Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series 2015 - Day 2
by Louise Nicholls 24 Mar 2015 09:39 GMT
22 March 2015
Big tide and a shifty breeze
It was a day that had the race team on their toes and competitors sailing backwards. The wind shifted from the forecast ENE, died and came back, and the big spring tides raced through the Solent - all making for some frustrating racing!
White Group's first, and only race started with competitors being pushed across the line by 2 knots of tide and ended with them being pushed away from the line as they tried to finish the race!
An attempt to get the J70's second race started ended with competitors not even being able to reach the start line – at which point the White Group race team declared the bar was open and racing was unfortunately finished!
Just4Play (Simon Cavey) narrowly won in the J70 fleet, beating Boats.com (Ian Atkins) to second place with Cosmic (Patrick Liardet) in third. A close finish also in the SB20's saw F5 Synthesiser (Pieter Heyn) beat Captain Pugwash (George Barker) for first place.
In the J80's the first three boats were a good minute ahead of the rest of the fleet with Boysterous (Ali Hall) taking first place, Betty (Jon Powell) in second and Swallow (Romain Patemot) in third.
For the Black Group tidal tactics were definitely the name of the game.
Racing a series of windward-leeward legs between Wight Vodka and the Hill Head/Lee-on-Solent shore helped keep the boats mainly on the Hill Head plateau and East Knoll bank areas and so out of the strongest current of the big spring tides. However, by the second half of the race the breeze had died away to little or nothing for a very frustrating 1.5 hours or more. By the time it did fill in again it had shifted to the SE making the remaining legs of the race rather processional.
Series Chairman Peter Bateson, "It was great that nearly three-quarters of the boats kept going and persevered to the finish, which we had been shortened 2.5 miles early at Hill Head buoy".
Winners in the Black Group were Icarus (J111 – Chris Body & Andrew Christie) in IRC1, Salvo (JND - 35 Peter Morton) in IRC2, Malice (Hod 35 – Mike Moxley) once again in IRC3 and Xtract (X302 Dudley Stock) in IRC4.
After a frustrating day on the water competitors headed back to the Warsash Sailing Club where Tiffany Beard from Brooks Macdonald presented the champagne prizes of the day for each of the class winners. There were two draws for the free Crewsaver Crewfit Lifejacket which went to George Barker (Captain Pugwash) and Tim Octon (Doyle Sails).
For the full Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series results go to www.warsashspringseries.org.uk/2015
The Warsash Spring Series is sponsored by Brooks Macdonald Group PLC, and supported by race partners Crewsaver, Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear and Rolly Tasker Sails.
Enquiries regarding the event can be made to .