The British Blokart Open Championship 2009
So that’s the British Champs done for another year and from the feedback, everyone appeared to have had a great time. With nearly half the field being novice racers (some first timers) and the other half having a wealth of experience, the racing was close and competitive right through the field.
We had good winds on the 1st day of racing with average wind speeds of 24 -28 mph gusting up to 40mph! Speeds of close to 50mph were recorded on the down wind leg and for the first time in a couple of years the course tended to favour the heavy weights.
A total of 8 races were held on the Saturday including the first as a one lap practice race to get everyone used to the course. Unfortunately, the last race of the day had to be abandoned due to a transponder glitch and with the tide rapidly advancing up the beach time was not on our side to go again. All the races were a fantastic spectacle and the majority contested them in the spirit that the BLSA encourages (i.e. competitive but fun, enjoyable and safe).
The 2nd day of racing was eventually abandoned as the wind never really ventured above 5mph (a stark contrast to the previous day) and even the lightweights on 5.5M sails couldn’t get going. However, the lack of racing gave everyone the opportunity to chat and after a while a good photo opportunity loomed. With almost half of the fleet that had rigged in anticipation of a sea breeze lined up in cavalry formation the camera action was frenzied!
We returned to the campsite for a hearty lunch, results and Podium Ceremony. Many congratulations to all that raced and especially to those that made it to the top spots!
I hope to see many more attend next year’s event, hopefully encouraged by what I believe was a very successful and great British Open Championships.
Top 3 Results:
Production Class:
Light Middle Heavy
1 David Hare (Sco) David Rose (Wal) Pat Letters (NI)
2 Gina Tweedie (NI) Andrew Stewart (Eng) John Gillborn (Eng)
3 Max Bull (Eng Jr) Tim Seed (Eng) David White (Wal)
Performance Class:
Light Middle Heavy
1 Josh Sharp (Eng) Justin Heap (Eng) David Juleff (Eng)
2 Gwen Heap (Eng) Chris Moore (Eng) Tony Elliott (Wal)
3 Matt Brown (Eng Jr) Donny MacFarlane (Sco) Steve Harvey (NZ/Eng)
A Moment of Thanks
It takes a lot of commitment and hard work to organise events of this nature but my first thanks must go to the competitors themselves for making it to South Wales and making the field of 38 a fantastic sight for the rest of us and anyone that ventured out onto a very wind swept beach. Also many thanks to the CLSC (Carmarthenshire Land Sailing Club) for letting the BLSA use the club’s beach for the weekend’s event and for helping out with many of the logistics that helped the event run smoothly.
Many thanks to our key sponsors John Gillborn from ICS Total Communications and Mick Caulkin from Regs 4 Ships, both of whom also raced and John came in 2nd in the Middle Production class. Further thanks to our supporting sponsors, Darren Hall – Hall’s Motorhomes, Graham Bobin – Speedsail UK, Chris Moore – Weston Windsport (all of whom raced) and those not present Mike Waters from Safety UK, Lee Arnold from the Printed Clothing Co. and Richard Metzellar from HT Sports.
A huge ‘Thank You’ must go to Colin Rotundo and his team at the on-site restaurant for putting on a fabulous meal on Saturday evening complete with entertainment. They all were very efficient, friendly and attentive which made the evening an excellent ‘wind down’ after the day’s excitement.
I would also like to thank those on the BLSA Committee that helped with the organisation, namely Chris Moore for his overall organisation over the last 6 months, Adrian Brown, Tim Seed and Graham Bobin who have supported Chris with the logistics in the last few weeks to bring it all together.
Then there are those that donated their time over the weekend to make sure that the racing was possible. Specifically, Kevin Meyers (Race Officer), John Endean (Transponder), Graham Bobin ('Bog Puller' and ‘On Beach’ transport) and the Marshall’s Mary Brown, Jo Letters, Jane Selway, Sarah Bobin, Steve Hill and Deiter Gossmann and Andrew Etherington (and his 4x4) from the CLSC.
Nick Dodge,
BLSA Chairman
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