Lapwing Championship 2017 29-30 July
The 70th Anniversary Aldeburgh Lapwing Championship took place this weekend in occasionally challenging conditions. Turnout was down on last year -- seemingly due to a clash with rather a lot of weddings, and perhaps a little because of the adverse weather forecast.
The championship consisted of four races, two on each day, with the first race starting at midday on Saturday. The tide was ebbing and the force 4-5 wind was mainly southerly. The wind got up for the second race, with some of the boats opting for the smaller, red sails, which meant that the fleet split into two, each experiencing close racing among themselves. The two races had similar courses, both starting with a beat down to the Halfway mark, then going up river to Stanny or Chapman’s Creek. On Sunday, as the wind was a little less strong, all the boats used white sails, and some of the best racing of the weekend was had over the two back to back races. Again the courses were similar, this time starting up-river with a long beat to Stanny, as the wind was now westerly.
Richard Keane and Maggie Scorer in Shoveler 52 were a worthy winners of the championship, retaining the Margaret Tudor Rose Bowl. They won all four races. Second was Duncan Matthew and Scott Matthew in Skua 47, doing very well despite going the wrong way round a buoy in the first race. Third was Steve Liddell in Whaup 51, who sailed solo on Saturday and had Noah Lewington as his crew on Sunday. The weekend was not without its casualties, which included a slipped disk and a holed boat. We wish both a speedy recovery.
The Championship was accompanied by the annual Lapwing Dinner on Saturday night. 2017 is the 70th anniversary of the Lapwing and the past and the future of the Lapwing class were toasted at the dinner, as well as absent friends.
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