Saltash Sailing Club New Year's Day Race
by Nina Lillie 9 Jan 2018 13:59 GMT
1 January 2018
X332 Extortion8 during the Saltash Sailing Club New Year's Day Race © Trevor Bardwell-Jones
Hardy yacht crews set out to blow the cobwebs away with a race on New Year's Day at Saltash Sailing Club.
With a quickly dropping spring tide and an increasingly breezy and veering westerly wind, the officer of the day set a course down the Tamar from the club line, then up the Lynher to Island buoy and down the Hamoaze to Camels Head buoy, twice, finishing with a rounding of Bridges buoy just upstream from the Tamar Bridge and back to the finish line off the club.
All started with full sail in gentle conditions, but as the morning became ever more gusty the more prudent of the fleet reduced sail. Others braved the conditions with gusto and, as the mud-banks neared the surface, three yachts touched the ground briefly and at least one for a little longer.
Eventually there was only one finisher in the NHC class, Ashley Davies' Feeling 850 Crazy Rhythm, while Dave Oliver with X332 Extortion8 in the IRC class was presented with the Bar Steward's Trophy as the overall winner of the day. All crews were relieved to get back to the shelter of the clubhouse after a memorable start to the sailing season.
Overall Results:
IRC
1 Extortion8, Dave Oliver
2 Moonfish, Mark Hanley
NHC
1 Crazy Rhythm, Ashley Davies