Folkboat Solent Nordic Fleet April 2013 Review
by Eddie Mays, Folkboat Association 3 May 2013 21:07 BST
3 May 2013
Close racing in the Folkboat fleet on the third day of the Portmore Insurance Lymington Spring Series © Hannah Neve
Portmore Insurance Spring Series 2013
Hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club and run over the four Sundays in April, the Spring Series consisted of eight races with two discards. The cold weather during the first half of the series kept numbers down to a handful but the racing was still extremely close.
On the first day's racing honours were evenly shared between Jeremy Austin's 'Tak' and Peter Tunney helming 'Flutterby' with a 1st & 3rd each.
On the next Sunday the dire weather predictions translated into a decent Southerly breeze and a flooding tide. Very nice for the five crews racing! The tide was a relevant factor in the 2nd race when both 'Padfoot' (Chris Hills) and 'Flutterby' over stood the windward mark allowing 'Tak' her 2nd gun of the day and a growing lead at the top of the overall table. John Whyte's 'Scaramouche' recorded a 2, 3 score line to tie the day with 'Padfoot'.
The sun had got his hat on for day 3 and numbers doubled. 'Crackerjack' (Stuart Watson & Matthew Jones) back on the water for the first time in nine months showed that they had lost none of their skills by taking the first race and coming 3rd in the 2nd, which left 'Flutterby' & 'Padfoot' sharing the minor placings. Some confusion reigned over the need to go through the gate. It always pays to read the SIs.
Early indications for the final day's racing were not good. No wind and a strong flood tide. However after a short postponement enough SW'erly breeze arrived to allow a windward / leeward course to be set. 'Crackerjack' continued her winning form taking both races. Behind her there was plenty of close racing as the overall positions were sorted out.
When all the results were in and the discards applied the overall series winners were 'Tak', 'Flutterby' & 'Padfoot'.
Club Racing
Royal Lymington – Thursday Series
Race 1 was abandoned due to thick fog. The 2nd race in the series saw 'Tak' finish just ahead of 'Crackerjack' with Chris Baldwick's 'Bonnie' less than a minute behind in 3rd.
Royal Solent – Sunday Series
The first race in the series saw Jeremy Cecil-Wright helming 'Ajax' build up a two minute lead over 'Mimi' (Chris Beane) with Bernard Turner's 'Woodpecker II', new metal mast and all, in 3rd.
The season now continues at club level on both sides of the Solent for the rest of May and looking forwards the Nordic Nationals will be held at the beginning of June under the burgee of the Royal Lymington Y.C. More details available from the new Folkboat Association website, www.folkboats.com