Moore Blatch & Station Financial Lymington Thursday Night Late - Day 2
by Andy Ash-Vie 12 Jul 2016 20:15 BST
7 July 2016
Eleven J80s came to the start line with a steady south westerly force four on an ebb tide. Opinions were mixed with boats starting all along a very even line however Andrew Hurst's Fiducial came out in the lead at the top mark.
The reach across toward Yarmouth made for a difficult choice about carrying the kite with several boats ending up broaching.
The long run against the tide saw Fiducial, Checkmate (Ray Mitchell) and Wildcat (Andy Ash-Vie) break away from the chasing pack with each exchanging the lead at various times.
However as a number of different classes came together to round the leeward mark at the same time, the situation got very crowded with a few choice words being exchanged! Wildcat managed to wiggle free into clear wind and escaped the melee to pull out a substantial lead that saw them clear to the end.
None the less the racing continued to be very tight for the chasing pack with places changing right up to the last second with Checkmate and Mike Saqui's Judith coming in second and third.
Heard in the bar afterwards "It was so unforgiving and cut throat racing, just what I love!" All credit due to RLymYC race officer Jane Pitt Pitts and her team for delivering a great evening of racing.