Lymington Town Sailing Club Solent Circuit - Race 1

The crew of J80 ‘Just Do It' enjoy perfect Solent sailing conditions during Lymington Town Sailing Club Solent Circuit Race 1 © Lou Johnson

After the 2020 LTSC Solent Circuit was curtailed to a single race by the weather and Covid lock down, competitors in the 2021 series were greeted on Sunday 17th October by a stunning Autumn sunrise and almost perfect Solent conditions of flat water and a 10 to 14 knot southerly breeze.

35 boats came to start, racing in five classes. For IRC 1 and 2, Local Handicap and Folkboat Classes the Race Committee set a series of windward / leeward legs across the western Solent, with a couple of reaching legs to bring the fleets back against the building ebb tide.

In IRC 1 Tim Webb's Swan 45 Luna led the way to claim line honours, but a couple of navigational errors meant her lead of almost ten minutes over Andy Roberts' J105 Jin Tonic, was not sufficient to claim a podium finish, seeing her drop to 5th on corrected time. Roberts and the Crew of Jin Tonic took first place, closely followed by Ray Crouch's Adams 10 Boomerang and Bob Bakers J97 Jaywalker.

In IRC 2 Andy Ash-Vie and the crew of the customised 6 Metre Wild Cat were first to finish, but another navigation error meant a forced retirement. Disappointment for Ash-Vie, but satisfaction for Andy Hind sailing his Hanse 29 White Mischief in to first place on corrected time, followed by Harry Hutchinson's Swan 36 Anna Mai and Allan Hills J30 Colleen.

In the local Handicap Class Mandy & Geoff Stocks Giles / Colins Custom 33 Jungle took line honours, with a crew representing three generations of the family. However, with time corrections applied Richard Truscotts Westerly Konsort Unity came to the fore, with Denis Bates' First 32s5 Roller coaster in second and Stuart Duffin's Elan 310 Flying Boat in third.

The Folkboat fleet saw some close racing, with Ray Mitchell & Charles Darley (Freedom) taking the win ahead of John Cooper and Becki Wiggley (Jen) in second and Simon Flack (Stralende) in third.

The J80's sailed two back to back races around shorter courses laid to the east of Lymington River. Chris and Hannah Neve's No Regrets showed a clean transom to the fleet in both races, with Toby Collier's Traffic Jam and Jim White's Emoji taking consistent second and third places in each race.

Following two hours of close racing in near perfect conditions the fleets headed to the bar at LTSC for a well-earned post-race beer and to enjoy the autumn sunshine on the club lawn.

Thanks to Race Day sponsors Flack Manor Brewery and to all club volunteers on the committee boat and mark laying RIBs.

The series continues on Sunday 24th October. Entry is still open for the whole series or individual races on line at www.ltsc.co.uk/solent-circuit