Warsash Spring Series supported by Helly Hansen, Week 3
by Chris Hughes 31 Mar 2022 22:18 BST
27 March 2022
A sunny Mothering Sunday with a fickle breeze
The neap tide ran west to around midday then turned east, with enough water over the shallower areas of the bank and the Plateau only until around 1130. The start area was near "Jane" buoy to the NE of the Brambles Bank.
Breeze forecast was easterly 6-8 knots - 070 degrees veering 20 degrees to 090 during the race period. However that did not materialise. Before the 1030 scheduled start time the breeze was initially sailable although varying between 035 and 090 degrees, but by 1030 had died away to 1-2 knots.
During the inevitable postponement for the next hour, various puffs came though and died away again, eventually seeming to settle around 070-080 degrees so a short 2-lap course was set and racing was started. Almost at once the breeze dropped away for a quarter of an hour whilst boats just about kept moving.
Then it returned, to general relief, but after another half hour veered sharply to an unexpected southerly. That made a bit of a nonsense of the course configuration and all classes were shortened after an hour on conclusion of one lap. Boats with Mothering Sunday commitments seemed only too glad to get away in good time, whilst happy to have got a short race in after all.
The J/109 Mojo Risin', Rob Cotterill, took the win in IRC2 as they did last week, this time by nearly 2 minutes ahead of sistership Jago, with Kevin Taylor's J/88 Jump 2 It in 3rd. That's also the order in the points series at this stage, with 5 more races to go. IRC 1 were not racing this weekend.
IRC 3 was led on the water and on corrected time by James Crew and the half-tonner Quokka, who seemed to find breeze that eluded others, romping home a full 5 minutes ahead of 2nd placed Jeronimo (David Greenhalgh's J/92) with Allan Fraser's Sigma 33 Prospero of Hamble 3rd. Again, those are currently the Series placings as well.
The Series continues next Sunday with Week 4 of 6 of Black Group racing. The Spring Championship weekends, with multiple races each day for both Black Group and White Group classes, start on 9 April.
Find out more at www.warsashsc.org.uk/spring-series