Chew Valley saw the famous red sails return to the lake hosting a two-day Mirror Inlands championship. An entry of 21 boats competed with competitors travelling from 8 different clubs across England & Wales. As storm Babet battered the North of England Chew remained relatively peaceful as the high calibre field, a wash with elite sailors produced close and enjoyable sailing over the two days.
A mid-day start on Saturday saw a mild Northerly going West challenge the race committee to get the fleet away eventually under a U flag to see Ben & Kiara McGrane take honors in the first two races after competitive sailing throughout the fleet. Will & Isabelle Crocker grabbed a 2nd place in race 1, and Toby & Molly Wincer took 2nd in Race 2. Chris & Edward Grube remained consistent picking up two 3rds. The final race of the day saw Toby get away on the beat to lead from the front with Geoff & Zac Carveth picking up 2nd from Ben & Kiara in 3rd as the temperature dropped and winds eased.
A photo of each boat in ranking order, apart from 13th, 19th, 20th & 21st which did not sail on the 22nd
Sunday saw a change in the weather as the Sun graced the lake. Ben and Kiara got into their stride winning the first race with Geoff & Zac bagging another 2nd place with Ian & Ted Dobson in their wooden boat taking 3rd. The swirling conditions pushed the fleet in the second race as Chris & Edward battled with Rachel Grayson and Harry Smalley at the front, Chris taking the honors from Rachel with Geoff & Zac finishing 3rd.
The final race of the day Saw Ben & Kiara back to the front with Adam & Arabella Broughton pushing through to take 2nd with Toby & Molly bagging 3rd spot.
Ben & Kiara extended their honors to include the Inlands championship with Chris & Edward Grube runners up and Toby & Molly in third. Top Chew boat and Lady helm went to Rachel Grayson with Harry Smalley in 4th and Geoff Carveth picked up the Over 50 helm trophy finishing 5th with son Zac. Top wooden Boat fell to Ian & Ted in 7th. Lucy & Rosy Searle landed the Race Committee’s Anchor trophy for the happiest boat completing all races with the best smiles and Traveler awards were also made to Tim & Molly Hall from Port Dinorwic and Justin & Felix Denny from Arnside.
(Editors note: Thanks to Nigel Carson for taking the photos of the sailing on the 22nd, you can view all of them on the CVLSC flickr account here https://www.flickr.com/photos/cvlsc/albums/72177720312134379)
Now and Then
For those with long memories, here is a photo of this event, and Mirrors at Chew circa 1976.
Results
Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 21, Scoring system: RRS Appendix A, Low Point
| Rank | Sail Number | Helm Name | Crew Name | Sailing Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Total | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 70987 - Elsa | Ben McGrane | Keira McGrane | Netley | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | (5.0) | 1.0 | 12.0 | 7.0 |
| 2nd | 71039 - The Black Pearl | Chris Grube | Edward Thompson Grube | Netley | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | (6.0) | 1.0 | 5.0 | 22.0 | 16.0 |
| 3rd | 70922 - Wave Catcher Too | Toby Wincer | Molly Wincer | HISC & Netley | (8.0) | 2.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 26.0 | 18.0 |
| 4th | 70964 - Primary Cru | Rachel Grayson | Harry Smalley | Chew Valley Lake | 6.0 | 5.0 | (13.0) | 5.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 35.0 | 22.0 |
| 5th | 70556 - Stroma II | Geoff Carveth | Zac Carveth | Hayling island | 10.0 | (13.0) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 36.0 | 23.0 |
| 6th | 71042(?) sailing as 70713 (white hull) | Matthew McGovern | Lewis McGovern | SSSC | 4.0 | 4.0 | (12.0) | 7.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 40.0 | 28.0 |
| 7th | 54453 - dontlego | Ian Dobson | Ted Dobson | Hayling island | 9.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | (10.0) | 41.0 | 31.0 |
| 8th | 71014 - Bamm-Bamm | Adam Broughton | Arabella Broughton | Chew Valley Lake | 7.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | (22.0 OCS) | 2.0 | 58.0 | 36.0 |
| 9th | 70832 - Revenge of the Smurfs | Heather Ross | Henry Ross | Netley | 5.0 | (14.0) | 7.0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 54.0 | 40.0 |
