Potter Ship race at Royal Lymington Yacht Club
by Hannah Neve 9 Oct 2012 10:52 BST
6 October 2012
There was an excellent turnout for the annual Potter Ship race on Saturday. Open to all boats owned and helmed by a club member, every boat, whether IRC rated or simply a cruising boat races with a club handicap. The average lap system was used again, with the whole fleet starting together with a run to the first mark and continuing to race round the short triangular course until the whistle was blown after most boats had done 3 laps. The weather was kind; a northerly 8-12 knots in warm autumn sunshine in a building flood tide.
The leading three Class 1 boats No Chance, Jelly Baby & Zarafa forged ahead of the fleet to the first mark Colten. As the race progressed these 3 boats pulled further away, lapping many of the fleet. These 3 boats also did 4 laps of the course compared to the rest of the fleet who completed only 3. In Class 1 the next battle on the water was between Leonora II, Gemstone and Crystal. Gemstone led these 3 yachts across the line separated by only 4 seconds from Crystal and then Leonora II. The next group of class 1 boats saw Cloud Nine and Firefly in close formation but with the slow-starting Islay gradually reeling them in. A relatively small fleet of eight Folkboats turned out but competition was as close as ever. Second Wind led from a flying start and very quickly established a clear lead over Tak and Tagomago James Harrison which she managed to hold until the huge wind shift to the East kicked in on the third and fourth windward legs gifting Tak and Tagomago 1st and 2nd places respectively. Justice prevailed however as Second Wind beat them on corrected time to take the Class 2 trophy.
While the usual suspects from the keelboats, the XODs, Folkboats and RS Elites all turning out for the race it was nice to see so many cruising boats competing in their only race of the year. Clive Sparrow, Captain of Cruisers and racing on his Beneteau 21.7 commented, 'I entered the "Potter Ship" really to join in the fun but as the day approached and I had studied the race regulations, looked up to see what a "class 3 pennant" was then dashed out to the chandlers to buy one, I was beginning to feel a little anxious. I need not have been. The start of some 60 boats was not intimidating at all and everyone seemed in good spirits. Racing in one of the slowest boats at least I did not have to worry about the course knowing I would be following most of the fleet! We were in fact lapped by quite a few boats and even though we messed up our cruising chute on the first leg we really enjoyed the morning on the water'.
Back in the bar, everyone enjoyed a convivial drink in the sunshine while the race team compiled the results. They had to check the results very carefully as the top 3 boats were separated by only 4 secs with Chris and Hannah Neve's No Chance being declared victorious. The handicapping system worked very well this year with Class1 boats coming 1st and 2nd, an XOD coming 3rd and a Class 3 boat being placed 4th.
Potter Ship 2012 Results:
1st, No Chance, Chris/Hannah Neve
2nd, Jelly Baby, William Newton
3rd, XL, Rory Paton
4th, Swift, John Barnes/David Lewis