Ladies Regatta 2004
The weathermen said force 3-5 and for once they were spot on, however despite the strong winds the turn out for the Ladies regatta was quite impressive. 15 GMSC Ladies took to the water on the 11th September in a fleet of 11 boats, to do battle with the elements and whatever the race officer could throw at them.
The first race of the morning was a baptism of fire which saw most of the fleet capsize in the gusty conditions, and a large number of the competitors forced to retire, but Louise Wilkins in her Topper put in a solid performance to finish first with Sarah Slade and Caroline Atkins in second place who were determined not to let conditions get the better of them.
Race 2 was abandoned due to strengthening wind conditions and tiring competitors, and the fleet retired to the bar for refuelling and reappraisal, but despite the battering everyone remained upbeat and keen to recount their mornings heroics to the rest of the competitors.
Race 3 took place as planned and despite the gusty conditions, although with a certain amount of trepidation for most of the field before leaving the jetty. Race 3 and 4 again had it’s share of capsizes although there were fewer rescues required and on more than one occasion the rescue boat was told to keep clear as the Ladies showed true grit and determination to stay in the race. Alison Clarke racked up a couple of first places in her Supernova to take the overall first place with Louise Wilkins coming home in second despite suffering a boat damaging collision on the Race 4 start line. The Laser 13 crew of Sarah Slade and Caroline Atkins displayed, at times, a truly acrobatic performance in order to stay upright and dry, and finished in third spot.
Preliminary Results
Sailed: 4 Discards: 2 Ratings: None
| Rank | Class | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supernova | 471 | Alison Clarke | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | |||
| 2 | Topper | 31927 | Louise Williams | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | |||
| 3 | Laser 13 | 1 | Sarah Slade | Caroline Atkins | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | ||
| 4 | Laser | 164548 | Kate Johnson | 4.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | |||
| 5 | Comet 13 | 17 | Julie Smith | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | |||
| 6 | Laser 4.7 | 142206 | Clare Scott-Dempster | 4.0 | 6.0 | 10.0 | |||
| 7 | Kestrel | 1492 | Kate Allen | Stacey Ream | 6.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | ||
| 8 | Topper | 40758 | Gail Linfoot | DNF | 2.0 | 13.0 | |||
| 9 | Topper | 32190 | Carol Matthews | 5.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | |||
| 10 | Kestrel | 1485 | Maretta Dowsman | Manda Bayliss | 5.0 | DNC | 17.0 | ||
| 11 | Kestrel | 1483 | Gloria Gales | Tina Smith | 9.0 | DNF | 20.0 |
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