30-degree wind shift most of the fleet over stood the windward mark. Charlie managing to lead for the whole race despite a couple of swims at the gybe mark providing him with his 3rd bullet of the day. Sunday saw a forecast of stronger winds 24 to 28 knots and colder conditions. The race officer decided to only run 2 races back to back however the fleet voted with their feet and decided it was too cold, so racing was cancelled for the day. This decision proved to be a wise decision as winds built beyond the forecast. Final positions were Charlie Stowe 1st, Jamie Mawson 2nd, Pete Saunders 3rd, with Rich Adams receiving the merit award and 4th overall. Thanks to GUL our event sponsor and Rutland S.C. for an excellent organised event and good race management.