Elton Sailing Club www.eltonsailingclub.co.uk

A wet and damp start to the day as 19 competitors entered for the Enterprise open held near to Bury, Lancashire. The rain soon stopped and the breeze slowly built up through the day to a nice force 5 at the end of the racing. The wind direction was southwesterly.

After sausage buns and a cup of tea or coffee we set to race. The starts were very well executed with a port bias line. Which gives all sailors a fair advantage wherever you start. Local sailor Adam Savage and Michelle Tickle (Elton / WLYC) were first to the windward mark. The next boats all seemed to meet at once because of a wind lift to the boats on starboard tack. Adam unfortunately lost his lead to finish 4th. A few other sailors managed to break away from the main pack Mike Cossey & Christine Barron (Tamworth) took the lead and finished the race 1st. Sam Woods & Rick Hayton (Etherow also sailed well to finish 2nd with Richard and Sister Ruth Critchley (Pilkington) 3rd.

After lunch we set sail for race 2. Again a port bias line and Pete Lawson & Gareth Balfour went round the windward mark first. Pete Unfortunately didn’t make the first race but made up for the error by winning the race. In 2nd was Richard & Ruth and 3rd was Mike Cossey. Richard & Millie Pryke (Ripon) came in 4th with their best result and 5th was Alison Payne & Kev Law (Toddbrook) in their newly refurbished Enterbox, they are definitely back on pace.

After a short race the wind had picked up to force 3 – 5 which was enjoyed by all as aqua-planning was beginning to take place. Again Pete rounded the windward mark first with Steve Blackburn (WLYC / Etherow) in 2nd. Adam savage was in 3rd with Richard Pryke in 3rd. After a few laps Pete grew a short lead on Steve and Steve also had a short lead from the main pack and held these positions for the remainder of the race. Adam managed to hold to 3rd with Richard Pryke and Richard Critchley, 4th and 5th lapping at their heels.

We had quite a few Junior’s really enjoying the Enterprise with Sam Woods & Rick Hayton (Etherow) and Meg Adam & Beth Porter (WLYC) surely training for the Enterprise Youths. They seemed to manage with the older generations and makes for great racing as any age can enjoy the fun of Enterprise.

Overall Results:

1st Pete Lawson & Gareth Balfour (Killington / Bass)
2nd Mike Cossey & Christine Barron (Tamworth)
3rd Richard & Ruth Critchley (Pilkington)
4th Adam Savage & Michelle Tickle (Elton / WLYC)
5th & 1st Juniors, Sam Woods & Rick Hayton (Etherow)
8th & 1st Lady Helm, Alison Payne & Kev Law (Toddbrook)