XOD Wednesday Series at Royal Lymington Yacht Club - Race 4
by Oliver James 17 May 15:10 BST
10 May 2018
X48 XL © RLymYC
The wind was in the North North East with a strong ebb tide. The first mark on the Lymington shore made for a tricky start as it was hard to clear the Platform on starboard. XL and Mersa came of the line well and were in first and second place close followed by the rest of the fleet.
The wind was shifting around as normal when it is in the North - one minute you believe you're on the lay line, the next you're 15 degrees below!
Places did not change with the fleet tightly bunched at the windward mark. The downwind leg to No2 buoy off Yarmouth was just as challenging. Ibex made the best mark rounding and managed to stay to windward of the pack gaining places on the beat back across the Solent.
Mersa lost out when she was forced to tack in the strong tide to clear her air while the rest of the fleet headed for the shore. Ibex and Venus had a strong tussle for second place which let Mayday through. At the top mark XL was still leading followed by Mayday Ibex and Venus. The only change back down to the finishing line was Venus clipping it to beat Ibex and come third.
Full results can be found here.