Fireball Victory at Carsington Summer Trophy

12 May 2014

Fireball Victory at Carsington Summer Trophy

The Garmin summer series kicked of at Carsington water on Sunday the 11th may. Three handicap races was sallied with a total of 48 boats entered.The fleet was split into fast and slow.All boats had trackers on,The prize up for grabs was a Garmin HD action camera. The forecast was for wind, gust up to 30 knots and it was.We was the only fireball there so of we went a blast to the race course,on making a u turn at the committee boat it was clear the boom needed to be on the aft tank the rig was dropped back. The first race got underway we made a good start crossed the fleet then watching all the locals bang hard left that was the way to go we managed to round first closely followed by contenders and phantoms we pulled out a good lead, about 60 minutes race.we came a shore for lunch the results was posted we finished 1st with tom gillard 2nd in a streaker and a laser radial third. The racing was shown on the tv with the trackers showing positions. race two and three was back to back so game on the second race got under way left being the order of the day the course was tweaked to allow more spinnaker legs making some challenging and fast reaches.We crossed the finish line first with a good lead.Then our focus was on Tom Gillard he was looking good on handicap not knowing the results.Race three started with the wind increasing in the gusts as the black clouds came over it made great conditions for us, a good blast ! We rounded the windward mark first and took a commanding lead and finished first over the line.The results were posted, we had three firsts with Tom Gillard finishing second overall with two seconds and a third. A laser radial was third.It was a well organised event with good prizes many thanks to Carsington Water and the sponsors Garmin

Sunshine and showers give a stormy backdrop at the friendly Peak District venue. The Derbyshire weather threw a bit of everything at the competitors for Round 1 of the 2014 Garmin Summer Series, the Carsington Summer Trophy, held on Sunday 11th May.

 With a pretty grim forecast and a number of events cancelled over the weekend a few entries withdrew, but the stunning setting of Carsington had dramatic scenes of both sunshine and squalls during the day, with some superb racing had by all who went out.  The wind averaged around 16knots all throughout the racing with lulls down to 12kn.  Race 2 saw the best of the sunshine and (slightly!) lighter breeze - interestingly this is when the SailRacer GPS trackers recorded the top speeds for the day, presumably where optimum speeds could be achieved.  A sting in the tail for race 3 featured the worst of the rain squalls and gusts up to 26kn.