Report by John Adams
The last race in the 2019 Saga series was a cracker, with sunshine and with a wind predominantly from the east but varying between that and west on different parts of the course. While frustrating for some, the shifts and gusts did provide the opportunity for gaining and losing places throughout the race.
Fifteen boats came to the start line with Charlie Morgan rounding the first mark in the lead and holding that position for the first two laps. However he fell foul of the fickle wind shifts and lost the lead to John Adams, who was in turn passed by the Tanners in the increasingly rapid RS400 and to Chris Pollard in his N18 Antedote. Behind them there where a number of private battles with Ellen Schwartz making a first appearance in the Thursday evening series and finishing ahead of the other four Lasers.
On handicap, Charles Fox and Robert Blakebrough in the N18 Genevieve continued their fine recent form to win, with the Tanners finishing close behind on second and David Baker and Jim Green and David’s Albacore, Cobblers finishing third.
N18 | 266 | Genevieve | Charles | Fox | Robert | Blakebrough | 1 | ||
RS400 | 650 | G | Tanner | J | Tanner | 2 | |||
Albacore | 6813 | Cobblers | David | Baker | Jim | Green | 3 | ||
N18 | 348 | Antedote | Chris | Pollard | Caroline | Stilwell | 4 | ||
Merlin | 1602 | Saltarello | John | Adams | Carolyne | Vines | 5 | ||
Merlin | 1978 | Lady Anne | Charlie | Morgan | Humphrey | Dorrell | 6 | ||
Laser | 146170 | Storm | Ellen | Schwartz | 7 | ||||
Merlin | 576 | Samanda | Tim | Medcalf | Ed | Medcalf | 8 | ||
Laser | 167587 | Graham | King | 9 | |||||
Laser | 135612 | Peter | Impey | 10 | |||||
Merlin | 1136 | Shoestring | Peter | Johnson | Paul | Jamieson | 11 | ||
Merlin | 1136 | Hispanola | Johannes | Wagner | L | Redding | 12 | ||
Laser | Matulim | John | Edmondson | 13 | |||||
Firefly | 3179 | Fiasco | Jim | Hamilton | 14 | ||||
Laser | 171688 | This side up | Tim | Ginn | 15 |
Overall the final race made some changes and enabled a few more to qualify, with 10 boats completing the 4 races needed to qualify.
Charlie Morgan in his Merlin, Lady Anne, mainly crewed by Humphrey Dorrell won the series counting four firsts. However behind him the next four positions were very close, with John Adams in his Merlin Saltarello just finishing ahead of the late charging Charles Fox in his National 18, with David Baker in his Albacore, Cobblers, close behind in fourth.
Class | Number | Name | Helm | Crews | Points | Position |
Merlin | 1978 | Lady Anne | Charlie Morgan | Humphrey Dorrell, John Adams | 4 | 1 |
Merlin | 1602 | Saltarello | John Adams | Zoë Adams, Carolyne Vines | 9 | 2 |
N18 | 266 | Genevieve | Charles Fox | Robert Blakebrough | 10 | 3 |
Albacore | 6813 | Cobblers | David Baker | Jim Green, Sue Harris, Sally Redhead, Debbie Baker | 11 | 4 |
Merlin | 1004 | Avenger | Ken Duffell | Matt Valentine | 15 | 5 |
RS400 | 650 | Griff Tanner | Josie and L Tanner | 18 | 6 | |
Laser | 208470 | Grebe | Stewart Colley | 21 | 7 | |
Laser | 167587 | Graham King | 22 | 8 | ||
Fiasco | 3179 | Fiasco | Jim Hamilton | 22 | 9 | |
Laser | 130773 | Chris Taggart | 24 | 10 |