Prima 38s at the TYCO Healthcare Hamble Winter Series
by Tom Hayhoe 7 Dec 2004 13:43 GMT
10 October - 5 December 2004
The Prima 38 fleet during the TYCO Healthcare Hamble Winter Series 2004 © Jonty Sherwill
With 10 boats entered and generally 7 or 8 on the start line, the Prima 38 fleet racing one desing within IRC1 provided some of the best big boat racing in this year's Hamble Winter Series.
The series result was settled only in the closing stages of the final race. Coming into the final race, Tom Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling's Mostly Harmless had slim lead over the Army Sailing Association's Longbow but had to finish a place ahead once the second discard came into play. Mervyn Hughes' White Knuckles, winner of race 2 and 3, was not far behind with Paul King's Serendip lying fourth.
White Knuckles showed blistering speed of the startline in the final race, but Mostly Harmless managed to edge round just ahead at the first mark. With the wind dropping coming into mark 6, Don Kennedy's Oz Privateer had taken the lead, with Longbow second and Mostly Harmless third. Towards the end of a long beat against the tide in fading breeze Mostly Harmless had pulled through to first with Oz Privateer second. But when the wind filled in again, Longbow, White Knuckles and Serendip were all better placed for the rounding and after a run downtide finished first, second and third, securing the series title for Longbow.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Helm | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Longbow | Stuart Smith | 11 |
| 2nd | Mostly Harmless | Tom Hayhoe | 13 |
| 3rd | White Knuckles | Mervyn Hughes | 19 |
| 4th | Serendip | Paul King | 21 |
| 5th | Fat Diva | Roger Lee | 26 |