Potter Dinghy Race at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club
by Vicky Leen 22 Aug 2017 16:03 BST
19 August 2017
Potter Dinghy Race prize winners © Vicky Leen
Sunshine and a feisty south-westerly force 4-5 against the high ebb tide on Saturday morning made exciting conditions for the annual Potter Dinghy Race run by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.
Race officer Vince Sutherland and his team set a windward-leeward course which all the boats raced around for an hour, the faster ones doing up to 6 laps.
The classic West Solent chop made the downwind leg of the course tricky so many of the sailors nose-dived or capsized trying to gybe. Of the 21 starters, only 10 finished the race, the rest keeping the safety fleet busy.
First overall were Luke and Emma McEwen in their RS800, while Brian and David Earl came second in their Javelin. Vita Heathcote and Charlotte Boyle were third overall and first Medium fleet boat in their 420; Robin Taunt was the first Scow sailor. Young Abby Hire was awarded a prize for persevering in her Tera until the mast broke as she battled upwind.