Poole Yacht Club	report by Gemma Knill
	Mirror Nationals 2005

With 91 entries, record numbers for recent years, the Poole Yacht Club Mirror Nationals 2005 was set to be an extraordinary event and with the previous two times National Champion Dan Ellis not attending a new Champion would be named. The standard of entry was none the less exceptionally high, with champions from other classes competing and the 1978 National Champion returning in the Bronze Fleet.

Poole YC did an excellent job catering for both sailors and spectators being treated to some unique and very well received experiences. For those supporters who wanted to be out on the water amid the action a local pleasure boat was acquired for the soul use of the event as a spectator ship. Also, for those on board and ashore, a Radio Station (Mirror FM) set up specifically for the event, provided on the spot live updates from the racecourse (with commentary from Larry Rumbol (Event Organiser) and Peter Aitken (Mirror National Coach)) as well as music and personal competitor profiles to keep everyone entertained and informed throughout the day.

Saturday morning arrived with a vast range of sailors registering thick and fast including 6 single-handers, junior teams, parent and child teams and covering an amazing age range of 7 to 79 years. Several families entered more than one boat, allowing parents to compete against their children and siblings to battle it out.

However as the morning drew on it became more and more apparent to all, that racing was unlikely to get underway. With a constant 30 knots and gusts of 50, the Race Officer postponed racing several times with boats still not launched, before making the decision to finally abandon racing for the day. Needless to say all of the sailors made the most of the situation, enjoying the music and the social side of the sport and receiving some expert coaching from Rob Greig-Gran for the more junior sailors.

Having lost 3 races on day 1, it was hoped to sail 6 races on the Sunday to complete the 9 races planned. Sailors returned to the Yacht Club to frustratingly find very little wind. Racing was postponed again until the early afternoon when the wind began to fill in. Racers where sent out in a steady, but very shifty Force 2/3.

At 12:15 the starting canon was sounded and the postponement flag lowered but with several boats over the line a general recall was sounded. The second start sequence included the I Flag to get racing underway quickly, however again the sailors were not behaving and another general recall took place. With time rapidly slipping away and the chance of getting 6 races in becoming more and more unlikely the Black Flag was raised for the third start. Finally the fleet got away, but not without casualties, with 2 boats being caught over the line. From the start Anna Mackenzie/Holly Scott and William/Rebecca Kalderon got themselves into extremely good positions and heading out to the right they and others found themselves with a huge advantage over the fleet that had sailed left. Not only was there more pressure and less tide, but half way up the beat a massive wind shift gave them a lift. However the race officer decided that this was too great an advantage and abandoned the race and the sailors went ashore still not having completed any races.

After a quick break, the sailors launched again at about 4 pm and another start sequence began, going straight into a Black Flag start. This time all boats were clear and racing was underway. Jamie Knill/Lewis Rumbol came off the line and quickly built up a substantial lead. This lead was held until the final leeward mark where Anna/Holly gained water on Jamie/Lewis and took 1st position on the last leg of the race. Meanwhile further back there was a pileup on the gybe mark involving 10 or so boats with positions changing all the time.

With the wind filling in things were looking up and 2 more races were completed, both starting on a Black Flag, with the last boat coming ashore after 8pm. Unfortunately, the evenings social program including a disco and quiz evening suffered from the late finish and had to be cancelled.

On the final day of racing, with 3 races planned (to make 6), a Black Flag sequence was used for all races. Race 4 started with the fleet split coming off the line, some going to the starboard side and others going to the port. It soon became apparent that the middle-port side of the course was paying off and at the windward mark Juliet and Richard Long came out on top, closely followed by Peter Gray/Rachael Williamson. The majority of the fleet overlaying the buoy meant that considerable gains could be made and with the bulk of the fleet staying on the same gybe to the leeward buoy, positions remained fairly constant. Despite this the Longs and Peter/Rachael continued to lead the fleet and the first five broke away. With the wind tunnelling down Wareham River gybing after the windward mark seemed to pay, with Juliet/Richard Long taking full advantage to win the race.

Anna Mackenzie and Holly Scott went into the final race leading the championships, which were still wide open, as they had been all weekend, with several boats still vying to become the National Champions. Again the winds were extremely shifty and positions were constantly and dramatically changing all through the course. However, father and son team, Hector and Ben Cisneros of Reading SC finished off a very consistent weekends sailing with their first win to take the overall title as Mirror National Champions.

Sam and Ed Nicholls of Maidenhead, achieving an excellent 22nd overall in their first Nationals, won the Silver Fleet for Zone Squad members. The Bronze fleet for the older boats and non-squad junior sailors was won by Martyn and Kieran Ellis of Scaling Dam SC in their 33 year old boat, Martyn the 1978 Champion has now returned to Mirror sailing with his son.

