Lark Open Meeting 2004

The third Lark open of the year was a stormy affair at Frensham Pond SC on 4th April. Twenty boats left the shelter of the dinghy park to brave the gusty conditions. The race officer set an interesting course that comprised of three beats and numerous mark roundings that tested boat handling to the full. Sarah Richards/Nigel Wakefield led the first lap before being overtaken by Dougal and Helen Scott. The Scotts made a navigational error and handed the race back to Richards/Wakefield, who finished ahead of locals Chris Ellis and Ed Smith.

The Scotts didn't make any mistakes in the second race and won convincingly from Mark Ampleford and Lee Nankervis followed by Simon Cox and Neil Mackrell.

The two previous race winners, the Scotts and Richards, exchanged the lead in the third race. Richards/Wakefield eventually emerged victorious. The son/father combo of David and Nick Marlow were showing fine form with another 3rd place.

Going into the last race, many boats still had a mathematical chance of winning but the Scotts and Sarah Richards were the key contenders. The race officer set a new course, in case anyone was getting too familiar with the previous one. Thirty seconds before the start of the fourth race there was a large left shift. Manoeuvres of the weekend awards went to Dan Smith/Steve Cumley and Chris Ellis/Ed Smith who performed perfect port tacks of the fleet. They were also well placed on the right of the course when the inevitable 'righty' came down the course. This pair had a superb lead by the first mark and Chris Ellis lead the race and the event. Further back, the Scotts and Richards/Wakefield were fighting back through the ranks. Richards managed to climb to second before taking a quick dip at one of the gybe marks. This placed her just behind Scotts, whom she promptly overtook before eventually climbing back to second, just ahead David Marlow.

Special thanks to Frensham for running four excellent races, providing rescue cover, great lunches and fantastic tea.

Sail No. Crew Club Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Points
2288 Sarah Richards & Nigel Wakefield   1 6 1 2 4
2469 Chris Ellis & Ed Smith FPSC 2 4 5 1 7
2492 Dougal & Helen Scott Rock 5 1 2 5 8
2462 David & Nick Marlow Attenborough 3 8 3 3 9
2489 Simon Cox & Neil Mackrell RYA 4 3 4 DNF 11
2481 Mark Ampleford & Lee Nankervis Penzance 6 2 6 6 14
2323 Dan Smith & Amy Richardson Royal Lymington 11 10 8 4 22
2470 Nigel Hufton & Chris Whitehouse FPSC 8 7 9 DNF 24
2459 Nigel & Martyn Denchfield Stewartby 15 12 10 7 29
2332 Nick Hurst & Sam Booth FPSC 12 11 11 9 31
12 Phil & Lynda Whitney FPSC 13 13 12 8 33
2379 Chris & Rachel Jenkins FOSSC 7 DNF 7 DNF 35
2322 Dan Shaw & Clive Eplett FPSC 10 5 DNS DNS 36
2328 Graham & Ann Howlett FPSC 14 14 13 10 37
2472 Emma Harris & Edd Mcardle   9 9 DNF DNS 39
2045 Bob & Robyn Larder FPSC 16 15 DNF 11 42
2200 Matt Wood & Sam Atkinson FPSC 17 16 14 DNF 47
SU1 Deborah Truscott & Hanna Potbury FPSC 18 17 15 DNS 50
2167 Mike & David Footer FPSC DNF DNF DNS DNS 63
2493 Michael John Gifford Aldeburgh DNS DNS DNF DNF 63