Salcombe Yacht Club Spring Series - Race 2

Salcombe Spring Series race 2 © Margaret Mackley

Salcombe Spring Series race 2 © Margaret Mackley

The exceptionally low Spring tide caused Race Officers Alistair Morley and Charles Thompson to delay the start of the Salcombe Yacht Club Spring Series second race as competitors slid across the mud in order to launch their boats off the Batson Slipway.

Eventually everyone got afloat and a course was set to Gerston and back, plus a couple of loops of the Harbour in a fresh North Easterly breeze and under a clear blue sky.

First away was the fourteen strong Solo fleet, with Malcolm Mackley nailing the start in Mr Blue Sky. Chris Cleaves in his new boat also emerged from the pack, and battled with Malcolm through the Bag.

A pursuing bunch of Peter Hammond, Julian Meek and David Greening caught the front runners on the return to the harbour and the leaders sailed five boats abreast along the Salcombe shore. Four of these boats crossed to the Mill Bay shore but misjudged the strength of the Spring flood tide, allowing David, who held on past Woodcot Rocks to round Blackstone with a fifty yard advantage, which he was not going to give up.

Peter Hammond gave up a possible second place by crossing the harbour on the run back to Millbay, into the full flooding tide, whilst Chris Cleaves ground down Julian Meek to take second place.

The Handicap Fleet were next to start, Peter Cook and Janet Exelby again showed dominance in their Merlin Rocket, The Muppet Show, with the Merlin of Graham and Fiona Cranford-Smith trying to hang onto their coat tails, however the battle was eventually lost with Graham and Fiona finishing three minutes behind, with the Laser Standard of Robin Hodges piping Tom Morris into third place.

Race 2 Results:

Solo
1st 5301, David Greening
2nd 5573, Chris Cleaves
3rd 5317, Julian Meek

Handicap
1st Merlin Rocket 3616, Peter Cook and Janet Exelby
2nd Merlin Rocket 3698, Graham and Fiona Cranford Smith
3rd Laser 174457, Robin Hodges