Hamble River Wednesday Night Series - Series A race 2
by Kathy Smalley 23 May 2016 11:52 BST
18 May 2016
'Wet, wet, wet' are the words that come to mind for the second race of the Wednesday night A Series. The forecast was for a north-westerly wind at 7pm, but as the committee boat set off in the rain, the wind stubbornly stayed in the south west. There was much deliberation as to what to do, but in the end the start line was laid for the wind as it was. As the anchor hit the bottom, a rain squall approached, the AP was hoisted, the anchor lifted, the start-line moved, the courses re-set, the AP lowered, and the fleet got away after a 5 minute delay.
Unfortunately the forecast 13 knots of breeze dropped to 5, so as the rain increased again, the fleet were pleased to see a shortened course flag on the committee boat and returned ashore for a well-earned supper at the clubhouse.
With the wind shifting throughout the race, there were big gains and losses to be made. The X boats were well spread with La Mouette getting a win over Fearless. The turnout in class 3 was poor, but our new Rear Commodore Sailing completed the course to get good points for the series. In class 1, Midnight Cowboy was first home, and 12 minutes in front of the next boat, but that was not enough on handicap. And to add insult to injury her rating goes up by more for next week than the winner's did. Class 2 is the biggest class and welcomed Sophie and Bertrand's new boat "M'Enfin?!", a very smart looking Corby 25. She was first home in class 2, but the win went to Two Frank.
Let's all hope for some sunshine next week.