Blazes at Weston SC – 13/14 September

11 boats, all visitors, came to Weston SC on the weekend of 13/14th September to enjoy some great late summer racing in ideal conditions. The event was hastily added to the class programme after growing turnouts in recent months but the dates caught out quite a few and this was the smallest Blaze open of the year.

However Southampton Water provided sun and wind in good measure and excellent planning conditions were there for all six races. Several new boats appeared with a majority coming from inland clubs. Sympathies were extended to Chris Gillies in 575 who having been towed over from Gurnard SC was to break his boom in the second race.

The race officer set the class a trapezium course that proved popular and kept the partially separate from other classes sharing the weekend. On Saturday the wind was mostly F3 and the fleet generally kept to the left of the course with either Mike Lyons (Burghfield SC) or Ian Moss of Whitefriars SC leading the fleet to the windward mark. Lyons proved faster downwind and built his lead with each successive lap. Behind this pair Paul Taylor’s tactics gave him an edge along with the fast improving Stuart Pegum. In the second race Taylor was surprised to find several of the pack materialising in front of him going at the first of the wing marks – but this group had navigated themselves around another classes windward mark and so ended up retiring.

Sunday and the conditions were similar with even more sun and the wind strengthening to a modest F4 during the day. Lyons and Moss were now joined by Roger Williams (BSC) in the fresher conditions up the beats who proved that a Summer on the sea really does improve inland sailors in the waves, Williams finishing second in all of Sunday’s races. However Lyons again tore away from the followers down wind to win the event.

The association would like to thank Weston SC for laying on a great event (again). The class now looks forward to the last Blaze event of 2004 at its the Inland Championships at Datchet on 18/19 October.

1st – Mike Lyons – Burghfield SC
2nd – Ian Moss – Whitefriars SC
3rd – Stuart Pegum – Burghfield SC
4th - Paul Taylor - Burghfield SC