Poole Bay Winter Series - Overall
by Parkstone YC Poole Bay Winter Series 11 Dec 2018 21:03 GMT
9 December 2018
Chris Hawkes accepts the Class 2 trophy for Elanor (with Parkstone commodore Rob Jarratt) at the Poole Cruiser Winter Series prizegiving © David Harding /
www.sailingscenes.co.uk
Racing on the final day of the Poole Bay Winter Series was cancelled due
to a forecast that promised gusts over 40 knots. In the event, the wind
decreased throughout the morning to leave conditions similar to those on
previous Sundays when challenging racing has been enjoyed in Poole Bay.
High winds have certainly been a dominant feature of the series, with
between 20 and 30 knots experienced on eight out of the ten Sundays.
The two-race-per-day format again very proved popular with
crews, allowing them to test themselves in short, sharp races. All
featured committee boat start and finish lines, with true windward legs
and plenty of corners. The start for the first race each Sunday was
inside the harbour entrance, avoiding a long motor out to the
bay. Yachts would race out through the harbour entrance and around a
course using some of the many fixed marks before finishing in
the bay. Race 2 was then started in the bay by the committee boat, with
both fixed and laid race marks used, ensuring good upwind and downwind
angles.
Entries in the series were 60% up on 2017 and, with such positive
feedback from competitors, this increase is set to continue for 2019.
Class 2 was particularly well supported this year, with more than double
the number of competitors.
In Class 1, MS Amlin Enigma (MG 346, Ian Braham) won the series, from
Amigos (Archambault A35, Peter Winttle/Nick Fullagar) and Ruthless (Dehler 33, Martin Pearson) in third.
In Class 2, it was Elanor (Elan 31, Chris Hawkes) who came out on top
under both IRC and VPRS rating systems. In second was Matchmaker II
(Contention 33, Mike Fox) and third was the smallest boat in the class,
MS Amlin QT (Ecume de Mer, Keith Lovett), proving that smaller is still
competitive even in the windier conditions experienced throughout the
series.
At the prizegiving, Parkstone Yacht Club's Commodore, Rob Jarratt,
thanked those involved in the organisation of the series, the PRO's, the
committee teams and the mark-laying RIB crews for their hard work and
fortitude in what were often testing conditions. The series will again run from early October next year and the organisers would be happy to hear from potential sponsors.
Full results: www.parkstoneyachtclub.com/Sailing/Club_Racing.aspx