Heron Open Yeadon 23rd September 2017
Yeadon Sailing Club
Heron Mirror Open Meeting
23rd September 2017
On a very pleasant autumn day, with the wind reaching the heady heights of 2-3 mph S to S Easterly, Mirrors were conspicuous by their absence. Eight Herons, three home boats and five visitors (swelling to six when Peter Murgatroyd, an independent traveller from Cambridge, and his daughter made it in time to tag along for the last race after overcoming some traffic issues) subjected themselves to the fluky drifting winds on the Tarn at Yeadon. Some single handed, some double handed and a couple of spinnakers for good measure.
Race One got off to a slow drifting start with big wind shadows covering almost half of the Tarn. Steve Abbott and Tony Dufton got off to an early lead with Dave Butler in pursuit, followed by R.Stephenson, Jo Mayes, Louise Harding, Stan Luger and Dennis Beard. A couple of spinnakers were deployed with limited success and with his spinnaker, Dave Butler pushed himself to the front of the fleet. Dennis Beard made up for a poor start, perhaps using some local knowledge, and got up into the top half of the fleet.
After H’Caps:-
Dave Butler 10340 d/h Spinnaker
Tony Dufton 108 s/h
Steve Abbott 10312 s/h
Dennis Beard 10070 d/h
R. Stephenson 9866 s/h
Louise Harding 10335 d/h
Jo Mayes 10343 d/h Spinnaker
Stan Lugner 10341 s/h
Race Two, after soup and rolls in the club house, started with the wind rising to a welcome 5-6mph but this soon died back to the 2-3mph of the first race. The course was altered slightly to avoid the biggest wind shadow but others still remained. Dave Butler, Steve Abbott and R.Stephenson built up an early lead and then Dave Butler (and spinnaker) opened up a good lead. However, with some good work R.Stephenson caught and passed him on the water by the end of the race - sadly though, not by enough margin to cancel the s/h handicap.
After H’Caps:-
Dave Butler 10340 d/h Spinnaker
R. Stephenson 9866 s/h
Stan Lugner 10341 s/h
Tony Dufton 108 s/h
Steve Abbott 10312 s/h
Dennis Beard 10070 d/h
Jo Mayes 10343 d/h Spinnaker
Louise Harding 10335 d/h
Race Three again had the same wind conditions with some drizzle thrown in for good measure. At the first couple of marks most of the boats were bunched together, which is a bit of a lottery in light winds. Dave Butler hit a mark and had to do a 360 but managed to get himself (and his spinnaker) back into the lead of a race which turned out to be a very close finish for some. Dennis Beard, Stan Lugner, Steve Abbott and Tony Dufton all crossed the line within a couple of seconds of each other.
After H’Caps
Dave Butler 10340 d/h Spinnaker
Dennis Beard 10070 d/h
Stan Lugner 10341 s/h
Steve Abbott 10312 s/h
Tony Dufton 108 s/h
Jo Mayes 10343 d/h Spinnaker
R. Stephenson 9866 s/h
Louise Harding 10335 d/h
Overall Winner was Dave Butler with Tony Dufton in second place and Dennis Beard in third.
Thank you to all involved in organising the day and to the Catering Committee for their delicious lunch. A special thanks to our visitors who had come from Huddersfield Sailing Club, Welton Sailing Club near Hull, Bewl Sailing Association, East Sussex and an independent traveller from Cambridge.
Thanks also to Andrew Fieldhouse who compiled this report on behalf of the Heron Fleet.
