Spencers Estate Agents Royal Lymington Yacht Club Thursday Night Late Series - Day 9

In the final race of the Royal Lymington Thursday Evening keelboat series, sponsored by Spencers Estate Agents, the wind gods came to the game with a solid racing breeze of around 20 knots.

Eight Nordic Folkboats came to the start line. With Folkboat Week happening, many boats decided that the three races over at Yarmouth were enough for one day and decided to give this evening race a miss. Hence numbers were down on the 20 average Nordic Folkboats for this event.

With a flooding tide, Bonnie decided that the Committee Boat end of the line was just favoured enough to start in the stronger tide. Having given the Race Committee a slightly worrying moment, she narrowly avoided the Committee Boat before tacking to Port. Half-way up the ensuing beat to + mark, Bonnie was narrowly ahead of Crackerjack who had started inshore, but had to duck Crackerjack who was on Starboard. This was an indication that the Race Committee had laid a very fair start line as Crackerjack had started further inshore than Bonnie.

Crackerjack then managed to hold her lead around the remaining marks to the finish with Bonnie in hot pursuit.

Behind these two, Jen and Lady Linda tussled for third and fourth with the remaining fleet close behind.

At the finish, it was Crackerjack 1st, which gave her a convincing over all win for the series, followed by Bonnie 2nd, who just pipped Tak for second overall in the series. Jen was third, Lady Linda fourth and Jibe-O fifth.

A cracking sail for the final Race of the Royal Lymington Thursday evening late series.

The final race in IRC class 2 was the decider for the Late Series between Rory Heron and Dan Snow's Swan 37 Mojitabel and Andy Hind's 29-foot Hanse 291 White Mischief with the latter just one point behind.

In a fresh Westerly breeze Mojitabel lead up the first beat to mark B rounding ahead of White Mischief who was second on the water. A long spinnaker run followed down to the easternmost black laid mark with Mojitabel, flying her huge masthead spinnaker, stretching away from White Mischief. The Swan ultimately did enough to save her time on the diminutive White Mischief who finished 80 seconds behind on corrected time to take second overall after a race lasting an hour and a half.

Motoring back to her mooring in a setting sun White Mischief's bowman (who drives down from Berkshire every Thursday) summed up their result succinctly: "we was robbed!"

Thursday night racing isn't over yet! We are running our Late Late Series through September at the earlier time of 17:00. To enter and for more information please visit www.rlymyc.org.uk