SPRING SPLASH  2019
A total of  SIX  rounds will be sailed, with SIX races being sailed EACH week, best FOUR rounds to count.   The same yacht must be sailed in each round, unless mechanical problems cannot be repaired at the lakeside.  
 
ROUND ONE

The 2019 Spring Splash got under way on a typical Spring day with bright sunshine and a fair breeze albeit still a bit chilly.

Five skippers competed in the first round over the usual triangular course from between the pontoon and Buoy 7, round Buoys 3 and 5 and returning to the start for two laps finishing at Buoy 8.

Roger Monks opened up the scoring with the first victory ahead of Paul Beardshaw and Brian Hartley. Roger and Paul repeated the positions in Race 2 with Stuart Axon taking the third place. Brian won the following two races and repeated his form in the final race after Roger had finished first in Race 5 ahead of John Wray.

After a pleasant days racing, Roger claimed the maximum points with Brian second and Paul a close third for the round.

ROUND TWO

Round 2 of this year’s Spring Splash was held with the minimum five skippers competing in typical Bridlington winds. Although supposedly easterly in direction, the breeze swirled in all directions at different times, making sailing both difficult and unpredictable.

A narrow triangular course was set from between Buoys 1 and 2 o Buoy 7 and back to Buoy 1 for two full laps before finishing at Buoy 8 as usual.

   Brian Hartley sped off to a very healthy lead in Race 1, only to lose control mysteriously at Buoy 2 on his second lap and was unable to finish.         Phil capitalised on Brian’s misfortune, and completed the race in first place. With his boat recovered and no faults found.

Brian then easily dominated Races 2 and 3 and again had a good lead in Race 4 before the same mysterious loss of control occurred in exactly      the same place as he rounded Buoy 2, again on his second lap. No apparent fault was found after recovery, and he completed the Round with victories in Races 4 and 5 making him the clear winner for the day. Phil was consistent throughout the day and ended up in second place in the     round with George narrowly claiming third place.

ROUND THREE

A warm sunny Spring morning saw half a dozen helmsmen take to the lake for Round 3 of this year’s Spring Splash series. The usual triangular course around Buoys 7, 2 and 1 seemed the best option in the SE breeze.

Roger Monks had a cracking start from the off, cruising to victory in Race 1 and was followed over the line by Brian Hartley and Paul Beardshaw. In Race 2 it was Brian in first place with Roger third behind Paul.

Roger was the winner in Races 3 and 4 but Races 5 and 6 again went to Skipper Hartley.

Unsurprisingly, he took the honours for the day with Roger and Paul 2nd and 3rd respectively.   

The bad luck of the day award went to Phil Parsons who failed to finish any races

at all due to a recurring electrical fault causing loss of receiver contact.

ROUND FOUR

Round 4 of this years Spring Splash was held over the same course as last week around Buoys 7, 3 and 1,

after starting from between Buoys 1 and 2.

Current Series leader, Brian Hartley started the day strongly in the first race but after an error at the final buoy, was passed by the three pursuing boats and finished fourth, with Roger Monks claiming the victory in front of Paul Beardshaw and George Younger. Having learnt from hiss error he went on to win Races 2, 3, 5 and 6 despite some close racing. Roger was the victor in Race 4 with Brian 2nd, Paul 3rd and Stuart Axon 4th. John Wray made a welcome return but suffered an intermittent radio problem resulting in a few non-finishes and non-starts.

Brian’s dominance on the day gave him the maximum points and confirmed him as the Series winner so hearty congratulations to him. Paul ended up in a comfortable 2nd place on the day ahead of Roger in 3rd.

Although the Series champion has already been decided, the second and third places are open to the rest of the fleet so the final two rounds could prove to be exciting.

ROUND FIVE

 The promised excitement of Round 5 of the 2019 Spring Splash Series was a bit of a let down due only to the lack of wind. With Brian Hartley virtually confirmed as Series Champion, second and third places were obtainable by most of the fleet. A triangular course was set around Buoys 1, 5 and 7 after the start from between Buoys 6 and 7.

George Younger got off to a great start and led Race 1 from the off, but let his lead slip on the second lap when Roger Monks outmanoeuvred him to be first over the line with Paul Beardshaw in third. Champion elect Brian Hartley struggled into 6th place sporting his new sails, while Stuart Axon failed to finish with technical adjustments needed.

Paul won races 2, 3 and 4 with Roger and Brian in second and third places. In Race 5, George once again took the lead, and held on to it this time ahead of Paul and Brian but the first two positions were reversed in the final race, giving Paul the maximum points for the day. The next three boats all ended up on equal points but on the countback system, George finished up 2nd overall and Roger 3rd with Brian just edged into 4th.

Stuart’s set up problems continued throughout the day which hampered his performance until the final race when he stayed in the mix with the fleet. There was some competitive sailing (and a lot of shouting ) resulting in close finishes between Phil, John and Stuart.

With only first place confirmed, second and third places are still to be fought for so make no mistake, the final round should be a thriller!

ROUND SIX

The sixth and final round of the 2019 Spring Splash tournament got under way today with the final placings to be decided and what a torturous event it turned out to be.

The sun was shining and the temperature was probably in the mid twenties. A perfect day for sunbathing but alas there was very little wind and determining a suitable course proved difficult. After starting from the podium and Buoy 7, the first mark was Buoy 3, then Buoy 5 and back to Buoy 7 with the usual finish at Buoy 8. The original plan was to complete the normal two laps but the serious lack of breeze soon proved that only one lap would be possible within the time available.

With Brian Hartley already confirmed as the Champion for the series, the second and third places were to be contested between Roger Monks and Paul Beardshaw who both had exactly the same points total before this Round. Paul got off to a great start winning Race 1 win a splendid second place for Stuart Axon. Roger surprisingly finished in sixth place. George Younger won the second race with fellow Chuckle Brother Phil Parsons just behind him and Stuart in third. Brian won Race 3 after a poor placing in the previous race. After two good results, Stuart Axon suffered from a rudder problem and became a reluctant spectator for the remaining races.

The runner up spot for the Series was confirmed in the second half of the day when Paul won all three races with Brian in second in the fourth race, John Wray second in the fifth ( his best result of the day ) and Roger second in the final race.

Congratulations once again to Brian Hartley for winning yet another valuable piece of silverware for his trophy cabinet, and to Paul Beardshaw for securing the runner-up spot.

  Spring Splash 2019
   
  Rounds in Series 6      
  No. Best Scores 4      
                BEST 4 TOTAL POINTS
    POINTS IN ROUND
POSITION SKIPPER 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Brian Hartley 9 10 10 10 7 9 39
2 Paul Beardshaw 8 7 8 9 10 10 37
3 Roger Monks 10   9 8 8 8 35
4 George Younger   8 7 7 9 7 31
5 Phil Parsons   9 5   6 6 26
6 Stuart Axon 6 6 6 6 4 4 24
7 John Wray 7     5 5 5 22
8                

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