Sailors prove they are up for a Challenge at Kielder
SAILING
THE two-day Dam to Dam Challenge at Kielder Water was attended by a select group of sailors including, on day two, five Ospreys, two VX Ones, a Flying 15, a Musto skiff and a Hartley 15.
The forecast, for winds of force five gusting six , had possibly discouraged potential competitors - but 10 boats still set out into the easterly wind.
Two of the Ospreys and the two VX Ones – who were visiting from Tynemouth – battled out a glorious race all the way round the course, the VX Ones crossing the finish line within two minutes of each other.
Nathan Batchelor finished first, taking just over an hour and 20 minutes and clocking speeds of up to 22 knots en route, and was followed home within two minutes by Neal Piper.
The first Osprey, helmed by Alec Mamwell of Coniston, was less than a minute behind them and Rob Shaw arrived three minutes later, the Ospreys beating the VXs on corrected time.
The second day of the event dawned still windy but on the whole less so than the day before.
Younger club members arrived to join in the racing, Abi Cowley and George Stewart taking one Hartley 12 and Luke Stewart another.
Although the four finishing boats from day one sailed as before, a number of the other sailors reshuffled themselves and their craft into more hopeful combinations.
Alec Vallance and Geraldine Rosser in their Flying Fifteen had competition in the form of Adrian Frey and Andrew Billington in their Flying Fifteen.
The race this time was a little longer as competitors were given an extra excursion up towards the yacht club and back.
Geoff Brown tracked the race on his GPS and found he had covered 26.8 km in distance with a top speed of 26.0 kph and a 331m gain in elevation, which was presumably the effect of going over a succession of waves.
All 10 boats finished, the VX Ones rounding the last mark, setting spinnakers and planing across the line first on elapsed time - the Ospreys only a few minutes behind them.
Rob Shaw and Ian Little took first place on corrected time with Batchelor second and 16-yearold Luke Stewart an impressive third in a Hartley 12.
The last finishers, Cowley and Stewart in their Hartley 12, crossed the finishing line after three hours and three minutes.
The overall winners of the twoday event were Rob Shaw and Ian Little of KWSC, followed by Nathan Batchelor, Richard Watson and Sarah Kincaid of Tynemouth.
Third were Alec Mamwell and Arthur Butler of Coniston.
Commodore Alec Vallance presented the prizes.