(Hamble, England)- This weekend saw the Garmin Hamble Winter Series get
underway, with some exciting, blustery conditions to see in the start
of the event’s 30th anniversary. Perhaps one might refer to this
eponymous event as "THE Winter" Series as it has always enjoyed an
immensely popular following amongst knowledgeable and enthusiastic
sailors over time. Like some other events across Europe and the
America's, it does assume a bit of a "Goodwood-type" or "Woodstock-like"
pilgrimage from the cozy confines of the tree-lined squares in London
and surrounding suburbs down to the sleepy little seaside town alongside
the Hamble River just north of the boisterous and, sometimes, sublime
"river" of water known around the world as simply "The Solent". Saturday was the first day of the new-format Autumn Championships, with racing for J/80 and J/109 classes on two courses. Winds of 12-18 knots provided ideal, if gusty racing conditions, and race officers Ian Sumner and Jamie Wilkinson got 4 races in for all classes without incident, although an over-eager start by the J/80s saw them pushed to the back of the queue in the first race after a general recall.
Sunday’s
forecast was for more wind, and the weather Gods certainly delivered
with gusts of 25 knots at times. Three races were sailed – with no
general recalls this time. But the day wasn’t short of drama, with a
J/80 shredding her kite close to a lee shore, perhaps taking up one of
Bob Fisher's oft-quoted pearls of wisdom- "carving yet another furrow
through the mud for others to follow" (a local Lymington tactic for
those not "in-the-know" to avoid a wee bit of Solent current).What is wonderful to see are some fresh new faces giving the "old guard" a run-for-the-roses in both the J/80 and the J/109 classes. After a shaky start in the J/80 class, Rob Larke in J2X found his form and won four races in a row, and is sitting in first place overall, ahead of J.A.T, sailed by Phil Taylor. Both boats are a point apart and are well ahead of their closest rivals. Lying third is Thor Askeland on ELLE S'APPELLE, fourth is Terry Palmer's JUST DO IT and fifth is Allan Higgs and Cressida Robson's JUICY. Team SPITFIRE is just warming up, as are two French entrants this year, J-OUT-OF-THE-BOX and LA BETE (it is very cool these French teams are making the dash across La Manche for more fun and games on "La Petit Manche" (a.k.a. The Solent)).
Stephen Tapper’s STALKER currently leads the J/109 class, just two points ahead of Richard and Valerie Griffith’s OUTRAJEOUS. Third is Tor McLaren's INSPARA another six points back. Fourth is Jody Windmiller's J2EAU and fifth is David and Mary McGough's JUST SO.
BLACK
FLEET Report- The first weekend, Sunday, also saw the first day of
racing for the Black Fleet in the main series, with two races scheduled.
PRO Jamie Wilkinson set a range of windward-leeward courses for the
different classes. At 1045 the wind shifted left by 20 degrees, causing
some bigger boats to overstand their windward mark. This first race saw
17-20 knots of breeze and a classic wind-over-tide chop which made for
some impressive surfing on the downwind leg. By the second race, the
wind, now in the south-west, was building, with regular gusts of 25
knots.In IRC Class 1, Dr Ivan Trotman’s J/122 JOLOU leads the fleet, yet another fresh face amongst the leadership in IRC I with a 1-4 for a total of 5 points. Ken Lowe is sailing his J/122 GHOST and lies 7th after collecting a 9-8 for 17 points.
Qualifying as a "veteran" in IRC Class 3 is Mike and Jamie Holme's J/97 JIKA JIKA, currently lying first in IRC 3 after a dominating, class crushing 1-1 scoreline for just 2 points after two races. Another J/97 making its presence felt was Nick and Adam Munday's INDULJENCE, lying fifth after getting consistent 5-6 finishes for 11 points to remain in the hunt for a podium finish over this lengthy series. For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing results. Sailing photo credits- Eddie Mays
