JIKA-JIKA Wins IRC 3 With a Weekend to Burn!(Hamble, England)- The PRO/RC team faced a dilemma this week in the penultimate race day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. An approaching front early on Sunday morning saw the forecast predicting gusts of 32 knots at start time, reducing to 10 knots by late afternoon. PRO Jamie Wilkinson made a good call with a 2 hour postponement that proved popular with crews, giving time for a leisurely breakfast or lie-in as the wind shrieked in the rigging.
The gusts were still hitting 27 knots as the fleet headed out, and many boats sported reefs and small sails. A strong weather-going spring tide created a sharp chop with the consistency of concrete, making upwind progress tricky. But the wind gradually decreased as the day went on, and by 1500 crews were scrambling to power their boats up and enjoying some flat water and a steady breeze as they beat home.
Enjoying what many saw as "real" fall sailing conditions, a bit of chill in the air, strong breeze whipping up a froth on the Solent, lots of current to create "foul play" (and nasty waves), was the J/133 JINGS! sailed by David Ballantyne and crew. JINGS! managed to stay away from the fray and post another good score to stay in the top three in IRC 0, snagging a third place to jump into third overall for the series.
In
IRC 1 it was a see-saw battle amongst the top ten boats for the overall
series lead. WIth two throw-outs and 7 of 9 races counting to date,
the standings changed dramatically after last weekend's racing. Ivan
Trotman's J/122 JOLOU had a tough go of it and posted a ninth to drop to
sixth overall with 39 pts. Chaz Ivill's J/111 JENGA VI posted another
third to jump up to third overall in the standings, only 2 points out of
second! Next weekend, it will be horse race for the second and third
spots on the podium. Both the J/122 and the J/111 have a shot at
grabbing 2nd and 3rd overall for the series.The J/109s saw series leader, Richard and Valerie Griffith's OUTRAJEOUS, simply smoke their class, winning by a country furlong, essentially guaranteeing they're the winner of the J/109 class at the Hamble Winter Series. Behind them it's still anybody's guess as to how the top five will fare since there are four boats within seven points of each other. At the moment, Dave and Mary McGough's JUST SO is in second with 20 pts; Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB is third with 24 pts; David McLeman's OFFBEAT is fourth with 25 pts; and David Jobson's AUDAJIOUS is fifth with 27 pts! It's pretty clear the off-track betting parlors and odds-makers will be busy on that group of boats for next weekend's racing-- wonder what the odds are that on an "offbeat" day, an "audajious" move dropping the "jagerbomb" might "just so" create a panic enough that a "jazzy, jumping jellyfish" leaps to the top of the standings?!? "J'taime" it, says "me julie", if that happens, I may have to walk the "red arrow" after way, way too much "jynnan tonnyx"! :)
What an amazing story. This year's Garmin Hamble Winter Series saw an epic, dominating performance in IRC 3. No, it was not some custom IRC 52 whiz-banger, or some IRC lead-sled tweaking the rule, it was simply a fun, family racer-cruiser that simply blew away the most competitive class in the entire Winter Series. The more teams that sail J/97s on the Solent, the faster they're learning how to make them go against one another. And, nothing is more self-evident than the improvement in performance of the up-and-coming J/97 class sailing in IRC Class 3 this fall. Leading the charge since day one has been Mike and Jamie Holme's JIKA-JIKA, sailing away with class honors while posting an incredible scoreline of EIGHT firsts in nine races (e.g. they count seven firsts for an average of a, drum-roll please, first)! Wow, even the Editor can count that on his fingers! That scintillating performance would blow most people's socks off their feet. Five J/97s are racing in IRC 3, following JIKA-JIKA is Nick and Adam Munday's INDULJENCE, 2nd in J/97s and 5th overall. Third in the J/97s is Gillian Ross' INJENIOUS. The two J/92s' continue to sail well, with David Greenhalgh and John Taylor's J-RONIMO sitting in 6th and Andy Howe and Annie Kelly's BLACKJACK in 7th just four points back.
Of special note-- in the "mixed sportboat class", Mike Lewis sailing his J/80 JESTER has been having a go at the Laser SB3s and Hunter 707s. So far, he's hanging tough and is lying in second overall after missing the first four races and is counting two DNC's in his scoreline!
After a chilly day’s racing, as winter finally moves in after a seriously warm series, a packed clubhouse provided some welcome warmth as crews piled in for the prize-giving, with prizes this week from Yachts and Yachting. Next weekend is the final race of the 2011 Garmin Hamble Winter Series. While the long-term forecast is for some serious breeze, here’s hoping for a gentle end to the series! Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth. For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
