Hamble River Wednesday Night Series - Series A race 6

Autumn arrived in Hamble for race 6 of the A Series. The wind blew a steady 15 - 25 knots all day, and though the forecasts all said it would drop in the evening, the wind hadn't read the forecasts and as the committee boat set off to sea it was still blowing 24 knots at Calshot. Too windy for the XOD class who were sent home for an early supper.

The other classes were given a longer race with an opportunity for them to stretch their legs and sail as far as East Knoll. A reach to start, then beats and runs, with the final leg back up the river Hamble to finish at the clubhouse line.

Fritha continued her winning way in class 3, and with four 1sts to count she is leading the series, 4 points ahead of Forethought of Gosport under the club class system. But under the RYA system Forethought of Gosport leads just 1 point ahead of Fritha.Ariel was the only boat to come on in class 1 and gained useful points for the series. But the consistency of Midnight Cowboy means she leads overall.

There are mixed views about the RYA National Handicapping System, but maybe it does work as with just 2 races to go before the ratings are re-aligned 7 boats finished with corrected times within a minute in class 2. But the windy weather suited Mist who finished a minute ahead.

After starting the boats the committee boat was pleased to return to shore in the windy weather, and the camera stayed nice and dry at the bottom of the sailing bag, so no pictures this week.