Royal Solent Yacht Club Prince Consort Race for Nordic Folkboats
by Chris Baldwick 27 Jun 2016 20:17 BST
25 June 2016
The Nordic god of thunder Thor was much in evidence for the Nordic Folkboats during this race. Luckily, nobody received a direct hit, he merely threatened from on high, remaining where a god should be. The Royal Solent Race Committee set the course from a start line just to the east of Yarmouth to Prince Consort buoy to be left to starboard, thence back to the finish line off the Royal Solent Yacht Club. The start line was quite a sight with 11 Nordic Folkboats, some 29 XODs and a lone YOD vying for position.
The wind was from the south west but with variations in both direction and strength, making for interesting tactical decisions for the first leg. Most of the Nordic Folkboats managed to break away from the chasing XODs. Bonnie, Madeleine and Riot took three different courses but nonetheless all arrived within three boat lengths at the Prince Consort after an interesting spinnaker run.
The beat back to the finish spread the fleet with Crackerjack coming up from behind to take a lead. Madeleine and Bonnie had a good tussle for second and third places followed by Riot. The middle of the fleet had an exciting time with many place changes during the homeward leg. A couple of boats hiccupped on the rocks off Thorns Bay but no harm was done.
The final result off Yarmouth was Crackerjack in first place, followed by Bonnie in second and and Madeleine third, and the thunder and lightning thankfully remained over Cowes...