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Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Border Counties Midweek Sailing at Shotwick Lake

by Gaz Henshall 28 May 06:01 UTC 27 May 2025
Which way now? - Border Counties Midweek Sailing at Shotwick Lake © Ian Clowes

From Drifting to Hiking: A Day of Many Winds (and One Dave)

Shotwick Lake played host to a fleet of 25 boats and 29 sailors on Tuesday May 20th for the Border Counties Midweek Open, with sailors from far and wide (well, some from Winsford Flash and Shustoke, at least) turning up to battle it out in everything from Toppers to Supernovas.

What they got was a textbook example of varied conditions from ghosting zephyrs to fully hike-or-swim gusts. In short: a classic Shotwick day.

Race 1: The Bumpercars Grand Prix

The day kicked off with a light south-easterly breeze and some very enthusiastic positioning at the committee boat end (we'll call it high-spirited strategy rather than carnage). The race kicked off with a surprise twist, just 15 seconds before the gun, the breeze suddenly piped up from 0 to 7 knots. Sailors who had been ghosting toward the line suddenly found themselves charging in much faster than expected.

Somehow, no one was over the line, but it made for a nail-biting start. With big 30-degree wind shifts and patches of absolute nothingness, elbows came out at the marks and a fair few racers barely scraped a lap.

Amid the chaos, Dave Turtle (former Shotwick regular turned Shustoke speedster) quietly tiptoed through the drifting fleet and took the win in his Comet.

Lunch: The Great Wind Break

At this point, even the wind gave up and went for a nap, so the fleet followed suit and headed in for a break. Thanks to Dot for the warm drinks, delicious cakes, and critical morale-boosting.

Race 2: Déjà Drift

Race two looked suspiciously familiar. A bit of wind at the start, some optimism... followed swiftly by déjà vu-level drifting. But while most of the fleet jostled on starboard at the line, Dave Turtle pulled off a textbook-perfect port tack flier, threading the needle like he owned the place. It was bold, beautiful, and entirely effective. Once again, Dave then used some dark sailing wizardry (or just a better lane) to cruise into another convincing win.

Unbeknownst to him, he'd already sealed overall victory though no one told him, so he gamely went on for race three.

Race 3: The Wind Remembers Its a Sailing Day

The afternoon brought a complete turnaround (literally) with the wind shifting to a feisty 10/12 knots from the northwest and the temperature dropping just enough to remind us that its still the UK. Suddenly sailors were out of the bottom of their boats, hiking like they meant it and grinning at the sensation of actual boat speed.

With a shorter, zippier course and five laps completed by most, this was proper racing. This time, local heroes Simon & Julie Dolman showed the fleet how its done, claiming the win in their Miracle and breaking the Comet monopoly.

A huge thank you to:

Paul (RO) and his team for running excellent racing in wild conditions. Dot, for fuelling us with amazing cakes, drinks, and good cheer, without all these people none of these open events could take place. Everyone who joined in for making it a day to remember!

We had bumps, we had drifts, we had hiking and most importantly, we had fun. See you all at Shropshire Sailing Club on Tuesday June 17th

So why not come and join our friendly Tuesday club - it's better than being in work!

If you want any information about the series then see bordercountiesmidweeksailing.wordpress.com

Overall Results:

1st Double Handed: Simon & Julie Dolman - Miracle - Shotwick
1st Junior: Nayth Twiggs - Topper - Budworth
Honourable mention to Sara: completed her first ever open meeting in a Laser Radial - go Sara!

PosClassSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3Pts
1stCOMET815Dave Turtle Shustoke11‑82
2ndSTREAKER2177Pete Coop Winsford Flash3‑425
3rdCOMET437Pete Chambers Winsford Flash23‑75
4thCOMET291Bill Webber Shropshire S C52‑97
5thMIRACLE4011Simon DolmanJulie DolmanShotwick‑19718
6thSOLO6107Ted Garner Budworth46‑1410
7thSOLO5963Phil Snewin Chester7‑11411
8thLIGHTNING 368410Jeremy Cooper Shotwick65‑1111
9thSUPERNOVA1296Eric Haselden Winsford Flash‑119514
10thLASER/ ILCA 7218940Mark Neild Shotwick8‑13614
11thSTREAKER1621Paul Newman Shotwick‑2414317
12thGP1414294Peter ThomasDawn FrostNantwich‑1681018
13thLASER/ ILCA 7195412John Jones Port Dinorwic910‑16.519
14thSUPERNOVA406James Stark Shotwick12‑181224
15thSTREAKER2159Dom Oakeshott Winsford Flash‑221216.528.5
16thSUPERNOVA1047Ian Coverdale Winsford Flash1019‑21.529
17thRS AERO 71595Jeanette Davies Shotwick1316‑21.529
18thMIRACLE4103Dave ThomasShan StapleyShotwick17‑211330
19thTOPPER49191Nayth Twiggs Budworth15‑201530
20thSTREAKER2165Sandy Mill Winsford Flash14‑231933
21stLASER/ ILCA 7203581Ian Duncan Shotwick18‑241836
22ndLASER/ ILCA 7180981Danny Anderson Nantwich‑21172037
23rdLASER/ ILCA 788Jim Young Shotwick2315(DNS)38
24thMIRACLE4116Ellen DinelowPete WilliamsBala2022‑2342
25thLASER RADIAL32660Sara Bell Shotwick2525(DNF)50

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