Etchells Bedrock Trophy- Cowes 20-21 June 2015

published 06/22/2015

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This weekend the Solent saw 17 Etchells fight for the Bedrock Trophy, with Willie McNeill on HANCOCK and Robert Elliott on TIME & TIDE on equal points going into the 7th and final race. Neither though were to win; it was snatched away by ZIGGY’s all-Corinthian Crew - Ben Palmer, Paul Childs and Sam Eversfield. Ben said “After a consistent first day’s racing on Saturday with no large discardable result, we felt that we could take greater risks on Sunday. So we sailed to where we saw pressure and made full use of any shifts even if these tactics took us away from the fleet; to our relief it paid off”. Even so, they only beat Rob Elliott by one point. However unlike Willie McNeill who had won 3 races outright, Ben’s team never won a race, just posting good results.

As a sign of just how close the racing was at the top of the fleet, Shaun Frohlich on EXABYTE, who just 4 weeks ago won the coveted Sir Kenneth Preston Cup and last year won the Bedrock, was only 8 points off the winner yet found himself in 7th place. Saturday’s overnight winner, Richard Burrows on MATATU DUBH, was pushed into 4th place just 5 points behind ZIGGY. Ante Razmilovic on SWEDISH BLUE was lying second at the close of Saturday, but was unable to race on Sunday. Ian Dobson on RAY OF LIGHT managed to helm and achieve 9th place despite having only one good arm (he had broken his collar bone falling off his bike). Peter and Sarah Hodgkinson’s “A LITTLE EXCITABLE” is a welcome newcomer to the fleet but unfortunately was forced to retire from Sunday’s racing because their crew Laurence suffered a painful torn muscle.

Bob Milner - Race Officer at Royal London Yacht Club - and his team did a good job moving marks to respond to some tricky shifts on Sunday, and in sorting out the sail numbers as the fleet came streaming through so closely at the finish. 55 of the competitors and partners enjoyed a meal at the RLYC on Saturday night.

In two weeks’ time the Etchells fleet will be sailing for the British National Championships in Cowes; at the dinner on Saturday July 4th there is a promised rendition of Jerusalem by the 3 tenors racing on RAY OF LIGHT.

The fact that about 50% of the sailors in the Cowes Etchells fleet are now under the age of 25 is a mark of the success of the Fleet in attracting top young sailors, who not only crew their own boats but also provide great crew for owners. Anybody interested in having a go on an Etchells should contact Fleet Captain davidfranks80@gmail.com or 07768063868 who will source a loaner boat and any crew needed.

Place Points
1 29 ZIGGY Ben Palmer 7 6 8 8 2 2 4
2 30 TIME & TIDE Robert Elliot 1 9 5 2 5 11 8
3 33 HANCOCK Willy McNeill 6 1 13 1 13 1 11
4 34 MATATU DUBH Richard Burrows 8 3 1 4 8 10 10
5 35 HIGHLIFE Peter Rogers 10 10 6 10 3 3 2
6 36 STAMPEDE Rob Goddard 2 12 4 9 10 5 6
7 37 EXABYTE Shaun Frohlich 4 13 7 11 4 4 7
8 41 SUMO Stacey Clark 12 2 9 15 10 8 15
9 44 RAY OF LIGHT Ian Dobson 3 8 14 7 1 12 13
10 44 STRAIT DEALER David Franks 9 5 11 5 11 14 3
11 44 MANO Matt Reid 17 7 10 3 6 9 9
12 53 SWEDISH BLUE Ante Razmilovic 5 4 2 6 18 18 18
13 59 CHINA WHITE Nick Stagg 15 11 3 12 12 7 14
14 63 PALAVER Rory Davis 11 15 15 14 7 18 1
15 65 MANTA David Kitchen 14 14 12 16 14 6 5
16 82 ESCAPE Steven Line 13 16 16 13 15 13 12
17 103 LITTLE EXCITABLE Peter Hodgkinson 16 17 17 17 18 18 18

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