Hunter 707s in the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series - Week 2
by Lis Robinson & Sophie Mackley 22 Mar 2005 14:15 GMT
19-20 March 2005
707 Coaching Sesssion (by Lis Robinson)
Hosted by the Royal Southern YC, Hamble, five Hunter 707s, attended the coaching session on Saturday, 19th April, run by Class coach Tom Davidson assisted by Graham Aldwinckle and National Champion Bob Fisher.
Big Boys Toys, Touchdown, Double Plush, Begorrah! and Bangers & Mash all enjoyed some shore based training whilst waiting for the fog to clear. The theory session covered crew positioning and trimming and provided a valuable insight into the intricacies of the 707 for those new to the fleet.
After some dockside roll tacking the fleet took to the water as the fog cleared. The water session focussed on boat control through ‘follow-my-leader’, a series of starts and some windward/leeward racing to practice spinnaker handling and mark rounding. The day ended with a race back to the Royal Southern and a debrief over refreshments on the balcony.
Thanks to all that made it possible - Tm, RIB owners and the Royal Southern.
Raymarine Warsash Spring Series - Week 2 (by Sophie Mackley)
With a decent wind in the east and the cloud cover lifting to reveal the perfect day's sailing, a fleet of 24 Hunter 707's enjoyed the second weekend of the Raymarine Warsash Spring series.
Race one, a windward leeward twice with a trapezoid to end and the fleet got away relatively cleanly in a force three with a weak outgoing tide.
The first half of the beat favoured the right side, and by the windward mark Pocket Battleship led from Trojan, Miss Moneypenny, Beaver Hunter and Doh! with Bangers and Mash close on their heels.
Places remained relatively stable for the second lap, but on the second run Doh! pulled up to second. A position they held until the Sweeney passed them to take finish behind Pocket Battleship.
The second race, in an increased breeze and with the tide having turned, saw the fleet get away after a general recall on the same course. The Sweeney and PB got to the windward mark first and battled their way down the run, with PB coming out in front.
On the last beat Giraffe banged the right corner hard and came into the windward mark in second. The Sweeney had dropped back to third with a consistent Trojan finishing in fourth followed by Censored.
Although having taken a yellow, PB were far enough ahead to retain first place and with a win in both races won the weekend.
The Sweeney lead the series overall, from Giraffe in second and Three Little Pigs, third. When (and if) the discards come into play, things will change with PB having two firsts to their name and Doh carrying an OCS.
Full report available on www.hunter707.org.uk