Royal Lymington Yacht Club Monday Night Dinghy Series - Day 1
by Ann Brunskill 23 Apr 2014 12:32 BST
21 April 2014
The Medium Handicap Dinghy Fleet start race 1 of the Royal Lymington YC Monday Night Dinghy Series © Ann Brunskill
Bank Holiday Monday breezes
The first RLymYC Monday Evening Dinghy race of the year was blessed with high tide and a steady Force 3-4 from the south west. Steve Green and his team sent the Scows and Class 4 west from the river and back through Oxey Lake. Spurred on by the prospect of winning an Easter Egg, they sailed off in style with a record turnout for the first race of 31 starters, some so keen they were over the start line early. Tactical issues round Seymour's Post and the wave barrier led to some unexpected and dramatic place changes. One boat spent more time than most negotiating the wave barrier. Single handers Rory Paton and Jane Pitt-Pitts showed the way from the start ahead of Barry and Carol Dunning.
Once the phalanx of Scows had swept down the river on the ebb, the three handicap fleets followed suit. The incoming ferry was successfully passed by all but the runners-up in the Fast fleet, who made a last-minute call not to follow Keith and Julie Willis' leading RS400 and instead took the slow and painful route through the ferry's wind shadow.
At the river mouth the fleets turned downwind, creeping along inshore for a long battle against the tide to Pylewell entrance. Rob and Jan Martin took advantage of the morass of Medium fleet boats to overtake the Willis's, while Luke and Emma McEwen in the RS800 headed offshore to find a planing breeze that would take them around the outside of the tangle of slower boats to great effect and winning them the class and the biggest Easter egg.
In the much bigger Medium fleet, Richard Russell and Sylvia Weger showed that Tasars can win a downwind race despite not having a spinnaker, as they managed to beat Mark Barwell and Louise Johnson's Merlin Rocket by seven seconds. New mum Sophie Bubb did well in her Europe to stay in front of the other spinnaker boats and claim third place and the final Easter Egg prize.
The Slow fleet had just two starters, both ex-Tera sailors. Liam Willis and Arran Mills in their Feva sailed well to beat Jonny Tait in his Laser 4.7. Seven Oppies completed a fast race out to West Reach via West Inner with Jasmin Summers returning ahead of Alex Paton and Tom Mitchell.
Full results are at www.rlymyc.org.uk/Racing/Results/results.shtml