RLymYC Ocean Safety Thursday Night Racing Early Series - Day 9
by Hannah Neve 25 Jun 2018 11:15 BST
21 June 2018
The last in the nine-race Ocean Safety Thursday Nights Keelboats was sailed in a northerly breeze with gust streaks coming out of the Lymington River. Race Officer Alastair Wilson settled for a running start across to the Island from the Platform with a very long line. Keeping the courses short in case the wind dropped.
The first downwind leg to Black Rock on the island shore for IRC1 saw Jelly Baby (William Newton), Fidelitas (Mark Broadway) and Islay (Richard Down) in close company at the starboard rounding, as the yachts beat back across the Solent to the Colten mark, then downwind again to Lymington Bank mid-Solent. The final beat against the tide saw Fidelitas and Jelly Baby crossing the finish line just 11 seconds apart, which on corrected time gave a dead heat for first place, with Islay in third.
That joint first place gave Fidelitas the overall IRC 1 win for the Early Series, with Jin Tonic 2nd, and Boomerang 3rd.
In IRC2, Colleen (Allan Hill) and Kit Off (Rick Otten and John Boyd) preferred the Platform end of the line with the rest of the fleet starting from the pin end. At Black Rock, Kit Off and Colleen led on the turn to Colten with the rest of the fleet deciding whether to lee bow the ebb tide or cut across sooner to the shallower water. With the wind holding, Colten became a passing mark and those boats that settled for a long leg across the Solent came out on top. Most boats finished the short course in under an hour. On corrected time, Kit Off led Colleen into second place by just over a minute with White Mischief less than a minute behind Colleen. Overall Early Series results, Kit Off 1st, Colleen 2nd, White Mischief 3rd.
The J80s also preferred the Platform end with those going for the pin losing a huge distance by the time they got to Lymington Bank. With the strong ebb making for an interesting rounding with a lot of last minute gybes to keep above the mark. Only No Regrets (C&H Neve) and Jeronimo (Sam Roach) tacking early to lee bow the tide to Colten, this paid off as they crossed the boats who had gone straight to the shore. Another run back to Lym Bank saw a few place changes but not as many as the last leg to the platform where a wind shift allowed those that headed to the shore this time to take back the advantage. A well sailed Purple Haze (O Dunford, S Armitage) took the honours with Fiducial (A Hurst) 2nd consolidating their overall series win. Overall Fiducual 1st, Checkmate 2nd, Wild Cat III 3rd.
108 boats sailed in the Early Series and we hope to see even more entrants for the Late Series beginning on Thursday 28 June.
Full race and series results can be found here.