🏆 Gary Piper - 2011 Unicorn National Champion
A Fleet of 7 boats participated in the 2011 Championships.
Race 1
Club Marks Wind Force 1 to 2 E variable
A difficult start against a making tide in very light variable winds made an interesting first beat. Dorks / Piper / R Taylor made the best headway to reach the first mark with Dorks leading the way. He fended off the attempts by Piper to pass on the next two downwind legs. On the next beat, Dorks chose the North shore to avoid the strong foul tide, while Piper and Taylor used the South shore. This proved to be significant as at the next windward mark Piper and Taylor led the fleet by about 200 metres. In these conditions the deficit could not be recovered and it was left to Piper and Taylor to battle it out for the winning gun. In the end it was Piper who prevailed, with R Taylor 2nd and Dorks 3rd
Note: J Mach found the Blackwater mud to his liking and eventually capsized trying to extract himself!
Race 2
Club Marks Wind Force 4 to 5 E
A strong sea breeze developed against a strong ebbing tide which made for exciting racing in the short steep Blackwater chop. Toft was the only boat to start on starboard and although beating in the tide he made good headway to the first windward mark. Unfortunately a poor tack at the mark by Toft allowed Piper to take the lead for the downwind legs. Close racing ensured between the three leading boats, but in the testing sailing conditions helm weight proved to be an advantage, with Piper again taking the winning gun just ahead of R Taylor 2nd and Toft 3rd.
Race 3
Club Marks Wind Force 4 to 5 E
Due to the difficult sailing conditions only four boats took to the water for this race, the third on the day!
All boats started on starboard, but R Taylor misjudged the strong ebbing tide and was over the line. Unfortunately, he failed to fully return and was disqualified. Piper soon showed his superior beating boat speed in these conditions and was first round the windward mark by about 50 metres ahead of Toft and Mach. In these testing conditions this order was maintained until the end, with Piper winning, Toft 2nd and Mach 3rd.
Race 4
Olympic Type Course Committee Boat start Wind Force 2 to 3 E
The fleet had to wait on the water for over an hour before the sea breeze arrived to provide perfect sailing conditions on a making tide and flat water.
Toft led the fleet over the line at the Committee boat end closely followed by Dorks, Mach and D Taylor. R Taylor and Piper opted for a Port start to try and avoid the main tide. An interesting first beat resulted in Toft and Piper arriving at the windward mark together but in opposite directions. Piper had starboard advantage and rounded the mark first to lead for the next two downwind legs, which were fast trapezing reaches. Over the next lap R Taylor closed on Toft and eventually managed to pass on the trapeze reach. The three leading boats continued to have a competitive race over the next 2 laps, but once again Piper took the winning gun ahead of R Taylor 2nd and Toft 3rd. The divided fleet had some good racing, particularly between Dorks and Mach who finished 4th and 5threspectively.
Race 5
Olympic Type Course Committee Boat start Wind Force 2 to 3 E
Piper led the fleet over the start line with Toft, Dorks, R Taylor and D Taylor in close contention while Mach started on Port. Once again Piper showed good boat speed and using the tide laid the first mark in one tack. The remainder of the fleet had to put in two extra tacks and this gave Piper a 50 metre lead at the first mark. The chasing pack led by Toft was unable to close the gap over the next lap. On lap two, R Taylor found excellent boat speed, once again overtaking Toft on the reach and closing in on Piper. Piper reacted and held off the competition to again take the winning gun just ahead of R Taylor 2nd and Toft 3rd . Once again the fleet had split and the remaining boats had some interesting racing with Mach eventually holding Dorks off to finish 4th and 5threspectively.
Race 6
Olympic Type Course Committee Boat start Wind Force 3 to 4 SW torrential rain
Piper led the fleet over the start line closely followed by Mach, R Taylor and S Pooley. In the strengthening wind and rain squalls the racing became fast and furious. Piper excelled in these conditions and over the next four laps he gradually extended his lead over Mach and R Taylor. Piper finished a clear winner with R Taylor 2nd managing to pass Mach 3rd on the penultimate lap.
Race 7
Olympic Type Course Committee Boat start Wind Force 4 to 5 SW rain squalls
The fleet made a good start into the Blackwater steep short chop which made clean tacking difficult. This factor proved decisive and Piper closely followed by R Taylor rounded the windward mark first with a clear lead. The next reach was ‘on the limit sailing’ with the bows continually burying in the waves during the force 6 gusts. Piper leading R Taylor continued to revel in these conditions and gradually pulled away from the remainder of the fleet to finish 1st and 2nd respectively. There was a close contest for 3rd place between Mach, Pooley and Toft , which was eventually taken by Mach.
Olympic Type Course Committee Boat start Wind Force 3 to 4 SW Torrential rain
Race 8
Club Marks Wind Force 1 E variable
The start was in very light variable winds against an ebbing tide exposing sand banks. Toft led the fleet over the line closely followed by Dorks. The leading boats chose to tack along the South shore while Piper crossed the tide early and sailed the North shore. All three leading boats reached the windward mark in close contention with Dorks ahead of Piper and Toft. The remainder of the fleet found the conditions difficult and were some 200 metres behind. The down wind legs required considerable concentration and skill to find the most favourable wind. The three leading boats continued to extend their lead and in the end it was Dorks who went clear ahead to take the winning gun with Piper 2nd and Toft 3rd.
Results
Congratulations to Gary Piper the 2011 UK National Champion winning 7 out of 8 races. His new self built tortured plywood constructed boat, with Caws sail number 1100, was sailed expertly in all types of wind conditions. Richard Taylor sailing 1098, Pipers previous championship winning boat, was 2nd showing good boat speed and consistency. Peter Toft sailing 1074 a glass fibre Condor constructed boat with Caws sail was 3rd.
The remainder of the fleet had their ‘Good’ and perhaps their ‘not so memorable moments’, but everyone seemed to enjoy the excellent racing and social activities provided by the Stone S C. Once again a great venue and a MUST date for next years diary.
Comments