The single handers had an exciting competition; with some overcoming their 5 minutes start handicap to overhaul many double handers. However, Ben Houghton of Weir Quay SC won 4 out of the 6 races to take the overall honours.

The event was extremely competitive and at no point was there a clear-cut winner. Both GRP and wooden boats, old and new, with a variety of equipment and sails, took their turns to appear at the front of the fleet. The top ten represented a true cross section of the class, with four parent and child teams, three RYA National Junior Squad boats, all helmed by girls and three youth sailors. Interestingly half the boats in the top six were over eight years old.

Lastly, Poole YC would like to thank the sponsors Turbo Services International, Piplers of Poole, Trident-UK, Holt and Asda of Poole & Bournemouth without whom the event could not have been the huge success it was.

Despite the changing conditions a good time was had by all and the event was a true reflection on the Mirror Class as a whole.

Results

Sailed: 6  Discards: 1  Ratings: None

Pos	Tally	Fleet	Boat Name	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	22	Gold	Benina Milkshake	69912	Hector Cisneros	Ben Cisneros	Reading SC	6	8	2	8	10	1	25
2	61	Gold	Av It	70172	Anna Mackenzie	Holly Scott	Royal Windermere YC	1	11	4	3	8	46	27
3	57	Gold	Whatever	70222	John Clementson	Jamie Clementson	Chipstead SC	18	5	9	17	5	2	38
4	30	Gold	Balls of Fire	69917	Simon McGrotty	Melissa Daly	Skerries SC	12	BFD	3	4	7	16	42
5	64	Gold	Vengeance	70333	Juliet Long	Richard Long	Plym YC	10	BFD	21	1	4	10	46
6	25	Gold	Swallow	69675	John Brickwood	Megan Brickwood	Hamble River SC	14	BFD	7	6	1	21	49
7	41	Gold	Double Trouble	70176	Eloise Hansen	Kayleigh Hansen	Covenham	11	12	13	9	22	5	50
8	40	Gold	The Other Half	70280	George Yeoman	Kate Robinson	Itchenor	4	16	5	25	16	18	59
9	53	Gold	Rush	70346	Emma Houlihan	Emily Mackenzie	Royal Windermere YC	2	24	10	20	24	7	63
10	28	Gold	Norbert	39508	Guy Wilkins	Joe Wilkins	Chipstead SC	3	6	14	15	26	DNF	64
11	42	Gold	Ace of Clubs	70263	Josh Rumbol	Matthew Rainback	Poole YC	7	15	23	13	6	35	64
12	23	Gold	Zarya	69929	Alan Bennett	Callum Wilson	Staunton Harold SC	17	3	19	16	17	13	66
13	58	Gold	Checkmate	70258	Jamie Knill	Lewis Rumbol	Poole YC	8	21	11	32	9	22	71
14	08	Gold	Eat My Shorts	70223	Liam Arrowsmith	James Ellis	Plym YC	22	19	18	26	20	6	85
15	04	Gold	Phourtle	69943	Darren Roach	Connor Ledger	Devon Schools S A	26	14	20	30	23	3	86
16	81	Gold	Molly	70281	Craig Bond	Mitchell Bond	Brightlingsea SC	38	4	36	14	11	24	89
17	34	Gold	Pthreetle	69776	Emma Barry	Martina Barry	Brightlingsea SC	19	20	27	24	12	14	89
18	49	Gold	Mr Blobby	70166	Chris Swinchatt	Christopher Swinchatt	Chipstead SC	5	1	34	29	28	28	91
19	39	Gold		70370	Jack Yeoman	Chantal Crane	Itchenor	33	2	25	7	32	26	92
20	24	Gold	Running Bear	70103	Andrew Shaw	James Wallace	Itchenor	16	7	24	23	27	30	97
21	36	Gold	Restless	70253	Jilli Darling	Alice Darling	Itchenor	28	13	16	21	21	42	99
22	59	Silver	Schmak	70216	Sam Nicholls	Ed Nicholls	Maidenhead SC	24	33	8	10	31	45	106
23	73	Gold	Logical	70347	Peter Gray	Rachael Williamson	Staunton Harold SC	9	BFD	6	2	BFD	4	107
