Blithfield Barrel Round 3
by Chris Martin 12 Jan 2016 08:39 GMT
10 January 2016
Round three of the Barrel series took place on Sunday. The forecast was glorious, if crisp, sunshine and force three to four was in place, albeit from just south of SW which isn't the most stable direction at BSC.
PRO Steve Watson and his team got the both large flights off first time. The line was slightly port favoured, but the starboard end was closer to the mark. Ultimately the right hand side seemed to pay. This was an interesting race with shifty beats and a tactical run with places changing regularly. New entry Andy Couch in his Phantom took the bullet with Andy Davis and Alex Warren second in the Merlin. Matt Biggs and John Hackett were third also in a Merlin.
Lunch ensued, and the excellent meal prepared by the Ladies (And Steve) went down we watched as the wind began to drop - this was not forecast!
As we launched for the second race it looked like we could have a repeat of the previous weekend where the breeze dropped to nothing and we drifted round. There was also an ominous swing to the left which was not forecast, but was short lived. Steve and his team set us off, again at the first attempt, whereupon the breeze decided it was going to swing left after all and boats from the port end were almost laying the mark. The breeze stayed like this all race which was a bit of a shame as it made what would have been a good course rather one sided.
Chris Gould and Nick Broomhall took the win in the Osprey after building a huge lead, Andy Davies and Alex were again second with Matt Biggs and John Hackett Third.
So as we enter the final round the ever consistent Andy Davies and Alex Warren head up the leaderboard - you get the feeling its going to need something special to knock them off!
Thanks to our sponsors for the weekend, HD Sails and Freedom Brewery. Thanks also to all the helpers in the background, race team, galley crew, rescue crews whom we can't run the event without.
The next round takes place on the 14th February - see you there. Further details and directions are on the club website, www.blithfield.org.uk