15 Boats at the 2009 UK National Championships
Day One – Saturday 5th September
It was blowing a steady 15-18 knots on the Saturday of the UK Tornado National Championships and looked like the perfect day for a great blast. Many crews turned up early to get rigged and prepare for the 12pm brief and 1pm start. Paul Mines and Stuart Smith arrived with limited time after driving through the night from the World Championships in Lake Garda, Italy. They assured us that John Ready and Alan Morgan were just behind with two Australian crews who had been convinced to drive from Italy to take part in the UK Nationals and Forts Race. Everyone was looking forward to welcoming the Australians and some new competition.
Race 1 –12 boats made it to the start line on time for race one of the 2009 UK Tornado National Championships. The wind was steady and it paid to tack out to the deeper water early from the start. The fleet were quickly mixed with the F18’s towards the finish who were competing in a shorter course, which caused a manic finish line. In a short 40 minute race with much entertainment 1st place went to Kyle Stoneham followed by Phil Marks then Kevin Turner.
Race 2 – Don Findlay Race Officer for the weekend made the course longer for the 2nd race and started the sequence, just before the one minute the postponement was launched. Everyone was a little confused but then soon realised that one Australian boat was out on the start line and had requested that we wait for John Ready. The sequence then started again. When race 2 began many of the boats thought the deeper water was the way forward again but made the mistake of not going along the shallower water. In the middle of the channel there were many holes in the wind, which caused some boats to park for some time. The boats that went along the shore saw a massive advantage leaving the others behind. 1st place went to the Australian crew of Brett Burvill and Ryan Duffield followed by Kyle Stoneham and then Aaron Young. Many competitors were amazed by how much the fleet had spread out.
Race 3 – Before the start of the third race the wind dropped off considerably but filled in just after the start. There was a lot of hustle and shouting on the start line which later led to a disqualification. The course had become more even with less holes but the majority of competitors chose to take the route along the shoreline. Minor boat breakages finished the racing for some competitors but the end result saw the Australians take another win with the fleet very spread out behind.
The great thing about the racing was to see a real mix in the fleet with a variety of Aluminium and Carbon masts from around the country.
Saturday evening saw the 2009 AGM where the main discussion was around the future of the Tornado after the negative IOC decision for the 2012 Olympics. There was some feedback from the ITA AGM the Wednesday before where Paul Mines and Andrew Dowley were voted onto the ITA Committee. Paul Mines was thanked for his input as Chairman over the last 3 years, and Lee Harrison was voted in as the new class Chairman, Phil Marks was also voted in as class Secretary, and John Ready volunteered to put together a list of great events for 2010. The UK Sailors are extremely keen to see more boats on the start line but not only the sport boats; they are also very keen to see the classic Tornado’s involved. It was also decide to arrange a training event for the UK sailors before the end of the year.
The AGM was all wrapped up by 9PM, so that the Hospitality of Whitstable Yacht club could be enjoyed.
Day Two – Sunday 6th September
Sunday morning came with a lighter breeze for the Forts Race but building very slowly throughout the morning. This race counted for double points and with no discards the sailors knew they had to get it right. The 2009 Forts race course involved the Forts first, then the Wind farm, then Spile followed by the swale and pier.
The race started with a tight kite leg causing some competitors problems and a few swims at the back of the fleet. The fleet soon dropped their kites to go for a two sail reach all the way to the Forts. The next leg was to the wind farm which was a wild kite leg all the way with a few swims near to the turning mark. The beat back was hard and made the competitors realise how far they had sailed downwind and how quickly they had travelled. The next leg was to the Spile which was the last leg, with only the Swale and Pier left the Australians had built up a nice lead quickly catching Will Sunnocks in the M20, they were then followed by Aaron Young and then Kyle Stoneham.
The Australian team had narrowed the gap to 8 minutes between them and the M20 before the last leg onto to sail even faster and cross the line in 1st place for the Tornado’s 4 minutes after the M20. A fantastic race on the water and from the beach!
A huge thank you must go to Whitstable Yacht Club for hosting the Nationals at late notice and putting on a great event.
