Notts County’s annual Flying Fifteen open attracted an excellent turnout of 21 boats including 11 visitors from as far afield as Wales and Teeside. The turnout was particularly impressive given that another Flying Fifteen event was being held on the same weekend in another part of the country.

Bright sunshine and mostly light winds made for pleasant racing in t-shirts and sunglasses on the Saturday. Race 1 saw Peter and David Kitchen from Hartlepool build a comfortable lead early on, which they held to the finish. Jeremy Arnold and John Allen from the home club followed in second place for most of the race, but were passed within a few feet of the finish line by last year’s event winner, David McKee and Chris Hewkin from Dovestone SC. Roger Finch and Jim Reid (Middle Nene SC) finished the race in an excellent 5^th place in their Classic fleet boat.

Race 2 saw a different set of boats fighting for the top places, with Will Gardner and Sam Parker (NCSC) leading the fleet home, followed by Paul Brown and Peter Baldwin (NCSC) in second place and McKee / Hewkin this time in third.

After a break for a late lunch the competitors returned to the water for Race 3, which was probably the most difficult of the event with the wind dropping and becoming very flukey. McKee / Hewkin demonstrated their mastery of the conditions with a comfortable race win, followed by Brown / Baldwin and the Kitchens.

Notts County’s legendary hospitality saw most of the competitors remain at the club for an evening of eating, drinking and socialising on the Saturday night, before heading off to their tents and camper vans in the early hours.

Sunday dawned slightly overcast, but the sky soon cleared to give another sunny day, but this time with a perfect sailing breeze for the two remaining races. Race 4 saw Gardner / Parker, one of the pre-event favorites, pushed over the line at the start and subsequently retire, which together with a mid-fleet result in the first race effectively took them out of the competition. McKee / Hewkin increased their overall lead by winning this race from Martin Stott / Andy Farmer (NCSC) in second and Arnold / Allen in third.

A building breeze and some tight spinnaker reaches kept the spectators on the clubhouse balcony entertained in Race 5. McKee / Hewkin again led the fleet home, followed this time by Arnold / Allen in second and Stott / Farmer in third.

David McKee and Chris Hewkin therefore won the event (again!), but after that the results were extremely tight with three boats tied on level points. Peter and David Kitchen eventually got second place on countback, followed by Brown / Baldwin and Arnold / Allen. Roger Finch and Jim Reid finished 8^th overall and won the Classic fleet, with Mark Gardner / I Dann (Carsington SC) wining the Silver fleet with 9^th place overall.

 Report from Jeremy Arnold / David Eberlin
Results below

Posn     Sail       Helm                             Crew                             Club                              Points

 1^st         3805     David McKee                 Chris Hewkin                 Dovestone                     5
2^nd        3595    Peter Kitchen               David Kitchen              Tees & Hartlepool        13
3^rd        3724    Paul Brown                  Peter Baldwin               Notts County                13
4^th        3685    Jeremy Arnold              John Allen                    Notts County                13
5^th        3613    Martin Stott                  Andy Farmer                Notts County                18
6^th        3655    Will Gardner                 Sam Parker                  Notts County                22
7^th        3835    Andy Goddard             Colin Pierce                  Dovestone                    25
8^th        2658    Roger Finch                  Jim Reid                       Middle Nene                29
9^th        3208    Mark Gardner              I Dann                          Carsington                    35
10^th      3599    John Howett                 Phil Lofthouse               Notts County                36
11^th      3381    R Clark                        D Wheeler                    Dovestone                    42
12^th      3732    Graham Wilkinson        Mike Pearce                 Carsington                    43
13^th      2620    David Naylor                Norman Christie           Dovestone                    46
14^th      3539    John Eaton                   Margaret Eaton            Bala                             48
15^th      2891    Rod Piggott                  R.Clay / L.Payne          Notts County                48
16^th      2741    Duncan Dando             P Metcalfe                    Tees & Hartlepool        54
17^th      3629    John Orchard               Mike Dixon                  Notts County                60
18^th      3479    John Saunders              B Saunders                   Bala                             64
19^th      3214    Jeremy Croxall             Helen Croxall               Notts County                88
20^th      3142    Keith Burgess               Alison Goodall              Notts County                100