XOD Wednesday Series at Royal Lymington Yacht Club - Race 1
by Roy Froud 28 Apr 2016 10:05 BST
27 April 2016
Ageless Jardines show the way!
Thirteen XODs started the first Wednesday afternoon race in very cold and showery conditions. Race officer Steve Green set a long beat from a committee boat start just west of Baverstock to mark A (Hurst) in a shifting and occasionally blustery force 4 SW wind.
The start coincided with the change in tide so the decision whether to take the inshore first of the ebb stream or keep out into the main stream for the last of the ebb was critical. X183 Condor made a magnificent start from the middle of the line followed by X119 Lone Star, X140 Lucrezia, X48 XL and X68 Southwind. By and large the offshore route paid off and X183 quickly built a good lead and rounded Hurst first followed by X119, X164, X48, X33 and X140.
There followed a long run against the strengthening ebb tide past the Starting Platform down to Mark G (Tanners). Here it paid to sail the rhum line in better wind and air so that by Tanners the order was X183, X119, X140, X140 and X161 Mayday.
The ensuing beat back to mark B Pennington with the tide was challenging in an increasingly lumpy sea and bitter cold! Sadly X183 Condor, who had sailed a magnificent race, badly over-sailed the mark allowing X119, X140, X33, X161 and X48 to slip in ahead of her.
This order was maintained to the River line finish with every competitor only too pleased to have finished the race and return to the Clubhouse for a hot cup of tea!
Race 1 Results: (top five)
1st X119 Lone Star, Stuart Jardine
2nd X140 Lucrezia, Adrian Jardine
3rd X33 Clair de Lune, Max Crowe
4th X161 Mayday, David da Cunha
5th X48 XL, Rory Paton