Mad March Hare 2015

Mad March Hare
14th March 2015

report - Peter Shepherd
photo - Mike Ewart

History
Past Winners

2014 Rob Vice
2013 Hugh McAdoo
2012 Hugh McAdoo
2011 Hugh McAdoo
2010 Hugh McAdoo
2009 Trevor Thomas
2008 Peter Robinson

With a steadily increasing wind strength, a cold but dry day forecast everything looked set for another great days racing to take place in the 2015 Footy Open League. Cotswold's Mad March Hare is round two of this eight race series.
Peter Shepherd (65, Fat Boy) laid down his marker early on winning all of the eight races before lunch.
Peter Jackson & Mike Ewart had one of those epic battles trading second and third behind Peter and with new impetus after the lunch break they both started to record race victories.

The unfortunate John Burgoine (13, 1299) had a rudder servo failure in the second race and a little time was lost to recovering his boat which was eventually retrieved appropriately enough by a rescue boat training team. This put him out of the racing for the remainder of the event, although he very kindly stayed on to officiate for us as no one had a spare boat to lend.
Once it was clear that the event was all but won Peter Shepherd lent him 65, Fat Boy for a couple of races near the end, although a low battery put pay to his chances in race 12 he sail Fat Boy very well to take third in race 13 appropriate enough given the run of bad luck he had. Peter Shepherd took a couple of DNS scores on his card for these two races.

The wind had freshened so much by the late morning that a couple of skippers went down to their handkerchief storm rigs, Peter Jackson (30, Fat Boy Slim) was the first to recognised that it was easing and so took a couple of easy victories after lunch. The fleet split into to two groups the top three of Messrs Shepherd, Jackson and Ewart, and then some close racing between David Wilkinson (46, Breithorn & Iambus), Trevor Thomas (58, Slim) and Keith Parrott (31, ICE). The conditions for these three must have made a few rig selection difficulties as the seemed to be often in the backs of cars making their choices.

We were pleased to receive a couple of enthusiastic visitors from Cheddar Steam Club who came to see what Footy racing was all about, they already have a small fleet of Footys and it would appear from their website that their picturesque venue would be well worth a visit, hopefully between us we can all make it happen.

By the time the last race came around and we could all get some respite from the cold, some of the fleet were on the faithful "Just'in" rig. It is always good to see these little boats underway beneath these clouds of sail.
As usual there was much friendly banter between the skippers, nobody lost their heads and we all went away slightly better friends than we were before, which is as it should be.
As four of the five current Sail Footy UK executive were in attendance we took the opportunity to hold a cosy caravan council meeting and invited Keith Parrott of Frensham Pond to join the executive, he replaces Scott Wallis who is taking some time out from Footy racing. I am delighted to say Keith accepted our invitation.
Some uncertainty occurred over who was eligible to win the NovICE award and it wasn't until the result was finally calculated that Trevor Thomas 58, Slim) was found to be the winner, I know it will come as something of a surprise, so well done Trevor!

The next Open League meeting is the Videlo Globe hosted by Frensham Pond Sailing Club on 26th April 2015, before that we go for the first time to Sandwell Model Boat Club in the West Midlands for ACT THREE of the Extreme Footy Series, 4th April 2015.