2022 Farr 3.7 Nationals. Howick SC 25-27 March. Donald King
I now know it is possible to sail a 3.7 upwind in 40 knots of breeze.
Such was the situation on day two after racing was cancelled for the day. A long slog back to the beach in what was learned later to be steady 30knots gusting 42 knots.
Day one of the 2022 contest at Howick was spent on the beach contemplating the set-up of the boats, drinking coffee, a bit of beer and telling lies. (mis-remembered past events, maybe more accurate)
The wind recorder at Browns Island, not too far from the race course had a steady 40knots, gusting over 50 knots. The Howick shore was warm and benign. On the race course not so benign. No racing.
Day two was 17- 20kn gusting 25kn. Racing starting 10.30. 17 of 21 entrants made the start. And 17 of 21 made the finish. Capsizes aplenty. Nobody was immune, causing a bit of a mix up in the results.
Mark Obrien was leading at the top mark after the second beat only to capsize on a tack into the mark. Letting through both Derek Scott, Mike Drummond. Normal “Mr consistent” Derek Snow managed a complete wipeout on I think the penultimate downwind leg finishing uncharacteristic 6th.
Notable mention to Yi-Shun Thong in #336. Absolutely reveling in the wind. Trapezing the reaches, throwing the boat about with confidence and style getting up for a fantastic 3rd place. Don’t know when he managed to get past Mark O’Brien. But an impressive performance.
Derek Scott got the win on race one. Mostly through heaps of downwind speed with his wing mast setup aided and abetted by Mark O’brien capsizing at the top mark.
Myself and Mike Jones left the beach each with sail reefed. Both a similar setup. The reef points drop the hoist by about 300mm and the leech by 400mm. I was glad to have the reduced power and found conditions 95% manageable. Only losing control once. At the wing mark gybe, shooting the gap between three capsized boats and the mark. Recovered quickly not losing any places.
The story of the race was #337, Paul Carpenter capsizing. During which his rudder blade dropped out. Paul decided to retrieve the blade only 2-3 metres away. Then found the partially capsized boat being blown away faster than he could swim back. The distance ever increasing.
Lincoln Fraser in #374 with some skill picked Paul up from the water and delivered him back to the vicinity of his boat. By which time the rescue RIB was on hand.
Boats were directed back to shore after race one completed when wind reached a steady 25kn, gusting 30k.
Then the long slog back to the beach in 25kn – 40kn before racing abandoned for the day. There were a few battle scars after race one. Foremost being David Norman who managed to fall through his sail after being blown over while trapezing. (He got a spare sail from Mike Jones to complete the regatta and was pretty fast with it.)
Day three was positively gentle in comparison. 5-10 knots. Maybe a bit more breeze early.
Got three races completed before the breeze died completely. Racing was soooo… tight. Five-six-seven boats at mark rounding. Tightly contested starts and incremental pressure shifts could propel the skillful (or fortunate) sailor up the leaderboard. Proof of that was race three where I tacked right immediately after the start at boat end to avoid the pack at the favoured pin end. Got into a little more pressure and emerged at the top mark in third. Mike Jones had a similar experience in race four going from about 10th to 3rd on the second beat with a little more pressure out right.
Eventually though the usual suspects came to the top. Derek Snow getting the gun in the three races Sunday. He leg at the first mark in races 2 &4, but would always be close then come through on the downwind legs. Once he hit the front he maintained or extended. Good speed and 90% in the right place on the course.
Mark O’Brien scored a couple of second places but looked a bit rusty. Having hardly sailed his boat since the 2021 nationals.
The boys from Taranaki, Joe Batchelor and Paul Moriarty were very consistent. Both picking up two fifth places and never worse than 9th. The 3.7 fleet needs to get to New Plymouth to see what is in the water there.
Mike Drummond sailing Paul Snow-Hansen’s 2021 champion boat had an impressive but inconsistent series. Looking more at home in a breeze. Let down by a 10th placing in race four due to breaking the hiking straps.
Derek Scott was as usual at the pointy end of the fleet. Excelling in race one, particularly downwind. Not so impressive in the light conditions of day three. I lined up with him on a couple of occasions and had similar speed. Very satisfying to beat a past class champion to the line in race four.
Further down the finishing order Eamon Withers had a good regatta. He was at the top mark in 3rd – 4th a couple of times on Sunday and handled the boisterous Saturday race doggedly. I saw him upside down a few times, but he recovered well for 13th. Eamonn deservedly picked up the handicap prize and meritorious 13th place overall.
Jackson Grimmer with a new Norths sail on #188 deserves mention. I think the youngest sailor in the fleet. He got around the course determinedly on Saturday when it was pretty easy to head back to the beach. Also unlucky to get stranded by the dying breeze race four. There’s a great photo of Jackson going upwind race 1 on facebook page. Check it out.
Silvana in #191 picked up the Ladies trophy, in spite of wisely staying ashore to manage the “over 75 club” with John Elliott. Judging by results Silvana and Samaria Currimbhoy must have been having a good tussle. Marred by an OCS by Samaria when John Elliott and a few others were stuffing up the start at the pin end on race three.
Howick Sailing Club ran a great series. Maybe a bit conservative not getting another race away on Sunday, but no complaints.
Derek Snow deservedly picked up another national title.
Check out the photo’s on facebook.
Donald King
(The opinions above are my own, taken from my usual vantage point mid fleet. They are not necessarily accurate nor well observed)
Also some notes from Chris:
Youngest Sailor Jackson 13yrs, oldest John Elliott 75 yrs.
The U21 category had 4 sailors and the Great Grand Veteran category had 3.
A fantastic contribution from FBYC for the continuation of the Class.
If Lincoln hadn’t won Veteran category the only other Vet (45 to 54) was Silvana.