| 10th | 70916 - MoreJosh |
Richard Searle | Rupert Searle | Itchenor | (16.0) | 8.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 9.0 | 66.0 | 50.0 |
| 11th | 70852 - Blue | John Smalley | Peter Smalley | Chew Valley Lake | 13.0 | 7.0 | (22.0 DNF) | 9.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 73.0 | 51.0 |
| 12th | 70587 - Hummingbird | Leighton King | Penny King | Netley | 12.0 | 15.0 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 9.0 | (22.0 DNC) | 75.0 | 53.0 |
| 13th | 70573 - Little Miss Chatterbox | Will Crocker | Isabelle Crocker | Welton | 2.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | (22.0 DNC) | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 83.0 | 61.0 |
| 14th | 70324 - Starlord | Justin Denny | Félix Denny | Arnside | 14.0 | (16.0) | 11.0 | 16.0 | 15.0 | 14.0 | 86.0 | 70.0 |
| 15th | 70713 - Peanut (grey hull) | Lucy Searle | Rosy Searle | Itchenor | 15.0 | (19.0) | 16.0 | 17.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 94.0 | 75.0 |
| 16th | 69971 - Who’s Blue | Tim Houghton | Andy Gribble | Chew Valley Lake | (22.0 DNC) | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 14.0 | 11.0 | 8.0 | 99.0 | 77.0 |
| 17th | 71007 - Dipperforce | Paul Nichols | Gabe Nichols | Chew Valley Lake | 17.0 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | (22.0 DNC) | 102.0 | 80.0 |
| 18th | 70570 | Tim Hall | Molly Hall | Port Dinorwic | 18.0 | 18.0 | (22.0 DNF) | 13.0 | 12.0 | 22.0 DNC | 105.0 | 83.0 |
| 19th | 70989 - Fred The Red | Terry Hunt | Charlie Hunt | Netley | 11.0 | 12.0 | (22.0 DNF) | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 111.0 | 89.0 |
| 20th | 71011 - Bede3 | Jarrod Simpson | Finn Simpson | Hayling island | (22.0 OCS) | 11.0 | 14.0 | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 113.0 | 91.0 |
| 21st | 70905 - Big Dippers | Alice Semenenko | Ruth Kenyon | Chew Valley Lake | (22.0 DNC) | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 22.0 DNC | 132.0 | 110.0 |
Prizegiving
Chew Commodore Andy Jones presented the silverware to the fleet with trophies also awarded for the Race winners of R1, R3 & R5. Ben paid tribute to Chew for hosting the event and look forward to a regular notch in the Mirror Calendar going forward.
UK MCA Trophy Winners
| Trophy | Awarded for | Winner |
| George Over Trophy | 1st Overall Helm & Crew | Ben & Keira McGrane |
| Commodore's Bowl | Leading helm & crew under 19, other than the overall winner | |
| Anchor Trophy |
Race officers award for the happiest boat to complete all races.
|
Lucy & Rosie Searle |
| Sailing The Mirror Trophy | Leading Helm over 50 years | |
| Apple Trophy | Leading Committee Member Helm | |
| G. & C. Sheward Trophy a Chew Valley Lake SC trophy was awarded instead | First Lady Helm | Rachel Grayson & Harry Smalley |
| Derwent Cup | Winner Race 1 | Ben & Keira McGrane |
| Techno Sunley Trophy | Winner Race 2 | |
| Fox & Hounds Marine Trophy | Winner Race 3 | Toby & Molly Wincer |
| Peter Drysdale Trophy | Winner Race 5 | Chris & Edward Thompson Grube |
| Directors Trophy | Winner Race 5 | |
| GBR 14 Challange Trophy | Top non-prize winning junior boat to complete every race | |
| Mirror Class Association Shield | Singlehanded Inland Champion | Not awarded |
| Other awards | ||
| A Chew Valley Lake SC trophy | Top Chew Valley Lake boat | Rachel Grayson & Harry Smalley |
| Top wooden boat | ||
| Long distance travellers | ||
Trophies marked in strikethrough were not returned
Strength to Strength
With the relentless support of Martin Egan & Chris Balding and the inputs from Ben McGrane amongst others, the class continues to grow and grow. And with regular events now appearing in many clubs calendars the Mirror remains one of the true gateways for many into such a great sport.
With over 71,000 boats since the first wooden kits were built in the early 60’s for £64. Now we see many acclaimed sailors using this friendly boat to bring their children and grandchildren into sailing and Racing. Whilst the Mirror Dinghy has changed over the years - it is still competitive throughout - Wooden, and Gaff Rig Vs the GRP Bermudan Rig now flaunted by the stylish GRP version.
(editors note: Lovely to see former Mirror sailors Matt McGovern, Rachel Grayson & Ian Dobson back in the class)
