J/122 Leading IRC0, J/97 Leads IRC3(Hamble, England)- The second weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, which incorporated the first weekend of the Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships, saw some champagne sailing conditions. Bright sunshine and 8-12 knots of breeze burned off the thick frost and eerie mist that started the day off, giving some stunning, if shifty, sailing conditions for all classes.
The race team got two races in on schedule on windward-leeward courses, with big shifts and a strong ebb tide giving competitors the chance to make big gains - and losses.
IRC 0 was first away. Dr Ivan Trotman’s J/122 JOLOU won her race and continues to lead IRC0 with a 1-2-1 scoreline for 4 pts. Nick and Adam Munday’s J/97 INDULGENCE topped the IRC 3 class, with a 3rd and a 1st to be leading their series in IRC 3.
In the J/111 class things were close. Cornel Ridkin’s JITTERBUG and David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM are tied overall on 5 points, with a first each. Third lies Charles Rolls & Andrew Christie's ICARUS with 10 pts. Similarly in the J/109s, Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB leads the class overall by a point, with a first and a third, ahead of David McLeman’s OFFBEAT and her score of a 4th and a 1st. Third is Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX with a 3-4 tally for 7 pts. A look at the full results shows some close battles lining up in all classes, which should prove fascinating to watch as the series unfolds.
Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships
The weekend also hosted the first of two Lewmar Hamble One-Design Championships weekends. This popular event had 48 entries, and featured racing for J/80 and J/109 classes on both Saturday and Sunday, kindly supported by Lewmar.
Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB tops the J/109 class with a good smattering of top 3 results, accumulating a formidable scoreline of 5-3-1-2-1-3 for 15 pts. They finish the weekend three points ahead of Richard and Valerie Griffith’s OUTRAJEOUS who have a 1-2-2-4-8-1 record for 18 pts and are sitting in 2nd place. In third is David McGough's JUST SO with 3-1-8-1-5-5 scores for 23 pts. Currently lying fourth is Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX and fifth is David Rolfe & Andy Johns' SHADOWFAX.
The J/80s sailed 7 races over the weekend. Phil Taylor’s J.A.T leads the 13-strong class overall with fairly consistent low-point scores of three 1sts, three 2nds and one 8th for 17 pts. Jon Powell’s BETTY from France has been sailing very fast and smart and could easily be leading were it not for an RET in Race 4. As a result "the BETTY" scoreline is four 1sts, two 2nds and an RET for 21 pts! Next up in third overall is Patrick Liardet’s AQUA-J with a 3-4-3-4-2-7-3 record for 26 pts. Rounding out the top five are Yannig Loyer sailing J-OUT-OF-THE-BOX in fourth and Dr Ross skippering ROCK & ROLL in fifth.
Next weekend is the final MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship weekend, as well as the third race day of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. Everyone is hoping the fine weather continues. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