I now know it is possible to sail a 3.7 upwind in 40 knots of breeze.
Such was the situation on day two after racing was cancelled for the day. A long slog back to the beach in what was learned later to be steady 30knots gusting 42 knots.
Day one of the 2022 contest at Howick was spent on the beach contemplating the set-up of the boats, drinking coffee, a bit of beer and telling lies. (mis-remembered past events, maybe more accurate)
The wind recorder at Browns Island, not too far from the race course had a steady 40knots, gusting over 50 knots. The Howick shore was warm and benign. On the race course not so benign. No racing.
Day two was 17- 20kn gusting 25kn. Racing starting 10.30. 17 of 21 entrants made the start. And 17 of 21 made the finish. Capsizes aplenty. Nobody was immune, causing a bit of a mix up in the results.
Mark Obrien was leading at the top mark after the second beat only to capsize on a tack into the mark. Letting through both Derek Scott, Mike Drummond. Normal “Mr consistent” Derek Snow managed a complete wipeout on I think the penultimate downwind leg finishing uncharacteristic 6th.
Notable mention to Yi-Shun Thong in #336. Absolutely reveling in the wind. Trapezing the reaches, throwing the boat about with confidence and style getting up for a fantastic 3rd place. Don’t know when he managed to get past Mark O’Brien. But an impressive performance.
Derek Scott got the win on race one. Mostly through heaps of downwind speed with his wing mast setup aided and abetted by Mark O’brien capsizing at the top mark.
Myself and Mike Jones left the beach each with sail reefed. Both a similar setup. The reef points drop the hoist by about 300mm and the leech by 400mm. I was glad to have the reduced power and found conditions 95% manageable. Only losing control once. At the wing mark gybe, shooting the gap between three capsized boats and the mark. Recovered quickly not losing any places.
The story of the race was #337, Paul Carpenter capsizing. During which his rudder blade dropped out. Paul decided to retrieve the blade only 2-3 metres away. Then found the partially capsized boat being blown away faster than he could swim back. The distance ever increasing.
Lincoln Fraser in #374 with some skill picked Paul up from the water and delivered him back to the vicinity of his boat. By which time the rescue RIB was on hand.
Boats were directed back to shore after race one completed when wind reached a steady 25kn, gusting 30k.
Then the long slog back to the beach in 25kn – 40kn before racing abandoned for the day. There were a few battle scars after race one. Foremost being David Norman who managed to fall through his sail after being blown over while trapezing. (He got a spare sail from Mike Jones to complete the regatta and was pretty fast with it.)
Day three was positively gentle in comparison. 5-10 knots. Maybe a bit more breeze early.
Got three races completed before the breeze died completely. Racing was soooo… tight. Five-six-seven boats at mark rounding. Tightly contested starts and incremental pressure shifts could propel the skillful (or fortunate) sailor up the leaderboard. Proof of that was race three where I tacked right immediately after the start at boat end to avoid the pack at the favoured pin end. Got into a little more pressure and emerged at the top mark in third. Mike Jones had a similar experience in race four going from about 10th to 3rd on the second beat with a little more pressure out right.
Eventually though the usual suspects came to the top. Derek Snow getting the gun in the three races Sunday. He leg at the first mark in races 2 &4, but would always be close then come through on the downwind legs. Once he hit the front he maintained or extended. Good speed and 90% in the right place on the course.
Mark O’Brien scored a couple of second places but looked a bit rusty. Having hardly sailed his boat since the 2021 nationals.
The boys from Taranaki, Joe Batchelor and Paul Moriarty were very consistent. Both picking up two fifth places and never worse than 9th. The 3.7 fleet needs to get to New Plymouth to see what is in the water there.
Mike Drummond sailing Paul Snow-Hansen’s 2021 champion boat had an impressive but inconsistent series. Looking more at home in a breeze. Let down by a 10th placing in race four due to breaking the hiking straps.
Derek Scott was as usual at the pointy end of the fleet. Excelling in race one, particularly downwind. Not so impressive in the light conditions of day three. I lined up with him on a couple of occasions and had similar speed. Very satisfying to beat a past class champion to the line in race four.
Further down the finishing order Eamon Withers had a good regatta. He was at the top mark in 3rd – 4th a couple of times on Sunday and handled the boisterous Saturday race doggedly. I saw him upside down a few times, but he recovered well for 13th. Eamonn deservedly picked up the handicap prize and meritorious 13th place overall.
Jackson Grimmer with a new Norths sail on #188 deserves mention. I think the youngest sailor in the fleet. He got around the course determinedly on Saturday when it was pretty easy to head back to the beach. Also unlucky to get stranded by the dying breeze race four. There’s a great photo of Jackson going upwind race 1 on facebook page. Check it out.
Silvana in #191 picked up the Ladies trophy, in spite of wisely staying ashore to manage the “over 75 club” with John Elliott. Judging by results Silvana and Samaria Currimbhoy must have been having a good tussle. Marred by an OCS by Samaria when John Elliott and a few others were stuffing up the start at the pin end on race three.
Howick Sailing Club ran a great series. Maybe a bit conservative not getting another race away on Sunday, but no complaints.
Derek Snow deservedly picked up another national title.
Check out the photo’s on facebook.
Donald King
(The opinions above are my own, taken from my usual vantage point mid fleet. They are not necessarily accurate nor well observed)
Also some notes from Chris:
Youngest Sailor Jackson 13yrs, oldest John Elliott 75 yrs.
The U21 category had 4 sailors and the Great Grand Veteran category had 3.
A fantastic contribution from FBYC for the continuation of the Class.
If Lincoln hadn’t won Veteran category the only other Vet (45 to 54) was Silvana.
Notice of Race
Sailing Instructions
photos Brent Withers
Quick links
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