Visitors from as far as Burton-on-Trent were greeted with beautiful surroundings, blue skies, and a steady sea breeze over both days for this first Star cross YC Mirror Open. Many of the boats were gaining last minute practice before the Nationals at nearby Sidmouth.
Jamie Lea and Adam May from Exe Sailing Club, having just taken part in the Cadet Open Championships, used a combination of local knowledge of the tidal streams of the Exe estuary and adaptable sailing skills to convincingly win all four races. They must be the dark horses for the Mirror Nationals.
On the second day Dave and Richard Warren joined the racing and rapidly came to terms with the tide (and the odd sandbank!) to press Jamie Lea hard. Dave Warren was first to the windward mark in race three, but could not hold the advantage, finishing second in this and the fourth race. Richard took third place in both races.
Local junior sailors from Sidmouth and Starcross showed that Mirror sailing is thriving in the South-West and has a bright future. Posta and Stephens of Sidmouth both improved through the meeting, but could not match Owen and Mary Taylor’s consistency over the two days. Always close to the leading boats, with two third places on the first day, enabled the Starcross pair to finish second overall. Jon Herbert and Stuart Rogers, also from Starcross, sailed well into third overall, showing excellent downwind sailing.
Starcross sailors were all fresh from the Junior sail training week, which involved twenty five boats from the Mirror fleet. Andrew White, crewed by Ian Rogers, and Aled Bath, crewed by Rosa Legood, were placed fourth and fifth overall. All the leading Starcross Mirrors will be making the short trip to Sidmouth to enter their first championships.
Patrick Kelly, O.O.D., set a variety of courses, including a full Olympic course in the fourth race to maximise the use of the estuary and to really test the skills of the sailors. On the Saturday evening the Club hosted a Posers Disco, to further demonstrate the warmth, friendliness and vibrancy to be found in these idyllic surroundings. The sailors and families were well catered for over the two days by the hard working galley committee. We look forward to seeing everbody, and their friends, next year.
Results:
1st Jamie Lea and Adam May M68272 (Exe S.C.)
2nd Owen and Mary Taylor M63505 (StarcrossY.C.)
3rd Jon Herbert and Stuart Rogers M 64380 (Starcross Y.C.)
4th Andrew White and Ian Rogers M 61472 (Starcross Y.C.)
5th Aled Bath and Rosa Legood M 47696 (Starcross Y.C.)
6th David and Chris Warren M 67866 (Burton S.C.)
Nigel Bath, S.Y.C. Junior Committee
Editors Note: This article is from Reflections No. 79 Winter 1988, page 9. It has been captured by OCR, so typos & errors are possible.
