Pwllheli Challenge Series at Pwllheli Sailing Club - Week 3
by Vicky Cox 15 Oct 2018 17:03 BST
14 October 2018
Pwllheli Challenge Series week 3 © Mayhem
After storm Callum had abandoned Saturday's racing at weekend 3 of the Pwllheli Autumn and Challenge Series, Sunday saw increased numbers with the inclusion of several Cork 1720s joining Pwllheli's growing sportsboat fleet.
In contrast to Saturdays record breaking rainfall with force 9 winds, Sunday brought dry conditions, cloud clearing to sunshine and just 6-10kts over the land from the North making conditions very shifty. The race officer set a tight kite start along the beach offering spectators good views of some interesting kite hoists. The fleet got away cleanly with the sports boats leading the fleet off the line.
Racing appeared to be dominated by the Cork 1720s and J80s with J109 'Mojito' trying hard to recover after a bad start. In the end it was Glenn Pritchard's Cork 1720 'Mayhem' that took an easy first overall and in Sports boat class, fellow 1720 'Luvly Jubbly' (Andrew Brook and Eleri Griffith) took second in the Sports-boat class and Dave and Sarah Leather's J80 'Harley Quinn' took third in the sportsboats. Mojito had to settle for second overall and first in class 1, while Will Partington's Hunter 'Honey Bee' gave a fine performance to take first in class 2.
Race 2 and series leaders Mojito were first at the line when the gun went but a bad twist in the kite on the hoist, meant that they were soon at the back of the fleet with only Stephen Williams's 'Darling xx' behind them after having to return from OCS.
Wind shifts made it easy for positions to change in the fleet as the race progressed and it looked like Glenn Pritchard's Cork 1720 'Mayhem' that was going to take the race again, with Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox's J109 'Mojito', trying hard to take it from them. However, further back, a tactical gybe in towards the beach by J111, 'Sgrech' (Tudor, Rosewarne and Jones) enabled them to gain significant ground on the rest of the fleet and they took a convincing win, finishing over 2 minutes ahead on corrected time. Mayhem took second and Mojito third.
Mojito have increased their lead overall still followed by J80s Jailbreak (James and Johnny Collins) and Harley Quinn who lead the sportsboat class. Class 2, Honey Bee, putting in some fantastic starts at the weekend, lead the class while James Baldwin's Sigma 'Sloe Gin' currently sit in second place after a strong performance.
The Pwllheli Challenge Series, open to all boats, continues in two weeks time on the 27th and 28th October.
More information and full results on the club website www.PwllheliSailingClub.co.uk