24	82	Gold	Passing Wind	70154	Simon Lovesey	James Lovesy	Warsash	30	9	12	48	35	27	113
25	46	Gold	Speed Flea	70361	Edward Fitzgerald	Harry Richardson	Itchenor	13	26	43	12	19	43	113
26	79	Gold	Mission Impossible	70356	David Conlon	Michael Conlon	Brightlingsea SC	20	10	30	68	15	40	115
27	29	Gold	Bold Forester	69667	Martin Egan	James Wilkinson	Restronguet SC	29	28	31	11	18	29	115
28	17	Silver	Eeyor	67493	David Moore	Jack Moore	Blithfield SC	25	37	15	27	33	17	117
29	69	Gold		69949	Michael Hill	Adam Hill	Royal North of Ireland	BFD	BFD	1	19	2	15	123
30	11	Gold	Deja Vue	70171	Nicola Brook	Hannah Mitchell	Hollingworth LSC	34	25	39	31	25	20	135
31	03	Gold	What A Girl Wants	70201	Kate Macgregor	Georgie Akin-Smith	Poole YC	60	17	17	35	36	33	138
32	32	Gold	Sven	70163	Vince Horey	Katy Jones	King George SC	23	BFD	BFD	5	3	23	140
33	63	Gold	Illis Wilgig	70274	William Kalderon	Rebecca Kalderon	Itchenor	15	18	BFD	18	BFD	8	145
34	10	Gold	Femail of the Species	70055	Shaun Mason	Emma Spruce	Hill Head SC	27	BFD	BFD	22	13	12	160
35	47	Gold	Rooster	70167	Gavin Tullett	Henry Westropp	Royal Windemere	21	29	35	34	44	DNF	163
36	43	Gold	Fairground Attraction	70151	Lewis Turner	James Beer	Starcross	41	47	26	42	70	9	165
37	67	Gold	Turmoill II	69838	Gordon Patterson	Katie Patterson	Royal North of Ireland	31	BFD	40	52	14	37	174
38	33	Gold	Festino Lente	70024	Ania Booth	Emily Hampton-Matthews	Poole YC	43	22	37	37	39	39	174
39	45	Silver	Blue Tack	70354	Helena Newell	Charlotte Fitzgerald	Itchenor	66	23	28	39	57	32	179
40	19	Gold	Utter Chaos	70362	Phillip Rust	Jessica Rust	Brightlingsea SC	35	BFD	33	41	48	25	182
41	56	Silver		70324	Lilly Carlisle	Becky Wallbank	Ripon	39	50	32	53	30	31	182
42	50	Silver	The Great White	70366	Sam Hartley	Charlie Fletcher	Itchenor	50	39	44	33	38	34	188
43	54	Silver	No Patience III	70153	Phillip Benn	Oliver Townsend	Ripon	37	44	38	38	46	36	193
44	52	Silver	Crianza	69907	William Field	Joshua Barrow	Mounts Bay SC	53	35	49	49	60	19	205
45	35	Silver	Desparate Measures	39970	Inge-Lisa Hansen	Hannah Jones	Covenham	45	34	58	46	34	49	208
46	87	Gold	Spirit	70190	Natalie Roach	Beth White	Devon School SA	59	54	51	28	29	51	213
47	02	Gold	We Take Plastic	70132	Lisa Marshall	Thomas Richardson	Looe SC	61	30	52	47	40	47	216
48	27	Silver	On The Huh	70341	Christopher Matthews	Sarah Bines	Brightlingsea SC	52	31	46	36	54	53	218
49	37	Silver	Gybe Bunny	70335	Ceilidh Higgs	Joanna Corris	Herne Bay SC	36	42	42	66	42	61	223
50	44	Gold	Panique les Poissons	70000	Paddy Adams	Freya-Nancy Adams	Chew Valley	46	38	48	44	47	48	223
51	51	Silver	R U Up For It	70124	Josh Prichard	Francis Harvey	Mounts Bay SC	58	27	47	64	52	41	225
52	66	Bronze		37101	Martyn Ellis	Kieran Ellis	Scaling Dam SC	47	32	41	55	51	DNF	226
53	21	Gold	Super Sidewinder	60100	Bev Harvey	William Searle	Mounts Bay SC	56	51	45	45	41	57	238
54	55	Gold	Chalk n Cheez	70131	Matt Mills	Ben Mills	Plym YC	32	BFD	54	43	62	50	241
55	62	Silver	Phoenix	70100	Julian Haigh	Andrew Abraham	Royal Windermere YC	49	36	57	51	49	59	242
56	74	Bronze	Grey Seal	43155	Mark Lees	Jonnathan House	Poole YC	70	BFD	22	54	BFD	11	243
