Crouch Yacht Club Autumn Series - Race 6 - Peter Cashel Memorial Trophy
by Sally Harbott 13 Nov 2018 10:18 GMT
11 November 2018
The Crouch Yacht Club Autumn Series fleet picked up moorings off the Burnham War Memorial to observe the silence this morning at 11am. Racing started at 11.30 and it was a breezy day with intermittent showers.
The first mark of the course was Greenward to starboard followed by Jubilee, Redward and Number 13. Before the gun, Jeannie, John Saunders Elan 31, hoisted their blue and white kite, being well up river of the line with a foul tide. They were towards the South Shore along with Don Rawling in Skullduggery who also went spinnaker but a little later than Jeannie being closer to the line. Skullduggery found it harder to get their spinnaker settled.
On the North Shore, Mantra, Phillip Harbott's Aphrodite 101 and Malcolm Fawkes in his Contessa 35 Fidelio went white sails until the corner past the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. Dan Tribe in his UFO Traigh, along with Lucy Lee, Grace and Danger and Bella Vela followed suit.
At Rice and Cole, Fidelio and Mantra hoisted kites, Mantra flying her red asymmetric got through the Contessa 35 with Traigh also putting up their green spinnaker. Bella Vela stayed white sail, as did Lucy Lee and Grace and Danger. Mantra rounded Greenward first with Fidelio in hot pursuit. Behind these two, Jeannie, Skullduggery and Lucy Lee were enjoying close racing with Traigh just off this group. Grace and Danger were next, with Andy Heel in Bella Vela just behind.
The boats hardened up at Greenward and had to tack to make Jubilee. Don Rawling in Skullduggery really closed the gap on this leg, but unfortunately an issue on a tack caused them to drop back again. Rounding Jubilee first, Mantra hoisted her AP white spinnaker, followed by Fidelio, Jeannie and Skullduggery.
At Redward, it was a drop and harden up; Mantra put a tack in to get into the deeper water, but in doing so gave the lead away to Fidelio. The wind began to drop a little on the up river leg, and the entire fleet were really quite close. The wind freed, at Number 13 Malcolm Fawkes overstood the mark a little, allowing Mantra to close the gap. Ian Keam George in Lucy Lee, the Dehler 34c, got much closer to the lead two.
Coming down to the finish Fidelio led with her big masthead blue kite, followed by Mantra under her red asymmetric again, John Saunders in Jeannie also with kite up and Lucy Lee. Traigh came down next to finish with their spinnaker up followed by the SJ 27 Grace and Danger, owned by Stephen Gosling and Andrew Courts under their distinctive red and white kite. Bella Vela were not far behind.
On corrected time Mantra won by 16 seconds from Fidelio who were 10 seconds ahead of the Elan, Jeannie. Traigh was fourth, a minute and 10 adrift of third. Lucy Lee was next on corrected with Grace and Danger 12 seconds behind them in sixth and Bella Vela just 19 seconds behind them. Skullduggery retired on the way up river.
The Peter Cashel Memorial Trophy was awarded after racing at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club by Brenda Cashel. Brenda gave a short speech about her late husband, Peter, a past Commodore of the Crouch Yacht Club, and his role as a seventeen year old in the D Day landings. A heroic act to retrieve the radio from the gunned down soldier led to him being shot in the shoulder, but he still managed to get the radio back to his CO. He gained a citation from Field Marshall Montgomery for his bravery.