Allspars 18ft Skiff Solent Grand Prix Series - Round 4
by Tom Hill 28 Aug 2019 07:49 BST
24-26 August 2019
The fleet assembled on their now homely beach at Calshot Activity Centre for three days of racing over the bank holiday. Usual favourites, The Time Genie couldn't make this event, so it left the field open to the other teams who had the chance to take an event win.
Day 1
The fleet had some close racing on what was agreed was the wrong rigs for the day. The forecast and likely sea breeze pushed all teams to launch on their No2 rigs, but the anticipated breeze didn't come through and the fleet all had to make do with being underpowered for most of the day.
Three races were fired off in quick succession in steady breeze. BabyCham were looking dominant all day until the last race where they were buried off the start line and couldn't recover.
The Green Skiff was quietly consistent and sat in second place overnight with a collection of good results. Rutland and Union Rose were the two heavier teams and struggled to power up their small rigs down range and rounded off the bottom of the leaderboard.
Day 2
Day two dawned and the breeze looked very similar to the day before so big rigs were the order of the day. Most of the fleet plugged in their No1 rigs and enjoyed stretching their legs in more breeze.
Rutland had the best day overall scoring two bullets climbing them to joint top with BabyCham over night. Union Rose were also quick posting some good results. The extra breeze certainly helped the heavier teams.
The Green Skiff had a commendable day on the water with a stand in bowlady enjoying her first ever day in a dinghy racing on the front of an 18ft Skiff.
As a couple of repairs were in order for that evening, the fleet opted for takeaway pizzas on the beach, basking in the glorious weather and debriefing on the days racing.
Day 3
The forecast predicted almost no wind all day for the final day of racing, so the fleet had to once again pin all their hopes on a sea breeze. The start time was pushed back to allow the breeze to establish. By 1pm, the wind started to show and the weather stations all looked like it was a goer. They were correct and the fleet launched for three tactical races that took the weekend's overall results down to the wire!
Rutland and Babycham both took a bullet and second place in the first two races leaving them on joint points going into the final race. It showed on the first beat as BabyCham sailed both boats well past the lay line! By the top mark it was Rutland who were out in front and kept the lead to the end to take the win overall for the weekend.
The Green Skiff and Union Rose both made it tricky for the two other skiffs by keeping pace and very much keeping them honest!
Another great weekend on the Solent for the Skiff fleet and some seriously close racing. A huge thanks to Graham, James, Kate and Harry for running the races and capturing some great pictures.
The fleet are warmed up for the next and final Calshot event for the season on 20th to 22nd September. It will be a joint European Grand Prix and U.K. Nationals event, so it is sure to be a great turn out. Thanks to Calshot Activities Centre for hosting the fleet once again, the very helpful race team that fired off the races and Allspars for their ongoing support to the fleet.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Helm / Middle / Bow | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 |
|---|
| 1 | Rutland | Tom Hill / Mark Kudlinski / Ollie Hooper | 2 | ‑4 | ‑3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | BabyCham | Luke Goble / Cameron Barr / Fiona Collins / Sam Batten | 1 | 1 | ‑4 | ‑OCS | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Union Rose | Alex Lewin / Dan Harris / Jamie Jobson | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ‑4 | 1 |
| 4 | Green Skiff | Tom Kiddle / Rob Franklin / Andy Tarboten / Kate Sullivan | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑DNF | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |