Lymington Town Sailing Club Perishers Series Race 1
by Alastair Beeton 7 Jan 2014 11:58 GMT
5 January 2014
Race One of Lymington Town Sailing Club's Perisher Series was greeted with a prediction of increasing winds and heavy rain. This was enough to thwart the ambitions of several competitors but did not stop eighteen boats coming to the line to take on the approaching weather and a conservative course set mainly in the safer waters of the river.
The fleet got away to a clean start briefly interrupted by a lifeboat launch. A fetch out of the river was followed by a short triangular course just west of the river mouth. Although the wind hovered around an average of seventeen knots there were several lively gusts that found out a few of the competitors who found themselves checking their centreboards from the outside.
After rounding the first mark the fleet was quickly divided with the fast asymmetrics getting away and using their third sail all the way to the finish. These boats predictably occupied the first six places but remained competitive, with the RS800 of the McEwens taking the honours, by twenty three seconds, from Peter Barton & Dave Ellis in their RS400. The other RS800, sailed by Ella Mitchell & James Morland, was one second behind in third place.
Race 1 Results:
1st Luke & Emma McEwen (RS800)
2nd Peter Barton & Dave Ellis (RS400)
3rd Ella Mitchell & James Morland (RS800)