Salcombe Yacht Club Winter Series - Race 5
by David Greening 4 Dec 2016 14:38 GMT
3 December 2016
With forty knot gale force easterly winds at Prawle Point a number of the regular sailors in the Salcombe Yacht Club Winter series elected for the relative comfort of the England Australia Autumn International, however a hardy group of participants gathered at the start-line and were to enjoy surprisingly satisfactory racing given the spring low tide.
Race Officer Peter Colclough set a course with a challenging low water gybe at the Gerston mark, followed by two loops of the harbour.
The Handicap Fleet were first away, with the RS Feva soiled by George Alexander and Ben Meek, nailing the start ahead of the Yawl of David Jayne and Dan Bridger. There were somewhat belated starts by Alistair Morley in his Phantom and the Squires' Merlin, with Alistair working his way past the Yawl on the planing reaches in the upper harbour; however he was not able to recover his entire five minute deficit, allowing the Yawl to take the win on corrected time.
Twelve Solos came to their start, with Olly Alexander powering into the lead by Snapes Point, and Graham Cranford-Smith and David Greening in close pursuit. The next point in the harbour, Tosnos, was in the lee of Halwell Point, causing the wind to disappear, as did Olly's lead, allowing series leader Simon Dobson to work his way through, somewhat assisted by Cranford-Smith capsizing when the wind eventually arrived.
When Dobson and Greening arrived at the Gerston gybe mark, with the mud banks to port and to starboard narrowing, both elected to wear around, allowing Cranford-Smith to make up lost ground, and when the trio returned to the Tosnos re-start zone, Cranford-Smith secured a personal gust, which allowed him to plane away from his pursuers, into first place, a position that he was not to relinquish.
Race 5 Results:
Handicap
1st Salcombe Yawl 159, David Jayne and Dan Bridger
2nd Phantom 1357, Alistair Morley
3rd Merlin Rocket 3621, Tristram Squire and crew
Solo
1st 5444, Graham Cranford-Smith
2nd 5617, David Greening
3rd 5676, Simon Dobson