EAORA Walker Challenge Cup and Haven Series Britannia Trophy
by Tim Cross 21 Aug 2012 10:55 BST
18 August 2012
EAORA joined forces with the Haven Series for a combined race from Harwich to Lowestoft, racing under Haven Handicap for the Britannia Trophy and under IRC for the Walker Challenge Cup and EAORA points.
After a general recall first time around, 32 yachts were away on a single start at the second attempt. The course took vessels north up the Suffolk coast in brilliant sunshine with a southerly breeze of 10 - 12 kts. Most preferred to hug the shore to dodge the last few hours of the foul tide with the bowsprit boats and a few others pushing further out to sea. On the approach to Orford Ness nearly all yachts ran the beach close to benefit from a very handy back-eddy.
After the Ness vessels were able to bear away and head towards Lowestoft. Iain Kirkpatrick's X37 Fatjax was leading on the water at this point with Graham Peck's Dehler 39 Deliverance close behind.
The wind had backed slightly on approach to Orford Ness but the angle was still very deep after the bear away. The symmetric boats opted to sail the rhumb line with only Stan Fenton & Nigel Cook's J/105 Fay-J, Tim & Tony Cross' J/92s Upstart and Gerry Bullard's Dehler 36 Suds pushing out to sea in search of hotter angles.
The tide turned shortly into this leg and soon everybody was making very rapid progress towards Lowestoft, with Deliverance first to cross the line at the North Newcombe buoy. The lower rated boats had not been left far behind however and many were finished within 30 minutes of the leaders.
At the dinner and prizegiving in the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club that evening Des Cowan's Contessa 33 Eclipse was declared overall winner of the Britannia Trophy and the Walker Challenge Cup, as well as winning EAORA Class 3. Upstart was the winner of class two and Fatjax took the spoils in Class 1.
With only one more race left in this year's EAORA series the overall result has still yet to be decided with both Fay J and Amazon still neck and neck with the outcome down to the order of finish in the Buckley Goblets from West Mersea to Ostend in just over two weeks' time.
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