Final GW Smith race, 31st August 2023

Published 01:00 on 13 Sep 2023

Report by John Adams, photos by Chris Wade

A good entry of 16 boats competed in the last race of the 2023 GW Smit series on 31st August, with a mix of Lasers (8), Merlins (4), N18s (2), Joe McLaughlin in his Solo and a 2000. As might be expected for a Thursday evening the wind was light and fluky, generally varying between south and southwest but with shifts from all over the compass to keep us on our toes. OOD Stewart Colley set a simple sausage course between Canbury and Lensbury which most of the time gave a good beat and run, the latter being a bit slow at times when the wind dropped.

Andy and Tom Harris took the lead from the start and never lost it. Another father and son combination, Tim and Ed Medcalf followed in their Merlin but were always a couple of minutes behind the Harris boat. David Baker crewed by Barbara Adams in another Merlin managed to avoid fishing lines to finish 3rd. In the light and flukey wind, Matt P-J, crewed by Wout Hoff, was unable to unleash the full power of his N18 and followed behind the leading Merlins and ahead of the leading Laser helmed by Tom Bull, fresh from his sterling work looking after the sailing weeks that have been held over most of the summer.

Once the handicaps had been applied the situation changed a little, with Andy retaining his leading position but with Joe McLaughlin who finished 7th on the water, moving up to 2nd on handicap, followed by the Medcalfs in 3rd and Tom Bull's Laser in 4th.

The result also had an impact on the overall results, as both Andy Harris and Joe McLaughlin could now discard their DNC scores. Matthew P-J in his Ultra N18 is the winner counting four 1sts in his results, Andy Harris moved up to 2nd in his Merlin and Joe McLaughlin in his Solo moved up to 3rd a single point ahead of David Baker's Merlin in 4th, with Charles Fox and regular crew Robert Blakebrough in his Penultimate N18 in 5th, Henry Medcalf and Joey Sparks in a Firefly in 6th and Marcus Chavasse was the leading Laser in 7th, so a good spread of the different classes sailing at Tamesis.

Overall 29 different boats took part in the series with the last race being the most popular with 15 entrants. Of the 29 entrants, 12 completed 4 or more races, including a junior, Lyra Wade in a Laser.

Thanks to OOD Stewart Colley who stood in at the last minute, assisted by Tim Ginn in the box and Brian Harper-Lewis and Chris Martin in the Patrol boat.

Over 30 people sat down for Jean-Michel's excellent last Thursday supper, unless they are resurrected in the off-season, of red wine braised steak with champ potatoes accompanied by a variety of salads and finished off with Eve's pudding topped with cream. He was aided in the kitchen and bar by Alfie and Clara.

So the 2023 season of evening sails is sadly over. We have had some great sails and a variety of wind conditions and a god number of entrants over the season. Hopefully the news of the competitive sailing and excellent catering will attract a few more competitors next season.

Thanks to all those who helped in the box, patrol boat, kitchen and bar. Without you the evenings could not happen.

Last updated 18:38 on 25 April 2024