Sublime Solent Sailing at Keyhaven Week 2018
by Sarah Desjonqueres 6 Aug 2018 08:47 BST
28 July - 5 August 2018
Sublime Solent sailing at Keyhaven Week 2018 © Tom Compton, Karen Weeks & Alex Pepper
Keyhaven Yacht Club's week-long regatta came storming in last weekend on the tail of some very wild, windy and wet weather, delivered nine truly wonderful races then quietly slipped away on a zephyr of a breeze.
The event welcomed competitors from local clubs alongside Keyhaven sailors and was delighted to see Marc Jacobi, the current RS Aero 9 world champion over from Cedar Point YC in Long Island join the line-up for the first half of the week as a warm up for the RS Aero Worlds starting today in Weymouth.
As is the way with the British summer, the first day of racing was lost to 45 knots winds and saw day 2 dawn as a rather breezy affair too. With the anemometer picking gusts of 30 knots it was a brave RO who sent the 18 Gold Fleet and 2 Silver Fleet boats to the start line and 25 even crazier sailors who decided to show up there. Waiting for them out in the Solent was a cracking south westerly which delivered some truly exhilarating sailing. After some screaming, gunwhale clinging reaches, the gusts were beginning to take their toll however. The capsize count began to rise, Marc Jacobi had halyard problems and Jon Harvey and crew (Tasar) experienced the crack, bang, wallop of their mast falling down on the reach. No matter however, far more prevalent than the upside-down hulls were all the beaming faces; not often do we sail in such feisty conditions and what a thrill it was. So, the spoils of the day went to Matt Wright & Alex Pepper (Laser 2000) in the Gold fleet and notching up the first of many wins was Sarah & Leo Gosling (LR Scow) in the Silver fleet.
Day 3 was slightly less of a high-octane thriller than the previous outing but nonetheless delivered something akin to sailing perfection. Racing a square course for the Gold fleet and a triangle for the Silver, the boat count was now up to 30 dinghies. The slight Committee Boat end bias of the start line attracted most of the Gold Fleet to try their luck up there, but with the wind as lively as it was, several over eager sailors triggered a general recall and with that a quick re-jig of the start line to remove temptation. Both Gold & Silver fleets were soon racing their respective courses with mini battles going on up and down all the legs. Most boats were managing to stay the right way up today leaving the Solent awash with colourful spinnakers and happy smiling sailors. With the wind a little less of a handful, the RO also ran the Race Home. With all 30 boats starting at the same time, the start line was noisy and busy, but soon all were underway for one round and followed by a flat out drag race down the river. As the boats got away the busy procession of so many boats all rounding the windward mark and piling down the broad reach must have been a truly spectacular sight. Winner of the day for the Gold Fleet was our visiting World Champ Marc Jacobi and taking the win once more for the Silver Fleet, Sarah Gosling. Matt & Alex took the win for the Gold Fleet Race Home with Steve & Dave Wood (Laser 13) pipping Sarah Gosling to the post to take the Silver Fleet Race Home win.
Day 4, and yet another dreamy day was dished out on the water, with a decent, sailable breeze and plenty of sunshine to warrant shades, sun cream and lots of interesting head gear. RO Colin Dunford, this time kept both fleets on the same course, opting for a good old fashioned triangle, but still maintained the separate start times. This staggered start created a rather interesting meeting of boats as the gold fleet found themselves pouring down the reach as the Silver Fleet were zigzagging their way up in the opposite direction. Both reaches on the course were still rather broad for those favouring a tighter point of sail, but the Solent saw its fair share of spinnakers up and flying on the downwind legs. The capsize count was now down to 1, a rather stylish dismount to windward by Karl Thorne in his RS Aero 7. The wind upped the ante once more for the Race Home and with a one start for all, the shouts for Starboard up the beat and round the windward mark could probably have been heard at Lymington. The march of nearly 40 boats all charging up to the mark at the same time delivered a battle Royale and it was certainly fun to be part of! The win for the Gold Fleet this time was shared between Marc Jacobi and Oliver Dowson McGill & Sebastian Harris (420) with Sarah Gosling enjoying her 3rd win of the series. The race home this time was won by Marc Jacobi and Sarah Gosling.
Day 5 was Pursuit Race Day, attracting 33 boats to the start line in what were, by now, basically Caribbean conditions. The south westerly was still in charge of proceedings, although it was becoming more of a pussy cat than the tiger of previous days. That said, however, there was most certainly enough puff left to take all the boats around 4 laps of a square course. The Scows set off first, followed by the Qubas, Fevas, a fleet of Radials and the Laser 2000s leaving the fast few to wait until virtually 2 rounds had been completed by the first boats before they were released from the stalls. The beats were a busy motorway of criss crossing boats and the run became a drag race where race positions switched with regularity as the faster boats started to chomp their way up through the fleet. By the 4th lap and despite all his efforts to catch her up, Ian Sanderson in his Hadron H2 was however unable to compete with the unassailable lead carved out by Sarah & Leo Gosling in their LR Scow. The pair managed to squeak over the line just ahead of the faster boat and take the Pursuit Race top spot.
Day 6 and the last day of Gold & Silver fleet racing belonged to Ian Sanderson in his Hadron and Sarah & Leo Gosling in their LR Scow. Once more, the sun shone, and the wind blew, albeit a lot more delicately than previous days, and nearly 40 boats came out to play.
RO Colin Dunford set both fleets on the same triangular course, with a short beat and 2 dead runs which once more mingled those coming down the run with those heading up to the windward mark. Getting away to a clean start Ian Sanderson took the lead and never relinquished it over 6 rounds giving him his first win of the week and sealing him the top spot on the overall leader board. Back in the Silver fleet Sarah Gosling's LR Scow showed the way once more, this last win representing her 4th of the week giving her an unbeatable lead and a resounding 1st place in the Silver fleet.
The Race home once more provided all the thrills and spills of 40 boats all starting at the same time and triggered the inevitable shouts of starboard all the way up the beat. With the wind now tamed, the capsize count was officially zero and all the boats ended their sailing week with a gentle race back up the river, the Silver fleet won by the Vines in their LR Scow and the Gold fleet taken by Ian Sanderson.
Day 7 belonged to the Ladies. The limp northerly that hung around all morning was promptly shunted out of the way by early afternoon allowing the south westerly sea breeze to take over once more. Again under blue skies, 16 Keyhaven ladies lined up ready to seize their moment in the week long regatta racing a triangle course and contesting 2 races. Like the day before, everyone kept a capsize clean sheet although the wind never really peaked at more than 8knots. Both races went to Team Gosling/Boughton in the LR Scow, but really everyone was a winner today going on the parade of smiling ladies. The perfect way to end the Keyhaven Week racing series
Full results can be found on the Keyhaven Yacht Club website.