2ndhanddinghies RS400 Southern Tour at the Lymington Dinghy Regatta

It was off to sunny Costa del Lymington after the thunderstorms for the latest round of 2ndhanddinghies RS400 Southern Tour.

Out on the race course it was not looking promising; the sort of thing that gives race officers nightmares with fitful breezes coming in from 3 directions but eventually a westerly sea breeze won and race 1 started in a fairly reasonable 8-10 knots. Rob and Jan Martin lead at the first mark from Pete Vincent/Annie Barker; the Martins yachted off into a commanding lead leaving a bit of a tacking battle behind on the second beat. The wind became very soft on the second run and then disappeared altogether at the start of the third beat leaving the fleet trying to get against the tide in shore but to no avail the time limit was reached. Luckily with the worry of thunderstorms the SI's had been changed so that if a race had to be abandoned the positions on the previous lap counted so everyone had a result and the Martins a deserved win.

After a delay the westerly decided it liked the western Solent and reappeared and stayed to give a good race in a firmer breeze. The Martins were in fine form to lead from early on to win. Burghfields finest Steve Middleton and Chris Rowland claimed second from Howard Farbrother/Dan the lever Martin. Now late in the afternoon a third race was not possible so the Martins had an emphatic overall win and the fleet some good tans!

Overall Results: