Ski Series 2011….
The ski series kicked off in April with the first event on April 17th. A bright but chilly day saw 3 teams on the water. Dave Owens swapped his 16ft Reiver to open his season behind the “Fall Guy” in the absence of Cliff Featherstone. Simon Binks was again teamed up with Neil Mackechnie behind Bullett and Geoff Watson and Dave Jordan with the Phantom. The water conditions were good and Dave Owens soon took a comfortable lead; by his own choice is not clear, more likely the foot to the floor driving style of Steve Graham. By half way through the race Dave had a two lap lead, but came unstuck when they crossed the wake of the lifeboat too quickly, dumping Dave in the drink. Dave was soon back up though and duly completed the 25 mins without problems, although he’d probably not skied so fast in years. Jimmy Gilderoy Kindly completed start boat duties.
Round 2 took place on 12th June, the gap being due to a busy planned national calendar. The water conditions were rough!! Unfortunately the start boat had broken down and timekeeper, Dave McCombe was unable to run the race. Nevertheless everyone had a go. Dave Owens had recently acquired a Shetland speedboat and had it out for its first event. Simon and Dave both got away at the start but fell at the first buoy turning into the waves whipped up by the fierce southerly wind. Geoff Watson fell just after the start but then passed both Simon and Dave in the water. Unfortunately this didn’t last long, he went back in on several occasions and eventually retired from the race. Simon suffered a similar fate. Dave completed about 15 minutes before he decided to stop, but without any timekeeping results were impossible to produce.
The next race was on the 17th July. The water conditions were much better this time. Again there were only three in the race. Dave Jordan was away, so in his absence Geoff Watson skied with Steve Graham behind the Fall Guy with Cliff Featherstone observing. The Fall Guy was still suffering engine problems, surging and slowing at various points of the course and eventually the team retired from the race. Dave Owens meanwhile held a short lead over Simon Binks and the race finished like this with Dave winning by about 7 points.
The 4th scheduled race was on the 31st of July, again the water was rough with a swell and a chop. Dave Owens was an early retirement having taken a heavy fall and damaged his ribs. This left Simon and Geoff to race it out. Simon took 2 falls and went 2 laps behind Geoff who managed to stay up all the way round, this time with Dave Jordan driving and Steve Graham observing.
The next race was on the 27th August on the bank holiday weekend. The weather and water were better this time. Dave Owens was still injured so only Simon and Geoff skied. Geoff fell twice which allowed Simon a comfortable lead and win.
The 5th round was on 25th September and again rough. A strong south-easterly whipped up the water making in heavy going all round the course. It was a case of just staying up on this day. Dave Owens returned to racing and took a short lead ahead of Simon and Geoff. Everyone completed the same number of laps in this race and the positions didn’t change at all through the race.
The series finished with only 5 results, a couple of attempts to re-organise the missing 2nd round failed due to the weather and trailer problems.
Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie with their trophy haul!
Annual awards 2011
The Norman Fletcher Trophy (main race) : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
The John Graham Memorial (handicap) : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
THYC Series overall : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
Frostbite Trophy (donated by W.H.Beattie) : Geoff Watson, Steve Graham, Simon Binks
Annual awards 2011
The Norman Fletcher Trophy (main race) : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
The John Graham Memorial (handicap) : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
THYC Series overall : Simon Binks & Neil Mackechnie
Frostbite Trophy (donated by W.H.Beattie) : Geoff Watson, Steve Graham, Simon Binks
Race Classification
| |||||||||
Championship
|
THYC SKI SERIES
|
2011
|
Race
|
Main Race
| |||||
Skier Name
|
RACE 1 17/04/11
|
RACE 2 12/06/11
|
RACE 3 17/07/11
|
RACE 4 31/07/11
|
RACE 5 27/08/11
|
RACE 6 25/09/11
|
TOTAL
| ||
BINKS, SIMON
|
833.38
|
0.00
|
993.71
|
821.36
|
1000.00
|
970.37
|
4618.81
| ||
WATSON, GEOFF
|
836.19
|
0.00
|
DNF
|
1000.00
|
780.42
|
961.88
|
3578.49
| ||
OWENS, DAVE
|
1000.00
|
0.00
|
1000.00
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
1000.00
|
3000.00
| ||
FEATHERSTONE,CLIFF
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
0.00
| ||
Race Classification
| |||||||||
Championship
|
THYC SKI SERIES
|
2011
|
Race
|
handicap
| |||||
Skier Name
|
RACE 1 17/04/11
|
RACE 2 12/06/11
|
RACE 3 17/07/11
|
RACE 4 31/07/11
|
RACE 5
|
RACE 6
|
TOTAL
| ||
BINKS, SIMON
|
867.59
|
0.00
|
1000.00
|
696.98
|
1000.00
|
557.59
|
4122.16
| ||
WATSON, GEOFF
|
853.37
|
0.00
|
1000.00
|
560.19
|
1000.00
|
3413.56
| |||
OWENS, DAVE
|
1000.00
|
0.00
|
683.95
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
579.69
|
2263.64
| ||
FEATHERSTONE,CLIFF
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
0.00
| ||
Race Classification
| |||||||||
Championship
|
THYC SKI SERIES
|
2011
|
Race
|
Overall
| |||||
Skier Name
|
RACE 1 17/04/11
|
RACE 2 12/06/11
|
RACE 3 17/07/11
|
RACE 4 31/07/11
|
RACE 5
|
RACE 6
|
TOTAL
| ||
BINKS, SIMON
|
1700.97
|
0.00
|
1993.71
|
1518.34
|
2000.00
|
1527.95
|
8740.97
| ||
WATSON, GEOFF
|
1689.56
|
0.00
|
0.00
|
2000.00
|
1340.61
|
1961.88
|
6992.05
| ||
OWENS, DAVE
|
2000.00
|
0.00
|
1683.95
|
DNF
|
DNS
|
1579.69
|
5263.64
| ||
FEATHERSTONE,CLIFF
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
0.00
| ||
