Deep Sea Fisherman's Pennant - Pursuit            24/06/2000

After weeks of average performance calculations - thanks to Geoff and Kim and Ian for their help and input, the race was upon us.  The start times were published, everybody was ready to go and the only remaining question was "How on earth do I set a course which will have an elapsed time of exactly one hour for Kim in the Contender?" (The Contender being the boat on which the start times were established due to it's standard handicap being nearest 1000).
As those who were there on the day know, the course was a simple loop, starting to No 2 leaving to starboard, then to No 6, leaving to starboard, then back to No 2 and repeat etc, etc.  The other stipulation was that once started, boats stayed outside the Yellow Peril so as to leave the start line clear.  The finish was achieved by a "rolling line" to ensure that the race finished at exactly 18:30 and was remarkably close in the end (see below)!!!

Start Times

Mirror
Nick Lynn
16:55
Phantom
Tim Little
17:00
Topper
Mirror
Tim Wilkinson
Guy Brown
17:03
GP 14
John & Erica Clarke
17:18
Graduate
Tim Bradshaw & Jilly Wilkinson
17:20
GP 14
Malcolm & Helen Cameron
17:22
Scorpion
Graham Hirst & Ms Dalton
17:23
Laser
John Parker
17:25
Contender
Kim Stephenson
17:30
29er
Will Rogers & Chris Saward
17:40
 
The race was won in a most triumphant fashion by Kim Stephenson.  Yes, after a mere one hour's racing (compared to Nick Lynn's 1hr35mins, Kim made his way to the front of the pack - but only just.  John Parker in the Laser was hot on his heels, and at the gun, there could only have been 5 - 10 seconds in it!!!  John nearly fell off his boat when with just 1 minute to go, as Kim had just nudged in front, all of a sudden, the Contender capsized, but due to a swift recovery, Kim was on his way again in seconds, just maintaining his lead.
So all in all, I do declare the day a success (with a few minor mishaps), and we look forward to the next pursuit scheduled later in the year.  Please remember, the more you turn up and race throughout the season, the fairer your assessed start time will be, so come on, get in your boat, get the rags up and just do it!!!

Pete Sheldrick