(Warsash, England)- It was a busy time for Warsash Sailing Club on
12th/13th April with racing on both days for the opening of the Brooks
Macdonald Warsash Spring Championship and the fifth Sunday of the Spring
Series. As the weather became warmer, entry numbers have increased so
that some 140 boats were out to enjoy the full schedule of racing.
During the two days, the race officers ran over 50 separate races – a
challenging but rewarding weekend all round.
Saturday– Day One
For Black Group, the south-westerly breeze started light but built by
the end of the afternoon to a brisk 17 knots. Four races were scheduled
and completed, largely using windward/leeward courses.
In 2013, Warsash Sailing Club decided to open the Spring Championship to
all IRC handicap classes. Although entries were modest for the smaller
boat classes last year, IRC3 and IRC4 entered excellent fleets this
time. In IRC 3, Diamond Jem (J/109 - Robert Stiles) finished the day
with a two point lead. Iain MacKinnon’s Tigh Soluis II headed three of
the four races for the J/109s with Jubilee (Tony Dickin) taking Race 1.
After a slow start, Duncan Mcdonald’s J/111 team SHMOKIN JOE took two
wins as did Louise Makin & Chris Jones’s JOURNEYMAKER 11.
Sunday- Day Two
For Black Group, Sunday’s wind started in the north and went light
before switching eventually to the west, then south-west at 10/12 knots.
Two races were planned for each class and the committee boat anchored
near Flying Fish buoy. A 10 mile course was set for IRC1 and IRC2 with
shorter courses for the remaining classes. Boats in IRC1 pushed their
start, with many over the line early. Several collided with each other
and the committee boat. After a general recall, the restart, subject to
the “Z flag”, meant an extra penalty for being early and this time the
class got away. There were individual recalls for several classes but
all boats returned to start correctly. By the time IRC3 got underway,
IRC2 were coming downwind close to the line. One of the many temporary
wind shifts meant that for a couple of classes the first leg became
biased with little tacking to the windward mark at Wilson Covers. This
was where IRC4 joined the parade, having started earlier from a separate
line. Most skippers went for a white sail reach to the spreader mark at
Hill Head buoy, though a few sailed high hoping to use their kites.
After that all the spinnakers went up, followed by a game of tactics –
whether to gybe and stay out of the tide or go straight to Sunsail. The
majority stayed on the bank but there was more wind in the main channel,
where some made significant gains.
Aiming to complete two races, the start sequence for IRC1 began as IRC3
was crossing the finish, so a certain amount of dodging was necessary.
Courses involved a couple of windward/leeward legs then a long tactical
downwind leg against the tide when all the boats hugged the
Lee-on-Solent side before crossing south to North Ryde Middle. The
breeze picked up and backed on the way across. There was then another
tide versus wind decision before the finish just west of Bart’s Bash.
Black Group saw the J/111 teams experience rather topsy-turvy results
for many boats. Leading the series is JOURNEYMAKER 11 with a
1-3-4-1-1-1 for 11 pts, with a comfortable 7.5 pt margin. Second is
Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG with a 4-2-2-3-2.5-5 for 18.5 pt. Two points
back is Mcdonald’s SHMOKIN JOE with an 8-1-1-2-6-2 tally for 20 pts.
Fourth is David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM and fifth is Andrew
Christy & Chris Body’s ICARUS.
It was a good sunny day to enjoy Warsash Sailing Club’s riverside garden
after racing where Jonathan Broad, Investment Manager from Brooks
Macdonald, presented champagne to the weekly class winners and WSC
member Aron Wellband from the SB20 Flutter won the jacket donated by
SLAM UK. The event now takes a break for the Easter holiday and returns
on 26th/27th April for the grand finale of both the Brooks Macdonald
Warsash Spring Series and the Spring Championship. For more Warsash Spring Championships sailing information
