Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

Salcombe Yacht Club Autumn Series Race 1

by John Burn & David Greening 5 Sep 2023 09:47 BST 2 September 2023

Fast Handicap (by John Burn)

Course 3-1-3-1-3-1

Twelve boats arrived at the start line, made up solely of Yawls. They were greeted by wall-to-wall sunshine, a NE 8 knot breeze, and a slack tide in the very last stages of its cycle.

Will and Mandy Henderson in Y168 took control, reaching Crossways first, with Olly Turner and Chris Skelhorn in Y68 in close quarters.

Alas for the rest of the fleet, the Hendersons proceeded to extend their advantage throughout the race, never troubled and ultimately winning by a hefty margin both on the water and on corrected time.

Turner and Skelhorn, for the second week in a row, showed great boat speed and kept pace with the two Red Fleet boats of Y170 and Y145. This trio battled it out for position all race, and it was only as they approached the last mark when the breeze turned light that the red fleet boats managed to edge ahead.

It mattered not though, as Olly and Chris had comfortably secured second place after another great performance.

After an afternoon of close racing, Robert Smith and Robin Piggott in Y123, along with Simon and Jonty Dawes in Y150, finished with nothing to split them and so found themselves sharing third place.

It was great to see so many Yawls continuing to participate in club racing, and for the fourth week in a row, we saw another two new crews out on the water who had never stepped foot in a Yawl. Im pleased to say they loved it. Well done, Jonty Dawes Y150 and Nick Gilbert Y170.

Solo Race (by David Greening)

Course 3-1-3-1-3-1

A slightly depleted fleet of nine Solos came to the Salcombe Yacht Club start line for the first race of the Autumn series, the reduced numbers partly due to the no wind forecast and that most of the race team was made up of Solo regulars.

As it happened, there was a useable Force 3 North Easter which gave Race Officer Simon Dobson plenty to work with on a low slack tide, and who set a four lap windward leeward course between Crossways and Blackstone.

Paul Ellis drove over the fleet at the start, to arrive at the windward mark first, a position that he was never to relinquish. Gavin Stevens played a blinder by sailing the long route via Snapes Point to feed into second place on more pressure than Tim Fells, Bill Jago, David Greening or Simon Yates. Though it was this group that proceeded down the run in a line to Blackstone.

On the ensuing beat leader Ellis had the choice of the shifts, whilst the pursuing pack was shuffled with Fells and Greening working through to the podium places.

As the tide changed, the wind dropped off a notch on the final run, causing the fleet to spread out to the extent that there were no longer any passing opportunities, so at the shortened finish, Ellis took the win from Fells, from Greening, with Jago securing fourth place.

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