(Solent, Hamble, England)- A fittingly eerie mist descended to finish
off the Halloween weekend and with it the latest installments in the
Garmin Hamble Winter Series and Rule 26 Hamble Big Boat Series. Yacht graphics company Rule 26 sponsored the Hamble Big Boat Series, with racing on both days for a large fleet of 15 boats in IRC 0. Saturday’s steady 8-12 knots tracked slowly right during the day to get four races in by 1500. In IRC 0 the J/133 JAMMY DODGER sailed by Neil Martin took the second half’s top spot. Her sistership JERONIMO sailed by Jackie and Robert Dobson put in a solid performance with two podium positions.
With the end of BST (British Standard Time) and an hour’s extra sleep, Sunday dawned with 12-18 knots from the WSW, which let the race team squeeze two races in for all classes in the Rule 26 Big Boat Series and Garmin Hamble Winter Series, which this week was supported by One Sails GBR. With windward-leeward courses for all classes, the race area became a little congested at times, but courses of different lengths kept classes apart in a fine drizzle that gave way to a damp mist.
J/97 JIKA JIKA, sailed by Mike and Jamie Holmes, topped IRC 3 in both races to continue to lead their fleet in the Hamble Winter Series by five points. Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE is tied with David Greenhalgh and John Taylor's J/92 J-RONIMO for fourth place with 34 points each, just 3 points from third. Andy Howe & Annie Kelly's J/92s BLACKJACK sits with 38 points in 7th but within easy striking distance of the top three, too!
While this weekend's results for the J/109 One-Design class saw OUTRAJEOUS and JUST SO win races, the J/109 fleet standings continue to see Richard and Valerie Griffith’s OUTRAJEOUS in first with just 10 pts with a commanding 14 point lead over the fleet. However, just behind the Griffith's is an all-out scrum for the remainder of the top five! Only three points separate the next four boats! David and Mary McGough's JUST SO s in second with 24 points; Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB is third with 25 points; David Jobson's AUDAJIOUS is fourth with 26 points and David McLeman's OFFBEAT is fifth with 27 points. The next weekend or so will be fun to watch how the dust settles between these competitive teams! Thanks go to the J/109 class who managed to finish their own race after a communications mixup with the finish-line boats led to a brief but conspicuous absence at the finishing line.
So after four weekends, where competitors have experienced everything from big breezes to calms, fog and drizzle, next weekend sees a mid-series break. The fifth weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series returns in a fortnight, with day sponsor Southern Ropes. The end result of the series is far from certain, with some tantalizing battles lining themselves up in each class. See you then! Sailing photo credits- Hamo Thornycroft For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
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