Please select your home edition
Edition
GP Watercraft

Salcombe Yacht Club 2021 Summer Series - Race 4

by Graham Cranford Smith 20 Jul 2021 06:56 BST 17 July 2021

Buckets and spades abounded on the beaches plus many large rafted yachts in the Ria.

There were no takers for the juniors this weekend so first away were the Medium handicap where somehow, possibly by ingesting an elixir of youth Andrew Groves saw off the young pretenders of George Alexander and Charles Evans. Their course dictated a long beat to Yalton and a tour of the Ria.

There are good sailors and in the Fast Handicap fleet, very good sailors. Mike Hoyle with various crews proved particularly hard to shake off. He like Tim Fells took the long way round to mark Y en route to Yalton, in slacker tide. That really would have been that but for an inversion of gradient breeze being overtaken by a gathering sea breeze, which never mustered enough guts to get much past the fuel barge. Opportunities existed but your correspondent certainly failed to grasp them.

In the Solos, here again those that favoured a crossing to Snapes and then to Bungalow point faired the best. Billy Jago aced this along with Simon Dobson, and Ed Stephens. This pretty much was the story of the race. Cleaves, known around these parts for his wit and charm, followed Greening home to a well-earned ale or two, shooting what remained of the breeze on the Yacht Club terrace in very relaxed surroundings.

The Yawls raced as part of a training event and enjoyed a simple windward leeward course between Blackstone and Bungalow Point. There is life in the old dogs of Geof Gilson and Chris Spencer-Chapman who won this race in front of prodigious talents like Will Henderson. James and Barney Greenhill were a very respectable third.

Race 4 Results:

Medium Handicap
1st Laser, Andrew Groves
2nd Laser, George Alexander
3rd Charles Evans

Fast Handicap
1st RS Aero 7, Tim Fells
2nd National 12, Mike Hoyle and crew

Solo
1st Billy Jago
2nd Simon Dobson
3rd Ed Stephens

Related Articles

Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week overall
Tom Gillard and Rachel Gray take the trophy The final day of Helly Hansen Salcombe Merlin Week dawned to another day of blue skies with a light Southwester forming in the harbour and forecast to increase. The overall result was still up for grabs with both leading protagonists in the morning race. Posted on 4 Jul
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 5
Wall to wall sunshine for the 102 teams The fifth morning dawned with wall to wall sunshine and a 5 knot SW sea breeze popped in at the surprisingly early time of 8.30, promising a good day's racing for the 102 teams. Posted on 3 Jul
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 4
Random gusts from every direction, including vertical Past the halfway stage and the weather served up another wind direction for the fourth day of Helly Hansen Salcombe Merlin Week. Posted on 2 Jul
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 3
South-Westerly establishes itself after a windless dawn The third day dawned with light cloud and absolutely no wind in the harbour. As often happens at Salcombe, by the time the fleet started to launch a South-Westerly had started to establish itself and by the 10.30 start time there was 4-5 knots. Posted on 1 Jul
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 2
First start gets away on the top of the tide With the rest of the UK cooking in 30+ degrees, Salcombe has been veiled in sea mist for the last few days. Monday was the day when this was meant to clear but competitors woke to find the race track still shrouded in mist. Posted on 30 Jun
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 1
Over 200 of the UK's top dinghy racers are in the picturesque South Devon Ria The ever popular Salcombe Merlin Week, sponsored by Helly Hansen, Craftinsure and Creation Covers, has again attracted over 200 of the UK's top dinghy racers to the picturesque South Devon Ria. Posted on 29 Jun
Delivery to Salcombe Week - Final Call!
Devon's calling, and P&B are answering This weekend finds members of our Sail Loft team at Salcombe Yacht Club, for Merlin Salcombe Week. We'll be making the most of the conditions, the surroundings and the chance to catch up with other sailors who share our passion for competitive sailing. Posted on 26 Jun
Salcombe Yacht Club Summer Series Race 1
More classic Salcombe conditions on Saturday kicked off the series in style More classic Salcombe conditions on Saturday kicked off the Summer Series in style. Plenty of sunshine and a 15-knot south-westerly saw Race Officer Simon Dobson set the course: 1-7-1-3-2-3. Posted on 16 Jun
Merlin Rocket Week runners and riders
Who's in your flight? Who's sailing when? With Helly Hansen Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week just around the corner and the sacred PDF of doom (AKA the flights list) finally released, the WhatsApp groups are already ablaze. Sails are being tweaked, excuses rehearsed... Posted on 16 Jun
Salcombe YC Sailing Club Series final race
Despite the drenching, it was a fantastic afternoon on the water With winds forecast in excess of 30mph all week, ten hardy Solo sailors made it to the starting area, and despite the conditions seeming sailable most chose to wait until the preparatory signal by using the comparative protection of Smalls Cove. Posted on 9 Jun