By Cowes Week 2005 the Yarmouth K6 fleet had grown to six boats with the addition of Artigiano owned by Glyn Locke and during the high season Take Two owned by Jonathan Calascione.
All six entered for Cowes Week and Hon Patrick Seely in Endevour produced the best result with a third overall quietly achieved by producing consistent results whilst other hares were tearing around faster but braking equipment. Patrick sails with Robin Bromley-Martin and either Suzannah or Tom Seely in the bow who in Corinthian fashion sail hard and enjoy the event but leave the throat slitting to other boats.
Artigiano sailed by Myles Mence, Glyn Locke and Judith French won the Rondar Cup for the best overall result for the first four days but a broken mast due to rigging failure midweek cost them two days retirement points and hopes dashed for the series. Take Two with Jonathan Calashione and Pyers Tucker also broke their mast on the same day with a failed rigging pin which dropped them down the fleet. Jamie Sheldon’s boats were sailed by Charles Sheldon crewed by Jamie Garret and Johnny Ragget and the two other boats lent to American IOD sailors who being used to plenty of lead underneath them found sailing a planing boat a white knuckle experience!
The K6 fleet for Cowes Week is now twenty two boats and they are kept ashore at the UK Sailing Centre being launched daily down the large slip there. Having the boats ashore means that crews mix easily and this makes for a friendly close knit class which is growing steadily; in 2006 twenty five plus entries are expected and the class will have its very own fleet start.
The National Championships were held in September at Plymouth with a total of twenty entries. Second place overall was achieved by Artigiano with the Mence, Locke, French crew who were hoping for more wind to squeeze the best out of their combined weight of thirty four stone. The wind never topped twenty knots throughout the week and in light airs heavier crews plane later on the downwind legs and suffer accordingly; on windward/leeward courses thirty stone seems to be the ideal crew weight across a variety of conditions.
Take Two was sailed by Jonathan and Pyers with the addition of Libby Deegan who were extremely fast at times and led the fleet to the windward mark on several occasions losing out as the lighter boats surfed through on the long Plymouth swell. Jamie Sheldon sailed his brand new out of the wrapper boat with Suzie and Mike McMillan producing good speed at times but held back by injury, being beaten overall by Charles Sheldon with Jamie Garret and Johnny Ragget; this hairy and cheery team of bandits have improved hugely in the last year and now produce good consistent results.
Patrick and Robin’s guest for the week was Jean Calliau who had never seen a K6 before arriving at Plymouth and was used to sailing something larger. Nevertheless
They meshed well as a crew and bursts of speed put them at the front of the fleet from time to time. This again was a boat that would have benefited from a stiffer breeze and it is interesting to note when RSYC K6’s travel to mainland events that we are used to harsher conditions on the Solent in terms of wind and tide and therefore our boats and crew are set up accordingly.
In September 2006 the nationals will be back at Yarmouth and we look forward to welcoming the national fleet to RSYC once again.
