Saturday XOD Series at Royal Lymington Yacht Club - Race 2
by John Olliff-Cooper 3 May 2017 11:53 BST
29 April 2017
Lone Star during the Lymington XOD Saturday Series © Lymington XOD Class
A light to moderate southerly breeze and a surging spring ebb tide greeted the 18 strong XOD fleet. The windward mark was Black Rock buoy off Yarmouth, where Venus, helmed by Nik Froud turned in the lead for the long reach along the Island shore to No. 5 buoy off Bouldner.
With tricky winds off the Island and a sluicing tide, the trick was select between the direct line with more wind, or the flukier winds inshore but with much less adverse tide. Nik's direct route did not pay. The fleet spread out behind, with the inshore boats gaining dramatically.
There then came that vital decision - when to leave the shore to round No5 buoy? Stuart Jardine in Lone Star judged that to within an inch, and squeezed around, followed by X48 XL helmed by Rory Paton. Alas, Rory then sailed too low on the run to H buoy in the middle of the Solent, and had to reach up-tide as the wind lightened. That error allowed X183 Condor, sailed by Harry Hutchinson, into second place, and X179 Expeditious (James Markby) into third.
Race 2 Results: (top six)
1. Lone Star, Stuart Jardine
2. Condor, Harry Hutchinson
3. Expeditious, James Markby
4. Lucrezia, Ado Jardine
5. Clair de Lune, Max Crowe
6. XL, Rory Paton