57	20	Silver	B-CZAR	69439	John Harvey	Isabelle Howells	Mounts Bay SC	55	41	BFD	40	43	64	243
58	84	Silver	Take Two	70184	Henry Spreckley	George Spreckley	Itchenor	62	43	29	57	58	58	245
59	90	Bronze	Cedrick	20489	Robert Bellfield	Eleanor Bellfield	Sutton Bingham SC	40	DNS	DNS	50	37	38	251
60	15	Silver	Baptism of Fire	69724	Giles Strong	Piers Strong	Poole YC	BFD	45	55	56	50	54	260
61	80	Silver	Big Girl's Blouse	70252	Tom Lovesey	Jeremy Williamson	Warsash	44	53	50	58	56	62	261
62	38	Silver	Whitewash	70133	Carla Sheldon	Katy Sheldon	Royal Plymouth Corinth YC	42	48	60	59	DNF	55	264
63	75	Silver	Councellor	63478	Austen Scully	Milo Tonry-Brown	Whitstable	57	52	59	63	55	56	279
64	09	Silver	CHaRISma	70008	Rosie Sibthorp	Lisa McDanell	Itchenor	51	46	76	61	61	65	284
65	83	Bronze	Deuce	59141	Sam Clemance	Shane Terry		64	60	62	60	66	44	290
66	18	Silver		69672	Chris Rust	Alex LLoyd	Brightlingsea SC	65	49	68	65	53	60	292
67	85	Silver	Lightning	43013	Grace Spreckley	Olivia Peacock	Itchenor	67	57	56	78	45	75	300
68	12	Bronze	Mega Wind	70364	Megan Pudney	Annie Sibthorp	Itchenor	48	40	BFD	BFD	63	67	304
69	31	Silver	Smooth	19879	Thomas Horey	Otto Wilberg	King George SC	63	56	72	62	DNF	52	305
70	14	Bronze	Jet Black	28603	Tom Ridge	Richard Tite	Poole YC	69	64	53	67	59	70	312
71	16	Bronze	Crazy Cow	67300	Sophia Card	Lorna Barrett	Poole YC	54	58	71	75	69	73	325
72	01	Bronze	Mistral	53976	Jon Arnell	Jack Arnell	Christchurch SC	71	55	65	70	65	74	326
73	60	Silver	Conker	70189	James Grant	James Brant	Penzance	68	61	75	71	64	68	332
74	07	Bronze	Pongo	65577	Amy Richardson	Corey Hemingway	Itchenor	74	63	63	80	74	66	340
75	26	Bronze	Puffin	70161	Richard Chandler	Tom Chandler	Brightlingsea SC	78	66	67	72	67	71	343
76	78	Bronze		70183	Michael Pride	Verity McCann	Poole YC	72	BFD	64	73	68	72	349
77	05	Bronze	Encore Une Fois	70003	Jake Bonsor	Ed Hampton-Matthews	Warsash SC	77	65	66	69	73	77	350
78	48	Silver	Blue Seal	55880	Olivia Bottomley	Totsie Boadle	Itchenor	80	62	69	76	75	DNF	362
79	65	Bronze	Little Chuck	59635	Luke Quincey	Michael Pearce	Poole YC	73	67	73	77	76	78	366
80	76	Silver		70233	Evan Goodrum	Finn Tonry-Brown	Tankenton	BFD	BFD	74	74	72	63	369
81	72	Bronze	Muffin	8562	Alexandra Peacock	Sarah Burnford	Itchenor	76	BFD	70	BFD	71	69	372
82	70	Bronze	Dragonfly	35367	Matt Ball	James Ball	Poole YC	82	68	77	79	77	76	377
83	86	Bronze	Bimbler	60582	N Creed	O Creed	Fox's YC	75	59	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	392
84	13	Bronze	Little Wind	69966	Jack Pudney	Nicholas Britton	Itchenor	79	BFD	61	DNS	DNS	DNS	398
85	71	Bronze	Splash	46041	Timothy Lees	Roger Lees	Poole YC	81	69	DNF	81	DNS	DNS	403

Results - Single Handers

Sailed: 6  Discards: 1  Ratings: None

Pos	Tally	Boat Name	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	77	Who's Blue	69971	Beh Houghton	Weir Quay SC	1	2	1	1	1	3	6
2	88	Defense-Toi	69334	Shaun Hampton-Matthews	Warsash	2	1	2	2	2	1	8
3	89	Maximus Meridious	78003	Jon Bonsor	Warsash	3	3	5	4	4	2	16
4	68		30792	Angus Carlisle	Ripon	5	5	3	DSQ	3	4	20
5	6	Cloud Nine	53970	Andrew Benn	Ripon	6	4	4	3	5	DNF	22
6	91	Topaz	65073	William Bacon	Spinnaker	4	6	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	31