Crouch Yacht Club Hydd Gwyn Trophy - Race 3
by Sally Harbott 26 Apr 2015 22:27 BST
26 April 2015
Crouch Yacht Club Hydd Gwyn Race 3 © Charlie Harbott
The third and final race of the Crouch Yacht Club Hydd Gwyn Trophy took place this morning under grey skies and rain. A steady 7 to 10 knot breeze remained for the duration of the race. With low water and spring tides, the boats could not go up the Roach in order to get a beat, so headed up river to Cliff and Canewdon before rounding Number 9 to head back to Cliff Reach, repeating this last loop again before finishing.
Double Trouble, the SJ 320 owned by Duncan and Beccy Haley, didn't hoist a spinnaker at the start, but Inn Spirit, owned by Alan Bartlett and helmed by Ian Hart did after the gun. Both boats had been near to the line coming up to the starting gun, and born off a little down the line to make sure that they weren't OCS.
Inn Spirit soon pulled a little way clear, having the longer waterline length. Both boats were able to take the series by winning today, so neither boat gave up. Whilst Inn Spirit led throughout the race, Double Trouble closed the gap at times. When rounding Number Nine for the second time in front of the Club, Inn Spirit were over 6 minutes ahead of Duncan in Double Trouble. However, this gap had been reduced when the boats came down to finish to not much over 5.
On corrected time, Double Trouble were the winners by just over a minute and a half. Prize giving followed in the Club, and past Commodore Jo Barker presented Duncan Haley with the Hydd Gwyn. Next week is the Harrison Shield, with two races on Saturday and one on Sunday.