Wayfarer Worlds 2007

The Practice Race showed a strong current which favoured the right hand of the course. Those who tried to be different were suprised just how favoured the right side was, losing several boat lengths with each clearing tack. The course was a windward-leeward with a choice of buoys at the leeward gate. Competitors were surprised by the length of the line with some people claiming one end was in Sweden, one in Denmark! Local knowledge was key but Quentin Strauss and Rachael Rhodes came out first after a close tacking duel up to the second windward mark. Gordon Harris and Beth Condie came in fourth, and Graham and Robin Barker finished 5th.

The social comprised of a barbeque and spot novelty prize-giving with people winning Nutella, waterproof clothing and t-shirts.

The Championships proper dawned with little wind and another long start line. This time the pin end was the place to be although most people started at the committee end, hoping for a repeat performance of the previous day's favoured right side. However, those that headed out to sea found themselves in more pressure and soon pulled out to an extensive lead over the rest of the fleet. But the beat still took just under forty minutes for the first boat and the end result was that only twelve boats finished within the time limit. The interesting fact was that eight of these boats were Danish, thus proving that local knowledge helps win races! 4645 Morgens Just and Line Just Emsvang won, followed by 8626 Tom Taarup Clausen and Bjarne Taarup Clausen with 8278 Joel Bøgh and Jon Kjartansson in third. Top British boat was 7888 Paul Spencer and Roland Gadsby in 5th.

Race 2: In between races, the breeze filled in and settled at a comfortable force 3-4. The race officer decided to use course 1, the sausage-triangle-windward. Another long line saw the fleet undecided as to which end to start at, but like in the practice race, the right paid and 7588 Quentin Strauss and Rachael Rhodes led from start to finish. Many boats were forced out at the committee end of the start line leaving those who got away cleanly a good lead. Second went to 9733 Peter Sigetty Bøje and Markus Sigetty Bøje with third going to 8888 Graham and Robin Barker, which along with their 9th in the first race puts them top British boat in 3rd overall.

Day 3, Race 5: The competitors awoke to find the wind had done a complete 180 and was now blowing Force 1-2 from the North. This made the course more tactical as the beat was now with the tide meaning the shifts could be played, which suited the British boats. Graham and Robin Barker in 8888 rounded the windward mark first, closely followed by Danish pairing, Peter and Markus Sigetty Bøje 9733.  1088 Klaus Eriksen and Søren Jonassen followed in third, hotly pursued by 968 Gordon Harris and Beth Condie in fourth and Quentin Strauss and Rachael Rhodes 7588 in fifth.

The Barkers hoping for more wind gybed out to the left hand side of the run whilst the Sigetty Bøjes headed for the right, closer to the shore. The fleet then split either heading left or right with 9068 Colin May and Paul Frey taking a gamble and heading far far left and 968 Gordon Harris and Beth Condie compromising and taking the middle route. The right paid and the Barkers 8888 dropped back to sixth whilst 7588 Quentin Strauss and Rachael Rhodes made good progress advancing to second with 968 Gordon Harris and Beth Condie in third.

The three leading boats proceeded out to the right of the beat as the wind continued to clock right. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet struggled to round the gate with at least a third of the fleet bunching at the port gate mark causing chaos. The three leaders pulled away, joined by the Barkers in 8888 who headed left at the gate to clear their wind and then tacked back, pulling up to fourth by the second windward mark.

On the next run, Quentin Strauss and Rachael Rhodes 7588 attacked 9733 Peter and Markus Sigetty Bøje's wind heading towards the shore whilst Gordon Harris and Beth Condie 968 also headed right but not as far. The three boats soon started to tussle, gybing to protect their wind and then gybing back. All three boats ended up coming in on the run failing to notice the Barkers in 8888 who had headed far right and came in on a reach with great speed.

The finish was very close with a last-minute shift just preventing the Barkers 8888 at the pin end from taking the gun which instead went to the Sigetty Bøjes in 9733. Third and fourth were also close with Quentin and Rachael just pipping Gordon and Beth to the finish line. Further down the fleet, 8200 Matthew and Margaret Lake followed the Barker example and headed far right coming in to the finish on a reach and improving their position by at least seventeen boats! On returning to shore, Graham and Robin Barker were dismayed to find they had been deemed OCS. They contested this and after much deliberation by the protest committee were reinstated to their 2nd in Race 5.

Wednesday evening saw the competitors head into Copenhagen for a guided river tour through the city and a meal. Most people admired several very expensive sailing yachts and were disappointed when the Royal Yacht turned out to be a motor cruiser; albeit a rather large and grand one! After the meal, the younger competitors headed for the bars and nightclubs, relying on the Thursday lay-day to rid themselves of their hangovers.

Day 4 was a two-race day with a windward-leeward course as Race 6. The wind was again light and from the North, but the current had changed and was now heading South. The fleet was premature in starting and a general recall resulted. The race officer then employed the round-the-ends rule and the fleet got away cleanly. With the current in mind, half the fleet headed right but the shifts made the left hand side pay with Peter and Markus leading from start to finish with 9355 Kim Søderlund and Jesper Friis and 9174 Roger Challis and Mark Johnston chasing hard, but finishing in that order.

Race 7 saw the wind knocking right and Kim Søderlund and Jesper Achtun Friis 9355 building on a stong lead as the wind died, Steen Schubert and Keld Forchhammer 10249 following close behind. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet struggled to round the windward mark as the wind continued to go right and to die, with the current forcing many competitors to tack and try again repeatedly. Thus Quentin and Rachael crept round the mark just ahead of Peter and Markus, who had scored well enough to win the Championships with a race to spare.

Day 5, the final day, saw Peter and Markus Sigetty Bøje having a lie-in as the rest of the fleet headed into the Force 2 Northerly. The course was an unexpected Course 1, a sausage-triangle-windward, which a few competitors failed to notice. The fleet got away cleanly splitting up the beat but with the left-hand side paying. 1088 Søren Jonassen and Claus Eriksen (having only sailed together this week), led round the windward mark with Colin May and Paul Frey 9068 close behind, followed by Roger Challis and Mark Johnston and Gordon and Beth.

Down the run, the leaders split - with Søren and Claus, and Roger with Mark heading right, and Colin with Paul heading left, and Gordon with Beth heading down the rhumb line. The left paid and 9068 Colin May and Paul Frey rounded the leeward mark in first with Gordon and Condie close behind. The two leaders pulled ahead and by the reach could afford a sloppy gybe as they searched desperately for the leeward mark. Once they had located the elusive mark, the two leaders began to build on their lead and on the upper third of the beat Colin May initiated a tacking duel with Gordon. Gordon and Beth finally inched ahead and an unfortunate tack onto a header saw Colin and Paul drop back while 968 Gordon Harris and Beth Condie held a comfortable lead to take the gun.