RACE REPORT - SALCOMBE OCR NATIONAL FINALS

By Sheena Williams SEPA

                            Saturday & Sunday 19^th & 20^th September 2009

It was not without a little trepidation and a sad heart that the OCR contingent made their way down to Devon for their first race since the tragic events at Dover, which left both crews and officials alike shell shocked and bereft.  But although thoughts of Alex were never far from anyone’s minds throughout the weekend, the fabulous welcome and racing infrastructure afforded to the racers, from the tiny fishing village of Salcome, served to restore the camaraderie and fervour that OCR is renowned for!  With its narrow cobbled streets - lined with nautical boutiques - winding their way along the edge of the river and some excellent racing, the sunny September blue skies of Salcombe helped to ease the blues that had descended on the OCR Fleet.

After a night time white knuckle ride through the countryside roads of South Devon, we arrived in the town of Salcombe, nestling alongside the River, where Heats 3 & 4 were due to take place on Sunday.  After meeting with the organisers of The WestCountry Watersports Racing Club in The Ferry Inn for a meal and liquid refreshments, it was off to bed for an early start.

Saturday dawned and the weather lived up to its expectations; bright sunny skies with a gentle breeze greeted the racers as they waited to be led out into the Bay for Heats 1 & 2 of the 2009 Offshore Circuit Racing Finals.  Ten boats lined up on the start line to battle it out for the first four places in the Championships, where race cancellations had left the top contenders with everything to play for.  A short course of 8 buoys with a dogleg and a chicane situated in the Bay gave the drivers some challenging corners and inevitably chance for Richard Mason in ‘Racing Green’ to again miss a buoy and be forced to safely retake it against the oncoming fleet.  A quick rolling start and a faultless drive by Jeremy Gibson in ‘Y Knot’,  who led from start to finish in his yellow Bernico hull,  left the other A class drivers to battle it out for second and third places.

A28 ‘Harwich 2010’ driven by Sharon & Stuart Atlee had travelled all the way from Kent, only to find their 130hp Yamaha had a decidedly intriguing note to its pitch.  The 20’ Norwegian Tintorera hull was down on power and pulling a huge rooster tail – although Sharon carried on to finish the 1^st Heat, she was forced to pull out with a broken rectifier and sit out the second heat of the day.

A return to OCR  from Offshore 3B saw Matt & Sarah Webb out in A25 ‘Avago’ to pitch his skills against his former contempories to round off his 2009 racing season.  Although Matt was not in the running for the Championship, he kept up a good pace in an unfamiliar boat to keep in close contention with the frontrunners.

Heat 2 saw newcomer this year to OCR, Phil Hancock/Barry Hollett in A11 ‘The Rock’ get off to a blistering start; catching the rest of the fleet ‘napping’ on the start line, the businessman from Devon nicknamed ‘The Doc’ passed the Committee Boat some 50 metres in front of the rest of the chasing A boats and with the clear water in front, he never let up his pace, winning the second heat by a clear margin, despite the best efforts of A19, A29 & A9.  Sadly he was deemed to have infringed the starting procedure and was given a time penalty.  National fleet beware though – ‘The Rock’  is coming to get you in 2010!

Competing in their third event of the season, the team of B27 ‘RAW Edge Racing’ Sian Williams and George Butler got some invaluable racing practise in ahead of their debut, in separate outfits,  in the National Series in 2010.  Sian and George 19 & 18 years of age respectively hope to compete against each other in the B class next season, so this heralded their last race together before the friendly rivalry begins.  Both from Kent, they put the little 16’ Phantom through its paces in Heat 2 after being forced to pull out in the 1^st Heat with a loose plug lead.  Sian and George learned a valuable lesson in ‘checking for minor problems’ before holding the orange retirement flag aloft – and George is an apprentice Marine Engineer!  Notch it up to experience ………….

Sunday saw an enforced innovative idea of not just one - but two starting line-ups in the form of two grids.  The long narrow course spread along the banks of the Estuary, although fantastic from a spectator and camera angle point of view, was just too short and narrow to allow for the usual OCR rolling start.  Cue two grids, comprising of the fastest four boats from the first race in the front row of the grid followed by those remaining in the second – some 10 seconds adrift.  As can be attested by the photos - close-ups of which you can see the ‘whites of the drivers’ eyes - as competitors on the front row of the grid look for the dropping of the Union Flag – it was phenomenal how sensational this came across, with not one of the rigs an inch in front of the other!  Four finely tuned racing craft side by side on the starting grid about to leap forward as one, feet from the spectators lining the banks of the river – starts don’t come more spectacular than that! 

For the River heats, stalwart Rob McCarthy decided to test next season’s Bernico hull to see how it stood up to the competition and he started in the new white rig planned for 2010, leaving the red, white & blue Union Jack Bernico on the trailer in the carpark.  The only problem was he forgot that this new hull runs at its best trimmed in and it took him the whole heat, complete with huge rooster tail and an engine almost on tilt before he realised this.  When questioned later he confirmed that the first instinct is to trim out when you find yourself dropping back into the pack; he later remedied this error by managing his more usual second place in the final heat of the day.  Both heats were again won by the immaculately prepared outfit from the same stable of A19 ‘Y Knot’ Jeremy Gibson/James McGing who put in faultless performances on both days to complete a quadruple set of wins and take maximum points for the weekend’s racing.

On the second grid, ten seconds behind, A11 ‘The Rock’ Phil Hancock/Barry Hollett leapt into action closely behind a late starting A28 ‘Harwich 2010’ Sharon & Stuart Atlee.  Sharon’s engine had been intermittently cutting out and she needed a ‘jump start’ from B27 between heats – only just managing to get to the starting line in time whilst still adhering to the 6 knot speed limit in the Harbour – just!  With her late start practically coinciding with A11’s start, the two boats sped up the course towards the River mouth. ‘The Rock’ clearly the faster, took several laps and a good soaking before managing to pass ‘Harwich 2010, such was the good natured battle between the two outfits.

Another newcomer to A Class this season, is A16 ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Kieron Crouch/Darren Douthwaite who have been steadily improving at each event until they are now pushing the front runners.   An exciting crew to watch, as they perfect their skills ready for the new season and build on the success of their debut this year, they kept the crowds lining the banks of the River entertained, especially on the bottom turnbuoy.

With the long straits, allowing the crafts to get up to maximum speed, there was only one real winner on the day and that was Jeremy Gibson/James McGing.  However, although the course wasn’t suited to top contender Richard Mason, racing with his son Ashley,  in A29 ‘Racing Green’, he had clearly done enough in his previous OCR encounters to notch up sufficient points to take the British National Championship honours and become British National OCR A Class Champion for 2009.  Our congratulations go to Richard for his sterling efforts throughout the season – well done to him for being such a good role model for our youngsters to aspire to.  We look forward to seeing him back on the circuit in 2010 to defend his Championship.

Finally, may we take the opportunity of thanking John Cook, Roy Trot, Rob & Carole McCarthy and all the extended McCarthy family for their hospitality and hard work in organising this event and to all the launch & rescue/patrol personnel that toiled arduously throughout the weekend to ensure it was a success. Particular mention to The Ferry Inn for hosting the Saturday ‘Curry Party’ and to Cookie for organising the fun model boat racing entertainment – and last but not least -  Ian Gibson, the Harbour Master, who stopped all craft – and I mean all craft – either end of the River exactly on cue!  Simply the best!