Tribute J/24 Nationals at Royal Cornwall Yacht Club - Day 1
by Phil Sissons 7 Jul 2006 11:47 BST
6-9 July 2006
Race 1:
After a cloudy and light wind beginning to the day, 25 entrants started race 1 in 12-14 knots of westerly breeze and bright skies. Ian Southworth helming Chris McLoughlin’s Hedgehog rounded the windward mark first and maintained his lead to take the first bullet of the day. Meanwhile back in the melee, the majority of the competitors were fighting for clear air and position. The tight competitive nature of one design racing amplifies minor mistakes or good tactical calls result in place changes. For the Falmouth fleet it was refreshing to race in the Bay on windward/ leeward courses – perhaps this is the way ahead. Local interest was represented by Gary Denning’s Roger Rabbit finishing second followed by Johnny Bravo in fourth.
Race 2:
After a rather biased port end start, the bulk of the fleet raced a fair way to windward on port. Only a few boats were over the line at the start. The breeze had built slightly since race 1. All the competitors changed places frequently with a very tight finish showing Hedgehog in first place and Stouche (Stuart Jardine) and Legal Alien (John Allen) in second and third respectively. The first local boat across the line was Juggs (James Richardson) in 6th.