Poole Bay Winter Series - Day 4
by Parkstone YC Poole Bay Winter Series 30 Oct 2018 11:00 GMT
28 October 2018
Firebird (GBR9545, Hunter Impala 28 on day 3 of the Poole Bay Winter Series © Parkstone YC Poole Bay Winter Series
Day 4 of the Poole Bay Winter Series was dominated by a strong north-easterly breeze, gusting over 30 knots at times in the bay.
The PRO, Nick Stone, set the first committee boat start line inside the harbour as usual, just north of Brownsea Castle. The course took the yachts first on a short windward leg to No. 17 channel buoy, then out of the harbour entrance and down the Swash Channel to South Hook, from where it was a beat to Vinyl Solutions in the middle of the bay.
In a relatively uneventful Class 1, MS Amlin Enigma (MG 346) won, while her main competitor in the series, Amigos (Archambault A35), was forced to retire before the start. Most of the action was in Class 2, which fielded the biggest turnout of the series with 8 yachts competing.
First away from the line was Trican, the Contessa 32, which seemed very happy beating in the gusty conditions. Unfortunately, a navigational error caused them to drop from first to last at the first mark. Also enjoying the conditions were Elanor, the Elan 31, and Rum Juggernaut, the MG27. Elanor had pulled out a good lead by the end of the Swash Channel, which they extended on the beat. Trican managed to pull back some of their lost time, passing three of the smaller boats in the Swash.
The smallest boat in the fleet, the 25-foot MS Amlin QT, braved the course with the larger boats, but suffered gear failure which resulted in her having to drop the main and sail much of the final beat under jib alone.
With strong gusts and a fairly heavy sea running further offshore in the wind-against-tide conditions, the PRO decided to shorten course at Vinyl Solutions, rather than requiring the yachts to complete the planned windward/leeward between Vinyl and South Hook.
By the finish, Elanor had pulled out over 3 minutes on Rum Juggernaut, with Firebird, the Impala, in third. On corrected time, Rum Juggernaut lifted to first, Elanor was relegated to second and Firebird was third, with Trican having recovered to fourth.
The PRO wisely decided not to run a second race, allowing the happy and exhilarated competitors to return to the harbour early for some well-earned refreshment.