Frostbite Series 2025 at Neyland Yacht Club - Day 1

by Gavin Sims 7 Jan 09:45 GMT 5 January 2025

Against the expectation of the majority of the weather forecasts the assembled fleet of 14 crews at NYC in Pembrokeshire was greeted by mild temperatures and not a dead calm for the first race day of the 2025 Frostbite Series.

A patient wait was rewarded by a fresh and gusty breeze (10-23kts) from the south after lunch. A compact triangular course was set to the east of the club beginning with a downwind start to a dropped mark set off the marina car park (S), then a beat to Neyland Spit (S) and a final broad reach to hook around the club line.

All were clear at the start with Simon G in his Int Moth leading the fleet to the first mark, with Alan G and Annie R in their Dart 18 chasing hard. Geoff T rounded in third having started closer to the shore than the bulk of the fleet at the pin end and so sailing a hotter angle to the first mark. The 29er of Kiera E and Simon T was knocked flat by a gust as they were hoisting - the first capsize of the fleet today.

Positions remained unchanged by completion of the lap with the Solution of Ross P extremely close to the Supernova followed by Alec D in her ILCA 6. The lead Moth was completing laps at an average time of 2m37s so made short work of the four-lap course, would it however be fast enough to take the win on corrected?

The Dart 18 was too completing laps quickly, looking to be fast on the bottom reaches, finishing second on the water. The Supernova had maintained his lead over the Solution, pulling away on each beat only to lose a little on each reach, perhaps a pause by Ross P to delay his gybe on lap 3 would give Geoff T the few seconds he needed on corrected time?

Alec D completed the finishers for division 1 having sailed efficiently without any drama in her ILCA 6.

Isabelle N led the fleet of closely bundled Teras in division 2 to the first mark and up the first beat before her lower mast snapped. Liam F then took the lead ahead of Cerise L, Anwen S and Ted S, building on his lead over the following two laps, clearly revelling in the breeze with his maiden sail of the larger-sized Pro rig. All in the Tera fleet displayed confident boat handling, especially in the area of confused sea at the beginning of the beat where the main outgoing tide clashed with the back eddy running up the Neyland shore.

The second race of the day was not run due to the delayed start of the first.

With the results in it was the Dart 18 taking the win (Alan G had not paid attention to local advice that catamarans aren't favoured in Neyland waters), the Solution second, Supernova third, ILCA 6 fourth and Int Moth fifth in Division 1.

Division 2 results were in the order the boats crossed the finish line: Liam F first, Cerise L second, Anwen S third, Ted S fourth.

Club website: neylandyachtclub.co.uk

Div 1 Results:

Pos	Class	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	PY	Elapsed	Points
1	DART 18	Bostin Fittle	6400	Alan Gregory	Annabel Richards	Neyland Yacht Club	822	14:29	1
2	SOLUTION	Must Try Harder	439	Ross Prytherch		Dale Yacht Club	1105	20:00	2
3	SUPERNOVA	Gerpil	357	Geoff Turner		Fishguard Bay Yacht Club	1075	19:43	3
4	ILCA 6	Gustave	165267	Alec Denny		Neyland Yacht Club	1154	21:10	4
5	Moth Foiling	Mothferatu	3995	Simon Goodwin		Neyland Yacht Club	570	10:30	5
6	29ER	Vingt Neuf	838	Kiera Edwards	Simon Turnbull	Neyland Yacht Club	895	DNF	9
6	Moth Foiling	Stayin' Alive	3169	James Norris		Neyland Yacht Club	570	DNF	9
6	Hobie 16	Bakabana	‑	Ian Elwell		Neyland Yacht Club	826	DNF	9
6	ILCA 7	NYC ILCA 7	NYC1	Simon Merhasin		Neyland Yacht Club	1102	DNF	9

Div 2 Results:

Pos	Class	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	PY	Elapsed	Points
1	RS TERA PRO	Little Satellite	NYC	Liam Franz		Neyland Yacht Club	1364	21:22	1
2	RS TERA PRO	El Grande	3163	Cerise Le Petit		Neyland Yacht Club	1364	21:54	2
3	RS TERA PRO	Sea Anemone	2442	Anwen Sims		Neyland Yacht Club	1364	22:19	3
4	RS TERA SPORT	NYC TERA 1	NYC2	Ted Silverstone		Neyland Yacht Club	1445	26:29:00	4
5	RS TERA SPORT	Dark Horse	3230	Isabelle Nuttall		Neyland Yacht Club	1445	DNF	5