J105s in the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series - Week 1

Paul Heys smaller J105 Java was a clear winner in the combined Bowsprit start on the first weekend of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series © Eddie Mays

Force 4 south-easterly breeze greeted the 6 boat fleet on Sunday morning for the first race of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series, which was racing under one-design rules. The best starts were made by Java (Paul & Marie-Claude Heys) and Fay-J (Paul Griffiths) who opted for the pin end of the line. They benefited from the slacker tide, and by opting for the left hand side of the course put them in strong position going round the windward first mark. After the rounding Java opted to fly a spinnaker on a reaching leg, which gave her a healthy lead at the next mark, with Fay-J lying second.

The second beat saw close racing in the middle of the pack, with J-Dream (David & Kirsty Apthorp), Juneau (Mike West) and Jambalaya (Andy Bird) all exchanging places. An incident with Fay-J’s spinnaker at the leeward mark saw the fleet compress. Juneau moved up into second place during the upwind beat, a position she held for the rest of the race, in part due to impressive downwind speed that saw her hit over 17kts. The penultimate 2 legs saw a close race between Fay-J and J-Dream, who went into the last downwind leg with a few boat lengths lead, but within sight of the leeward mark, spinnaker damage left them significantly underpowered and Fay-J sailed through to finish seconds ahead, after nearly 3 hours of racing.

This week should see two more boats hitting the water, including National Champion Simon Curwen (Voador) and RORC 2-handed champion, Shaun Murphy (Slingshot).

Week 1 Results:

1. Java - Paul & Marie-Claude Heys
2. Juneau – Mike West
3. Jambalaya – Andy Bird