Nordic Folkboat Saturday Series at Royal Lymington Yacht Club - Day 6
by Claire Sowry 11 Jun 2018 15:59 BST
9 June 2018
David Gredley (Lady Linda) and Nick Ingram (Otter) picking up their prizes for the Summer Regatta © Chris Baldwick
Twelve Nordic Folkboats gathered for the start of the sixth Saturday series races and the third race of the Royal Lymington YC Summer Regatta.
Sailing out to the starting area, to the East of the platform, in a light slightly fickle Easterly, the committee were getting ready, only for the wind to veer to the South East. The majority of the fleet, including Mistral, Padfoot and Lady Linda went for a start ¼ of the way down the line from the Committee boat on Starboard tack, but Bonnie and Jen opted to start much closer to the pin end, in less tide and managed to slip away.
It was all a question of how far up the shoreline going East did one have to go before tacking to a laid mark (1.2 mn from the CB) out in the full ebb tide. Bonnie, Jen and Samphire and others sailed furthest East before tacking. The Otter made a bold move tacking first, with Padfoot, Mistral and Lady Linda following suit.
The wind started to die, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that the tide was now slack and beginning to flood at the laid mark. With the dying and shifting wind boats began to struggle to lay the mark. The Otter rounded first, hoisting her spinnaker, having picked up the beginning of the light sea breeze, followed by Padfoot, then Lady Linda and Mistral. The boats who sailed further East now set their spinnakers to come down to the mark, only to have to take them down again when the wind shifted and they began to struggle to round the mark due to the increasing flood tide. As this was a tidal gate, it split the fleet into two.
The Committee thankfully shortened the course at the second laid mark (orange buoy) laid in the vicinity of Sanders Sails. The Otter finished convincingly first, followed by Padfoot, Lady Linda and Mistral with the rest of the fleet now sailing in the light sea breeze. A very cruel blow, as a number of the competitors did not finish due to the time limit.
Series results can be found here.