The thirteen classes of yachts competing in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series enjoyed yet another day of very good racing when the main series resumed after last week's Charity Pursuit Race.
A westerly breeze of 5 to 10 knots and a somewhat weaker than normal Solent tidal stream provided relatively undemanding conditions, but competition was as intense as usual in the pleasant sunshine that prevailed. Although many of the class leaders maintained their overall places at the head of affairs, some found themselves a position or two off the lead at the end of the day, and a couple of boats which had previously remained unbeaten lost their invincibility status.
Among the White Fleet classes, Stewart Bowen-Davies's "Windsong" remained on top of IRC 0 by beating the Farr 45 "Fraxious" on handicap, while in IRC 1 the two J/133s of Stewart Hawthorn and Neil Martin traded places for the overall lead when "Jump" won and "Jammy Dodger" finished third behind Ian Maclean's Ker 36 "Software Mistress". In IRC 2 Peter Howland's "X-Dream" was the winner today, but Peter Rutter's consistency in "Quokka" kept him in the lead when he finished second. Jim Macgregor in the 2005 Garmin Yacht of the Year "Flair IV" did well to recover to third after having to return at the start today, and is no doubt looking forward to discarding a twelfth from Race 4 which is currently holding him back in fourth position.
Marie-Claude and Paul Heys reeled off another first in their J/92S "Java Lite" and?they have gradually pulled out a three point lead in IRC 3, despite the fact that Ian Dawson in the X-332 "Glide-Ex" is also sailing very consistently. Paul and Julia Aisher rediscovered their winning form today, but G. Fairhall's Corby 25 "Brightwork" came second to retain the lead in IRC 4.
Simon Curwen's "Voador" won the J/105 race today from David and Kirsty Apthorp's "J-Dream", but consistency is the key and Paul Griffiths leads the class overall in "Fay-J" despite not having won a race so far. "Zelda" sailed by Ben Richards and Michael Ewart-Smith continues to lead the J/109s after coming second behind Philip Smith's "Firestorm" in today's race.
The Sigma 33 class was remarkably thin on the ground today, with Adrian Brown's "Odalisque" the only finisher after "Shadowfax" had to use her engine when she ran aground early in the race. The Sigma 38s were more plentiful, and the surprise of the day came when the Meakins Family lost their unblemished record in "Festina Lente" by coming second to Chris and Vanessa Choules' "With Alacrity".
On the White Fleet courses, the large Hunter 707 class was made to take notice when Simon Law and Chris Eddy, sailing "Sword" for the first time in the series, had the best score of the day with a third and a first. Messrs Gorman, Williams, Breslin and Simmonds (who might be a firm of solicitors) also did well in "Censored" with a second and a third, but the consistency of?Ed Hipkin?in "Sharkin Mad" keeps him in the lead overall.
The unique thing about the J/80 class is that not a single boat in the fleet of ten has sailed in every race of the series. Perhaps they have other interests, but they certainly enjoy good racing and their scores are still remarkably close. Today it was Liz Savage sailing "Savage Racing Team" who did best with a first and a third, but Robert and Jonathan Fox lead overall in "Jevan".
Another Fox, this time James, who sails "Royal Thames Lucky Lady", leads overall in the largest fleet of all, the Laser SB3s. It has to be said that Mike Budd and Russell Peters, who had won 6 of the 8 races prior to today, did not compete, and the sheer numbers racing in the class resulted in their score increasing from 22 to 122 in their absence, dumping them down to fifth overall. However, providing they turn up from now on, you would certainly not put your money on them losing the series. Geoff Carveth, who will definitely not do well overall as he has already missed six out of ten races, showed how to do it today by finishing first and second in "Palava".
The SBR Sportsboats class saw Ian Atkins' run of six consecutive victories in the Cork 1720 "Boats.com" brought to an end by David Greenhalgh in another Cork 1720 "G & T". However, Ian still leads overall from Richard Scarff in one of the Backman 21s "Backbeat".
Today's prizes were provided by Barclays Marine Finance.
Complete results, along with loads of other information, can be found on www.garminhamblewinterseries.co.uk Results: Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Week 6, White Fleet Race Winners: Laser SB3 Race 1, "Palava" Geoff Carveth. Race 2, "Badger Racing" P. Lovejoy J80 Race 1, "Savage Racing Team" Liz Savage. Race 2, "Justify" Jeffrey Dakin & Bruce Jubb Hunter 707 Race 1, "This is Jeff" Harry Hall. Race 2, "Sword" Simon Law & Chris Eddy SBR Sportsboats Races 1 & 2, "G & T" David Greenhalgh Garmin Hamble Winter Series, Week 6, Black Fleet Race Winners: IRC 0 "Windsong" Stuart Bowen-Davies IRC 1 "Jump" Stewart Hawthorn IRC 2 "X-Dream" Peter Howland IRC 3 "Java Lite" Marie-Claude & Paul Heys IRC 4 "Tangent Minus 1" Paul & Julia Aisher J105 "Voador" Simon Curwen J109 "Firestorm" Philip Smith Sigma 33 "Odalisque" Adrian Brown Sigma 38 "With Alacrity" Chris Choules & Vanessa Choules
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article