Phantom South East Traveller Series at Downs Sailing Club

Phantom South East Traveller Series at Downs © Jeremy Blackman

The second event of the 2023 Phantom South East Traveller Series took place over the weekend of 13th & 14th May at Downs SC. Seven visitors joined the host club's two boats to make up a reasonable fleet for a venue that is tucked away at the far corner of the country.

A F5 Northerly wind greeted the sailors on Saturday morning, and this was coupled with a significant swell left over from the previous day's very strong North-Easterly. The swell was such that the committee boat was unable to anchor safely and races were started using the club line and the trapezoid course switched to a starboard rounding. A big thanks must go to the Beach Party who helped all boats launch safely through the surf.

In Race 1 Tony Cook had the best start whilst a few boats missed judged the South flowing tide and were slightly late crossing the start line. Beating against the tide the boats stayed relatively close to the shore, but this was where the waves were larger. At the windward mark it was Paddy Denby first with Mike Webster in second place. Not far behind there was a close battle taking place between Clive Morely and Chris Shelton.

Paddy pulled ahead down the run, and even had time for a quick capsize before continuing just ahead of Mike. Further back in the fleet Phil Popple suffered a long capsize that ended his day's racing.

After two exhausting laps Paddy crossed the line first, Mike was second and Chris managed to get ahead of Clive to take third place. Further down the fleet Steve Popple recovered from a bad start to overtake Tony and finish fifth.

Race 2 was started with a minimum wait and this time Steve was determined to make up for race 1. At the windward mark it was all very close between Steve, Mike and Paddy, whilst just behind, Clive and Chris continued their battle from the previous race. The waves were not true to the wind and this could occasionally make for some interesting moments downwind.

Steve was caught out by one of these and capsized at the end of the run. This enabled Mike to take the lead which he held onto until the finish, with Paddy second. Behind Clive and Chris swapped places a number of times, but a capsize by Clive on the final beat enabled Chris to finish third.

The conditions were taking their toll, and for race 3 there were only 3 starters, consisting of Mike, Paddy and Chris. Racing up the first beat was close between all three boats, but at the windward mark it was Mike first, Paddy second and Chris third. These positions remained the same until the finish with the sailors probably taking things a bit more cautiously making sure they did not capsize.

Once again the Beach Party were on hand to ensure the boats returned to shore safely, but in a rather exciting manner.

In the evening the sailors enjoyed an excellent BBQ with plenty of food, live entertainment and of course plenty of liquid refreshment. Discussions were centred around who had had the most spectacular capsize, the waves on the beach and of course Sunday's forecast which was for lighter winds.

Sunday could not have been a bigger contrast to Saturday's wind and waves. The sea was calm and whilst the wind was still in the North, it was not a lot more than F1. The committee boat was able to anchor and as race 4 started the boats were barely moving against the tide.

Places were continually changing up the first beat as the wind came and went from different sides of the course. At the windward mark Mike rounded first showing that he is adept at sailing in light wind as he is in heavy weather. Phil was second, Paddy third and Chris fourth and then there was a bit of a gap to the rest of the fleet.

The top four remained the same until the start of the second beat when the wind decided to almost disappear again. Different boats crossed each other but by the time the windward mark was reach Mike was still first, Chris second and Phil was ahead of Paddy in third. Phil managed to overhaul Chris on the reach against the tide and by now the wind was marginally more stable, although it was swinging right, and the top four places did not change again before the finish.

After a wait for the course to re-laid, race 5 started in an ENE F1 half and by now the South flowing tide was really having an effect. Again places were changing up the first beat which was mostly spent on starboard tack lee-bowing the tide. The fleet were much closer together this time with Tony Cook showing some impressive light wind speed.

At the end of the first reach it was five boats abreast, but then the boats diverged down the long run. At the end of the leg it was Mike first, Chris second and Phil third. With the wind still clocking right the second beat became more of a procession and the top three places remained the same until the finish.

Once again the course was re-laid and by now the wind was almost reaching F2. The start of race 6 was very close and at least one boat was over the line as the individual recall was signalled. The beat was shorter this time and at the windward mark Dave Patrick rounded first with everyone else in close succession. Dave held onto the lead to round mark 2 ahead, and then the following group of boats split slightly down the long run against the tide. By the time the fleet reached the bottom mark Clive was ahead, followed by Tony and then Chris.

On the second beat Tony hit the gate mark and had to do a 360, whilst Chris overtook Clive to round the windward mark first. Racing was very close behind, but Paddy was steadily working his way up the fleet. On the third lap Paddy managed to overtake Chris to claim first place. Chris was second and Dave Patrick third. Clive crossed the finish line to silence and we all finally found out who was OCS at the start.

Congratulations to Mike Webster who had a very impressive set of results to win the event overall. Following Mike some of the final scores were very close showing what an even fleet it is to sail in.

Compliments must be given to Race Officer Brian Mumford and his team who did an excellent job in very difficult, and different, conditions over the two days. In addition, thanks to all of the safety boat drivers, beach party, canteen staff and every other volunteer who made the event go smoothly.

Overall Results: