19-20 September 2009
McCarthy does it again
The J/24 Autumn Cup, held in Falmouth over the weekend, gave Duncan McCarthy his third open meeting win of the season and assured him of his place in the UK team at next year’s World Championships in Sweden. McCarthy’s consistency prevailed in a six race series, hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club. Gavin Watson and David Cooper also qualified for the Worlds – with a further five places still to be decided.
Race Officer Roger Hollingsworth took full advantage of perfect conditions on Saturday to run four good races on windward-leeward courses in Falmouth Bay. McCarthy put down a marker in Race 1, with Madeleine tacking off soon after the start and hitting the favoured right hand side of the first beat. Nick McDonald also benefitted from the starboard tack lift, working Legal Alien into second place. The right hand continued to pay on the later beats and despite a brief and very close tacking duel Gavin Watson, on board Reloaded, was unable to get past McDonald.
In Race 2, Watson began a run of three straight wins, leading from the first weather mark, with McCarthy in second. In third place was Walter Amos’ Westerly “Soma II”, enjoying the flat water that gives these older J/24’s the chance to shine against their newer counterparts. Amos would complete the day with two sixth places, showing many newer boats the way to the finish line. Fourth place saw a welcome reappearance at the front of the fleet for HitchHiker – now sailed by Andrew Taylor, whose punchy tactics on the start would earn him this writer’s Champagne moment of the day on Sunday.
Race 3 saw the Black Flag used in earnest and a General Recal in which four or five boats were over. McDonald and McCarthy were both called over and sat out the race, which Watson dominated from David Cooper’s “St James”, beginning a run of three second places. That evening, crew from Legal Alien and Reloaded both witnessed that Madeleine had bailed out early and was on port tack behind the fleet at the time of the gun. The protest committee accepted this and awarded McCarthy average points for Race 3, prompting him to remark “it’s not every fleet where your nearest rivals would be so sporting as to witness for you under those circumstances”.
In Race 4, McCarthy was back in the top three again, behind Watson and Cooper. McCarthy’s redress gave him second place overnight from Watson, with Cooper in third.
Sunday morning brought less encouraging breezes, and the Race Officer set up the course at the entrance to Carrick Roads, where the breeze appeared to be best. McCarthy got the best start and led the charge for the right hand side, near the shore and out of the strong spring tide. Watson was not far behind and further to the right. Separating them was Walter Amos’ Westerly Soma II, again relishing the flat water. With McCarthy certain to cover, the Reloaded crew opted to tack before hitting the corner, but this brought them close to both the leading boats – a mistake that was to prove costly. As the fleet closed on the weather mark, Madeleine stayed clear of the fleet while the Reloaded crew found themselves in the thick of the traffic. “Penthouse to Outhouse” was the outcome, as the regatta leaders bailed out from the mark rounding and ended up right at the back of this very competitive fleet. McCarthy and Cooper again took first and second with Nick McDonald’s Legal Alien in third.
The final race brought very light airs and saw Watson playing catchup with McCarthy. Both boats favoured the pin end, and both boats badly misjudged the approach. Watson bailed out early, hoping to find a way back to the front. McCarthy was well over the line and fared even worse. In a quality fleet, there was no way back for either boat, so the points stayed as they were and McCarthy took the Autumn Cup. Tenth place for Cooper meant that Watson held onto second. Amos was fourth and another local boat, Phil Samuel’s “Jethro” sailed a steady series to take fifth. It was Stig McDonald sailing “Jam Too” who took the prize for consistency, with a best result of fourth and a worst of seventh, giving him sixth place overall.
Special thanks to the Royal Cornwall YC for hosting the event and, again, to Roger Hollingsworth for making the most of a beautiful sailing weekend.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madeleine | GBR 4245 | Duncan McCarthy | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | -12 | 11 |
| 2 | Reloaded | GBR 4265 | Gavin Watson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -9 | 9 | 15 |
| 3 | St James | GBR 4497 | David Cooper | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -10 | 17 |
| 4 | Soma II | GBR 4256 | Walter Amos | -10 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 24 |
| 5 | Jethro | GBR 4113 | Phil Samuel | 7 | 7 | 3 | -12 | 4 | 3 | 24 |
| 6 | Jam | GBR 4206 | Stig McDonald | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | -7 | 25 |
| 7 | Legal Alien | GBR 4064 | Nick McDonald | 2 | 8 | -15 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 33 |
| 8 | Boomerang | GBR 4232 | Jim Anderson | 5 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 5 | -14 | 35 |
| 9 | Just Wind | GBR 4233 | Barney Peters | -12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 37 |
| 10 | HitchHiker | GBR 4242 | Andrew Taylor | 14 | 4 | 8 | -14 | 10 | 4 | 40 |
| 11 | Jolly Roger | GBR 4270 | Roger Morris | 8 | 12 | 7 | 9 | -13 | 6 | 42 |
| 12 | Jitterbug | GBR 4269 | John Hicks | 9 | -14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 5 | 52 |
| 13 | Jive | GBR 4173 | Pat Cooke | 11 | 9 | -12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 53 |
| 14 | Hijack | GBR 4147 | Mark Lewers | -13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 56 |