Saturday racing for the Bembridge keelboat fleet
by Mike Samuelson 11 Sep 2017 07:36 BST
9-10 September 2017
Only two Redwings and two One-Designs were wanting to race on Saturday afternoon which was a bit disappointing as there was a nice W/SW'erly F3/4 breeze and even some sunshine. No racing on Sunday - too windy and it was forecast to get up to Gale force with heavy showers!
With so few boats involved on Saturday it was agreed that to make it a bit more interesting there would be two races and both classes would start together. The BHYC longer distance race was already well under way using Pepe and Fitzwilliam to starboard, so options for the first race were a bit limited, however by starting at Garland, it was hoped that a windward leeward course using Old Church & Tara would offer two reasonable beats.
After a clean start, Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence was soon ahead of Plover helmed by Ed Eddy's girlfriend Lottie Metcalf. Having started somewhat off the pace, No 7 One-Design helmed by Charles Abel Smith with Peter Truman found himself a few boat lengths ahead of Robin Joy with his wife Charlotte and Mark Routh crewing in No 10 when they rounded the windward mark.
No place changes on the run to Tara, however with the breeze backing a bit, the planned beat back to the line ended up as one tacker for most, which was probably no bad thing as it also increased with gusts of 22 knots which was fine for the One-Designs who were sailing with storm mains, but it was pretty challenging for the Redwings! Quintessence remained well ahead of Plover but, No 7 One-Design had to put in one tack and so finished 20 seconds behind No 10.
Everyone was keen for a second race but with the breeze still gusting over 20 knots, the start was moved to Drum with an inflatable as a windward mark, Britten the wing and Derrick as the leeward mark. Unfortunately the first beat did not work quite as planned as the breeze backed even further to the SW just after the start, so certainly the Redwings made it on one tack. Quintessence and Plover were close until they reached Derrick, as were the two One-Designs.
On the beat back to Drum and onward reach to Garland before a final beat to the finish at Pepe, Quintessence's lead was extended and she finished a couple of minutes ahead of Plover. However, well done to Lottie who was helming a Redwing for the first time and completed both races in pretty tricky conditions. Meanwhile, Robin Joy in No 10 One-Design maintained his lead and finished just under a minute ahead of Charles Abel Smith in No 7.
Start of the combined Race 1: