INEOS Solent Circuit at Lymington Town Sailing Club
by LTSC 11 Dec 2008 07:14 GMT
12 October - 7 December 2008
58 Entries - Good racing - Extremes of weather – Tides
Peter Schofield and the crew of “Zarafa” were the first winners of the magnificent new Ineos Solent Circuit Trophy when the last of the series of yacht races was run in light airs on Sunday 7th.
Lymington Town Sailing Club organised the INEOS Solent Circuit in the Western Solent over an eight week period from 12th October to 7th December in a wide range of weather conditions ranging from sunny to misty and from no wind to a near gale. Racing was abandoned on three days due to high winds.
Races were run for Class 1 IRC yachts – (9 entries); Class 2 IRC yachts (15 entries), Class 3 - Club Handicap yachts (22entries); Class 4 – Folkboats (12 entries). The Club Handicap is a performance based system that originated in Australia and has been developed and administered by Howard Crouch for the Western Solent Cruising and Racing Association.
The star of the event was “Rosenn”, a Solent One Design sailed by Bob Fisher and Barry Dunning and crew. “Rosenn” looked stunning in all weather conditions. Sailing in the Club Handicap Class she won the Manulife Trophy for the best overall result.
The magnificent new INEOS Trophy commissioned by LTSC, designed and made by John Mellows of Azure Dragon Marine Sculptures was presented to Peter Schofield who won the IRC Class 1.
At the prize giving ceremony, Adam Reay (Chairman of the Organising Committee) thanked INEOS (the Lyndhurst based chemical company) for their generous financial support and commented that the magnificence of the new trophy reflected how the series of races had become one of the principal events in the keelboat racing calendar.
He also thanked Harken with its UK base in Lymington who provided a range of prizes, RIB-IT who provided a RIB for each race, and also thanked Lymington Yacht Haven, Wightlink, Wadworth and Ringwood Brewery for their valuable support and sponsorship.
Race officer Richard Phillips thanked Nick and Karen Hopwood whose yacht “Fiddler’s Dream” was the committee boat throughout the series.
Prizes for the final race were awarded to the Overall Prize winners.
Overall Results: (prize winners)
IRC Class 1 – INEOS Trophy
1st Zarafa, Hod 35, 7712, Peter Scholfield, 4pts
2nd No Doubt, Beneteau First 34.7, 1347, Chris Neve, 7pts
3rd Brightwork, X 332, 8500, Bob Baker, 13pts
4th Boomerang, Adams 10, 3417, Ray Crouch, 15pts
IRC Class 2 – Wadworth Plate
1st Le Quatre Juillet, Swan 411, 1155, Don Wood, 4pts
2nd White Mischief, Hanse 291, 4888, Andy Hind, 9pts
3rd Hephzibah of Lymington, High Tension 36, 3851, David Lees, 10pts
4th Jacobite, Swan 37, 2881, Dudley Davenport, 16pts
Class 3, Club Handicap - Ringwood Cup
1st Rosenn, Solent One Design, OS 7, Bob Fisher / B Dunning, 4pts
2nd Whisper, Contessa 28, 1548, Richard Jenner, 10pts
3rd Contessa Catherine, Contessa 32, 3001, Robin Milledge, 11pts
4th Vegas, J92, SWE 1, Chris Harris, 12pts
Class 4, Folkboats - Yachthaven Plate
1st Madelaine, 707, Edward Donald, 4pts
2nd Yukon, 672, Rick Otten, 8pts
3rd Svenja, 704, Michael Stoner, 15pts
4th Padfoot, 723, Chris Hills, 19pts
The Manulife Trophy (lowest Points in largest fleet with no discards)
Rosenn, Bob Fisher & B Dunning
Marlow Ropes Lymington Spit Trophy (most outstanding performance)
Madelaine, Edward Donald
The Dicoll Trophy (most outstanding performance by a boat not in first three overall)
Vegas, Chris Harris
The Joe The Tent Trophy (first boat under 30ft in classes 1, 2, 3)
White Mischief Andy Hind
The full results and a selection of photos are on club website at www.ltsc.co.uk