Salcombe Yacht Club Summer Series - Race 6
by David Greening 21 Jul 2015 14:51 BST
19 July 2015
With a Low Water Springs, race officer Peter Cook had few course setting options, so it was fortunate that the light South Westerly breeze allowed for a good opening beat to Blackstone sailed on slack water.
However when the tide changed during the race, the weight of the wind decreased, presenting difficult routing decisions for over fifty boats competing in the 6th race of the Salcombe Yacht Club Summer Series.
Martin and Tom Ley in their Mirror sailed a good race to remain sufficiently in touch to take the Junior Handicap victory from the RS Quba of Ruari McColl and Sophie Bearblock and the Topper of George Alexander.
For the faster classes the tide came into play and after two laps all of the fleets struggled to make progress against the increasing flood tide, and those who chose to finish on the Town side from Crossways made considerable gains.
Phil Howling led the Medium Handicap fleet home in an SYC RS Vision, with Coleen Pope's Laser Radial holding onto a comfortable from the RS Aero 7 of Claire Booth.
With a healthy mix of National Twelves, Merlin Rockets and RS400s now turning out on a regular basis; the Fast Handicap fleet is gaining momentum. It was therefore good to see Nigel and Sarah Blazeby wipe the dust of their National Twelve to take some notable scalps and win their Fast Handicap race.
With twenty six Solos on the starting line, the race officer was always going to have his work cut out to maintain order. After the starting gun there was a second hoot and Flag X was raised, but largely ignored.
First away was Peter Hammond, who revels in these lighter conditions. Phil King escaped a port and starboard hiatus on the Portlemouth shore, and these two were to take control of the race, with Andrew Thompson and Simon Dobson in pursuit. The competitiveness of the chasing pack was such that the leading four were allowed to get away.
The aforementioned Crossways mark then came into play, with Hammond and Dobson taking the Portlemouth shore, and King and Thompson the Salcombe shore. Salcombe won out, and to add insult to injury, there was silence as Hammond crossed the line, taking penance for his early start.
Graham and Tessa Pike made a welcome appearance in the Yawl fleet, and were making the running in the early stages of the race, however, light and sniddly is how the Bridgers like it, and pulled through to take the win, with the Classic Yawl of Peter Stratton and Nigel Hannaford in their wake.
Junior Handicap:
1st Mirror 70390, Martin and Tom Ley
2nd RS Quba Sport 4, Ruari McCol and Sophie Bearblock
3rd Topper 46721, George Alexander
Medium Handicap:
1st RS Vision 2, Phil Howling
2nd Laser Radial 201476, Coleen Pope
3rd RS Aero 7 1517, Claire Booth
Fast Handicap:
1st National 12 3439, Nigel and Sarah Blazeby
2nd National 12 3526, Christian and Sophie Day
3rd Merlin Rocket 3725, Andrew and Oli Squire
Solo:
1st 5568, Phil King
2nd 5096, Andrew Thompson
3rd 5313, Simon Dobson
Salcombe Yawl:
1st 159, Dan and Gail Bridger
2nd 154, Graham and Tessa Pike
3rd 161, Peter Stratton and Nigel Hannaford