Organised by
North Devon Yacht Club, Instow
and the
Dart 15 Class Association
27,28 and 29 May 2000
The Dart 15 National Sprint Championships took place at the North Devon Yacht Club, Instow over the bank holiday weekend 27-29 May. A record entry of 33 boats took part with 21 travellers (12 of which were from Gurnard SC., IOW) together with 12 boats from NDYC.
Saturday was windy. A force 4/5 westerly gusting to 6/7 in the frequent squalls was the order of the day and race officer John Garland set an Olympic course. Race 1 saw Gordon Smith first to the windward mark but he rounded it the wrong way relinquishing the lead to Bob Milton closely followed by George Carter. After the first lap Carter was in the lead from Milton with Bob Carter 3rd and Laurie Gustar 4th. A heavy squall came through causing a number of capsizes, however the leaders survived and at the finish it was G Carter from Milton, Gustar and Robin Leather who came through on a charge towards the closing stages.
Race 2 was sailed in the same conditions. Ashley Webb was the first to the windward mark closely followed by Colin Price of the home club, until he capsized in a gust. Webb was eventually caught by G Carter and R Milton. The race had to be shortened as the tide was falling and Black Rock and Sprat Ridge began to cause some rudder damage. Milton won from G Carter with A Webb hanging on for 3rd place. A number of rudders had to be repaired before BBQ in the Club House at NDYC.
Sunday saw a hardening of the wind and frequency of the squalls. There was no messing with G Carter and Milton who charged of into the lead, on lap 2 a massive squall came through; Sawford, Leather and Gustar who were 3rd, 4th and 5th all capsized. Leather climbed back on board to finish 3rd in front of Nick Dewhirst and R Carter. G Carter was 1st in front of Milton.
Race 4 followed and after their experiences in race 3 the fleet furled their jibs. As the conditions got worse only 15 of the fleet finished. The remainder either remained on the beach or retired. G Carter and Milton, masters of heavy weather, revelled in the conditions and had a close battle but well ahead of the chasing pack. G Carter took line honours with Milton in 2nd place again. Leather was 3rd in front of Dewhirst and Gustar.
Monday was a much pleasanter day with a steady force 2/3 westerly which provided excellent racing and all 33 boats on the water. There was only one race and father Bob Carter gained some revenge by beating his son George Carter into 2nd place. Milton was in 3rd place followed by Leather and Anette Maddison (NDYC).
Race 5 brought to a close a most successful meeting but one in which for two days the rescue boats were the busiest they have been for a long time. The divers were in the water on many occasions assisting exhausted helms to get their boats upright.
| Overall Results | |||
| 1st | George Carter | Beaver | 1,2,1,1,2 |
| 2nd | Bob Milton | Gurnard | 2,1,2,2,3 |
| 3rd | Robin Leather | Gurnard | 4,35,3,3,4 |
| 4th | Bob Carter | Grafham | 5,35,5,8,1 |
| 5th | Laurie Gustar | Gurnard | 3,4,35,5,10 |
Best Lady Helm Annette Maddison (NDYC) and best heavyweight, over 14 st. Dave Stanbridge (Rutland SC).
We also have a scan of the full results sheet available here.
Captain Jimmy Johnson presented the prizes.
The prizes were sponsored by Performance Sailcraft Europe Limited.
