The International Canoe

Apologies for late notification and more detail to follow but in the mean time:
5 race series on Dee estuary; 3 on Sat 15/9/12, 2 on Sun 16/9/12 for IC's & AC's.
Start time first race Sat 09:30.
Sat 15/9/12 HW 11:09 8.8M, Sun 16/9/12 HW 11:43 9.2M
We are hoping to have some 'novelty' racing on the marine lake Saturday afternoon (no spinnakers) which will not form part of the Open Event Series.
There's a list of accomodation on http://www.WKSC.net, About WKSC, Visitors Information, Accomodation in Wirral.
A social is planned for Saturday evening at the club.
The folks at WKSC are looking forward to welcoming Canoe Sailors to this first open event for IC's and AC's at WKSC.
Tony Marston

Tony,

Can't make it this year. Sorry.

Perham

hi tony (and all). i would quite like to come up to west kirby for the open, as i have a free pass for that weekend, but i don,t really want to be the only a/c. is anybody else interested?

Hi Andy,
So far Richard Hudson and Steve Goacher for the AC's but I shall be on the blower pestering folk. Just come and sail! We'll look forward to seeing you.
Tony

Hi Tony,
Plans have changed this end, so unfortunately won't make it down for the open.

Best regards,
Ian McP

Hi Tony,

This event has been advertised on this site as an IC only event, has this now changed?

You will note that I have suggested that AC's come to our Presidents weekend at Llandegfedd that weekend as an option but this was only put forward in the belief that your event catered only for the non kite boats.

I thought I ought to clear this up,

I hope your event is a big success,

Martyn
AC302
Red a head

Hi Martyn,
Apologies for slow response - computer crashed.
Our event is for both IC's and AC's.
I know of some AC's coming and I hope even at this late stage we can tempt you good folk from
Llandegfedd.
Hope to see you.
Tony

Great weekend at West Kirby....thanks to Tony and all the local crew who made it a fantastic couple of days. Will write a report as soon as possible.

West Kirby International canoe Open meeting

15/16 Sept 2012



Photos by Philip Shepherd



With big yellow signs welcoming the arriving sailors to the Open Championship, and parking directions displayed on every lamp post, the stage was set for an excellent event. The sailors, some travelling from as far away as Kent, were not to be disappointed. If the Ladies' British Golf Open at neighboring Hoylake was half as well organised.........



Saturday dawned bright and sunny ....... apparently not unusual according to the locals..........with a brisk F5 blowing across the Dee estuary. With big tides this weekend, water was never going to be a problem and three races were scheduled for the Saturday. by the time the boats were launching the wind had moderated to a very pleasent F3.



Local guru/ boatbuilder/ font of all knowledge Tony Marston has done an excellent job in bringing together a highly enthusiastic fleet at West Kirby who have brought each others sailing on to a high standard. With Tony producing ICs in kit form that can be on the water for less than the cost of a Laser, and the local crew having the ability to renovate older boats to a competative standard, the fleet is a formidable force to be reconed with.



The moderation in the wind on Saturday and the onset of high tide gave some order to the previous chop, and the resulting swell enabled some excellent surfing on the reaches. All the boats showed excellent vmg at some time, but the standout sailors were Richard Hudson who was flying in race one, and Jim Gaskin who led the locals home with some excellent starts and tactics.



Sunday saw a change in conditions. The initial light breeze developed into a F5 with gusts. With the wind swinging to the South, wind over a big tide would cause a little excitement. After a quick meeting, racing was moved to the recently extended marine lake where the IC fleet enjoyed sole occupancy. The flat water with strong gusts made boat handling a priority. Reaching flat out the whole length of the lake gave the onlookers and Sunday walkers some fantastic photo opportunities. It didnt go un-noticed that the gybe marks had the highest concentration of spectators, as boats gybed only yards from the sea wall.



Jamie Marston won the family 'discussion' and stole his dad's boat to lead the home fleet, whilst Gareth Caldwell led the visitor's challenge.



Thanks must go to the rescue and shore crew who helped to launch and recover the fleet, and to the race team who ran six excellent races over the weekend with the minimum of fuss and waiting between races.





G Caldwell GBR 321