Monday Evening Dinghy Series at Royal Lymington Yacht Club
by Hannah Neve 31 Jul 2013 11:02 BST
30 July 2013
Only the brave and the foolhardy set out for the Monday Evening Dinghy racing this week from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, as the ebb tide fought against winds averaging 20knts gusting up to 28knts, stirring up a formidable sea.
Race officer Ado Jardine set the course well inshore to avoid the worst of the waves and the brilliant sunshine made it all seem better. The majority of the fleet capsized at least once but most came back with smiles on their faces.
Worthy of mention were Ed Reeves, making his season's debut in the RS700 and keeping his balance to be the only finisher in the Fast fleet; in the Medium fleet Mike Beggs' Stratos also stayed the right way up and took line honours but was beaten on corrected time by Robby Claridge in his Lightning.
The Scows saw a smaller than usual turnout and very sensibly all had to be reefed; With a river start the course was inside Oxey Island and so sheltered from the considerable sea that was running outside in the Solent.
Two laps were set, the beats complicated by the mud banks on each side and the runs by the frequent need to gybe to avoid running by the lee. Rory Paton in Wizard, with daughter Alex back as crew, emerged the clear winner.
After a close tussle all the way up the river Mike and Ros Urwin just held on to second place from Barry and Carol Dunning sailing Snowgoose. Further down the fleet there was just one capsize and one nasty collision which left one boat holed.
Full results