Warm, Sunny Hamble Winter Series Resumes(Hamble, England)- After a break last weekend, racing resumed in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series yesterday with bright sunshine and an unseasonably balmy air temperature. Isn't that an oxymoron- "warm, sunny, winter series"? Go figure. The breeze filled in to a patchy ESE’ly, starting at a gusty 20 knots, which dropped to as low as 8 knots in the lulls as the afternoon wore on. Race Officer Jamie Wilkinson set a series of windward-leeward courses stretching up and down the East Solent, and all starts got underway on time. There was some impressive surfing downwind and the odd broach and kite wrap to add to the excitement - but most boats reveled in the shifty, gusty conditions and there were big grins ashore after racing. Some crews said it was the best day’s sailing they’d had all season! Perhaps there is something good to be said about all this global warming stuff-- palm trees, shorts & shades and gorgeous sailing in England, in mid-November?
In
IRC 0, Dave Ballantyne's J/133 JINGS! continued to sail a consistent
series, grabbing a fourth place to maintain their position of third
overall in a strong nine boat fleet. In IRC 3, the domination of Mike
and Jamie Holmes' J/97 JIKA-JIKA is quite impressive, rattling off yet
another bullet to account for six firsts in seven races. Their lead is
now up to 8 pts over the next boat. Fifth is David Greenhalgh and John
Taylor's J/92 J-RONIMO, sixth is Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE
and seventh overall is Andy Howe and Annie Kelly's J/92s BLACKJACK.
In
the one-design J/109 world, it was Richard and Valerie Griffith’s
OUTRAJEOUS who crossed the line first, extending their lead overall.
Like their stablemates sailing the J/97 in IRC 3, the Griffith's have
accounted for five firsts in seven races. Apparently, they've either
gotten a lot smarter, a lot faster or are just making less mistakes.
However you look at their new-found performance, it's great to see some
new stars rising to the top. David and Mary McGough's JUST SO got a
second over the weekend to maintain their second position in the
series. They're effectively in a four-way horse-race for the silver/
bronze on the podium with Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB in fourth tied with
David Jobson's AUDAJIOUS in fifth and just two points back is David
McLeman's OFFBEAT with 24 pts in sixth-- is anyone breathing yet? My
goodness that's a tough fleet! Forgetting the helmsmen for a second, the
tacticians must be seeking a bit of solace in the Guinness for making
any mistakes! Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth. For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
