Summer Series at Royal Temple Yacht Club - Race 3
by Peter Jackson 30 Jun 2025 13:08 BST
28-29 June 2025
The combined RORC and 14 boat EAORA East Coast Race fleets converged on Ramsgate in the Cannon Ball race from Ostend on a Fastnet qualifier race on Saturday 28th June. A race back to Harwich started on Sunday 29th, just before the RTYC Summer Series race started with a slightly larger fleet. The local race had a shorter, 16 mile, course designed to be shortened due to the light and variable wind, forecast from the north east veering to the south.
A light airs running start suited Peter & Alex Jackson's Stimson designed Pronavia 42 Assassin, who led at mark 1 followed by Peter Pearson et al's HOD Buccaneer and the Barrett-Woodward X362 Stiletto. With only 6 knots of breeze Assassin pulled further away on the beat against the 2 knot south going tide. Stiletto pulled past Buccaneer, but both fell into the gap between the Easterly and new south to south west sea breeze on the hottest day of the year so far.
Martin Law had set the course but his Cork 1720 Flying Pig was near the back with the Melges 24, the latter suffering from the higher wetter surface to sail area ratio of its fast planing hull shape. As Assassin sailed away in the new sea breeze Flying Pig had a remarkable recovery, creeping past Jura, then also the HOD and X362, both rating slightly higher. A few boats retired, including Stiletto and Jura before the 8-10 knot sea breeze set in for the beat south to the Brake buoy marking the Gull Stream channel inside the Goodwin Sands.
Assassin revelled in the conditions and was well down the one hour run back against the tide to the Ramsgate Channel marker 2 buoy when the next boats reached Brake. With another long run to Broadstairs in prospect and the tide due to turn against the beat back the race team wisely shortened course to allow the smaller boats back in time to sample the Royal Temple's new chef's late Sunday lunch fare. Assassin finished at 13.02pm 36 minutes ahead of Buccaneer. The assy of Flying Pig didn't like the square run and slipped 6 minutes further back, but ten minutes ahead of 'Lock Stock'.
With three races run those latter three boats now stand level at the top of the series with 8 points each.
IRC Class 1-2 results:
1st Assassin
2nd Buccaneer
3rd Flying Pig